Overview
- On Thursday the Chicago Board of Education voted 11-7 to approve an amended roughly $10 billion budget that increases the district’s state funding projection by $150 million and reverses hundreds of planned layoffs.
- CPS officials warned the move could leave the budget legally unbalanced and make it harder to obtain the short-term borrowing the district needs to meet the September payroll deadline.
- The amended plan closes a roughly $732 million shortfall without the superintendent’s proposed cuts that would have eliminated about 1,600 positions including roughly 760 teachers.
- The vote followed hours of public testimony, two hours of private consultation with CPS lawyers, and pressure from the Chicago Teachers Union while outside recruiters from Milwaukee Public Schools offered on-the-spot jobs and signaled possible staff departures.
- The change rests on uncertain revenue streams and a history of reliance on temporary fixes such as TIF transfers and short-term tax anticipation notes, so the outcome now depends on state action during fall veto-session talks or else could trigger midyear cuts, borrowing strains, or credit damage.