Nader Issa
Education Reporter
Spending plan excludes $175 million pension payment for non-teacher staff, as well as funding for upcoming teachers and principals union contracts.
The program won’t be available for the first day of school in August, CPS says, but some kids could catch buses at some point in the first quarter.
The tension around taking on debt and the pension payment was the crux of a month-long delay of the school system’s budget proposal, which came out Wednesday.
Cuts to staffing and other initiatives are needed to balance the budget this month, CPS officials say. Johnson’s plan to close the gap is unclear.
If this budget passes the Board of Education on July 25, another deficit is expected later this year once the school district reaches a contract deal with the Chicago Teachers Union.
After helping elect one of their own to the mayor’s office, CTU is now at odds with the previous mayor’s pick to lead CPS, calling him a “Lightfoot leftover.”
A total of 42 challenges were filed against the 27 candidates, meaning some of the school board hopefuls face more than one. Challenges could focus on improperly filed paperwork or the number of signatures, including duplicate names or wrong addresses.
The University of Chicago analysis released Wednesday found a reduction in high-level discipline infractions at schools that had gotten rid of cops, and that Black students were more likely to have officers in their schools than other racial groups.
The window for hopefuls to submit their minimum 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot closed Monday afternoon with more than two dozen final-day submissions wrapping up the week-long process that kicked off the elections.