Special Edition: Budget Update & Hearing Next Thursday

Yesterday, many predictable things happened before and during yesterday's board meeting. The Chicago Teachers Union held a rally out front before the meeting calling for a special legislative session to raise revenue that could solve the Chicago Public Schools budget crisis. Parents spoke to the board urging them not to make a $175 million pension payment that is legally the city's responsibility.

But there were a few comments that went deeper. Early on in the meeting, board member Jennifer Custer read a statement from member Angel Gutierrez (who arrived late) that repeated the point moms made at the Back of the Yards budget discussion: special education students are not a cost driver in the district; their education is part of educating all students and should be viewed as part of the normal cost of educating children.

Interim Superintendent/CEO Macquline King made a noteworthy promise during her update to the Chicago Board of Education. She referenced a recent Chicago Tribune story about Marquis Griffin, the father of two young boys with autism who spoke at the Westinghouse budget conversation. (It's a great feature story. If you can get behind the paywall, read it here.) Griffin worries about how cuts to special education services could impact his whole family. His wife is a special education classroom assistant (SECA), and both his sons are supported by SECAs at school.

"Every child that has a one-on-one aide per their IEP will not be cut," King pledged. "All services outlined in a student's IEP will continue to be met." Students will receive support from a paraprofessional as specified in their IEPs, either one-to-one or shared.

The last time the school district faced a budget crisis, in 2016, district officials secretly overhauled its guidelines for providing special education services, illegally cutting back services it owed children. Students with IEPs also lost out on needed services during remote learning during the pandemic.

The district is saying that won't happen again. But already, CPS has chosen to cut back the number of SECAs assigned to "cluster classrooms," which serve only students with the highest-need IEPs. ISBE guidance requires one teacher and one SECA in cluster classrooms with more than eight students. But CPS had been placing two SECAs in those rooms. As of next school year, they will revert to one per classroom. (Other SECAs may be in the room supporting students one-to-one, but teachers say having two SECAs available for additional support is sometimes necessary for high-need duties like toileting children, including teenagers, having an adult who can find a child who ran away, or otherwise ensuring the safety of all the children in the room.)

During a discussion with CPS budget director Mike Sitkowski, board member Carlos Rivas suggested the city could send up to $350 million in TIF surplus to CPS for fiscal year 2026. (I'd love to know how he came up with that figure.)

Another noteworthy pledge came from Ben Felton, the district's director of talent, regarding school-level budgets. He promised they could go ahead and hire to fill vacant positions. "We're highly confident that the positions that are in school budgets right now will be the positions that schools will have for the 25-26 school year. ... We want principals to go ahead and make the hires now because we know that's the most important thing for our kids."

We'll see if these commitments stick.

Make Your Voice Heard

If you want to share your thoughts on the CPS budget gap and how to fill it, you still have time to fill out this survey. It closes today, so don't wait.

State Rep. Ann Williams (D-11) will hold a subject matter hearing on the CPS financial situation at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 31. Details here. If you'd like to speak at the hearing, you can file a witness slip. On the day, you'll be able to watch the hearing here.

Where to Learn More

If you just can't get enough information about the CPS financial situation, here are some more places to learn from.

The budget update and discussion from yesterday's board meeting can be viewed online here starting at 4:25:57.

Kids First Chicago held an online budget session with input from the Civic Federation and a panel including parents, viewable here.

CPS has a whole webpage devoted to the budget. If you haven't watched it, I recommend their virtual learning session that features former board member Elizabeth Todd-Breland explaining the deep roots of racism and historic underfunding of schools that set the stage for this crisis.

I'll close out today with an insight from a very smart observer and former CPS principal. "If you want to know what makes this budget crisis different, it's simple. This time, they have to persuade 21 people to vote for a solution. No more back-door deals."