Despite vows to keep budget shortfall from classrooms, some Chicago Public Schools classrooms face cuts when pleas for additional state funding go unmet.
Chicago Public Schools leaders’ hopes of averting an approximately $400 million deficit were dashed over the weekend, when the Illinois Senate approved a state spending plan without additional funds that the state’s largest school district, alongside Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union, has sought over the past year. But despite a “challenging financial year” ahead, .
CPS said it’s working with city and state officials to enroll kids in schools near city shelters. But sources tell WBEZ that neighborhood schools often lack the staff and curriculum to work with non-English-speaking students.
An alternative high school in Humboldt Park that has served as a “sanctuary” for hundreds of vulnerable Black and brown youth is losing nearly half its small teaching staff because of budget cuts. Employees and alumni say the cuts will limit the services they can provide.