Click here to read the full report (PDF). Click here to read the press release for this analysis. SUMMARY The Civic Federation opposes the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed budget of $9.5 billion for FY2023 because the District has not provided sufficient justification for raising its property tax to the maximum amount of 5% allowed under the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) by $140 million at a time when taxpayers already face serious economic strains and when CPS has…
CPS enrollment has been declining steadily for at least the past decade while personnel spending has increased dramatically. In a recent analysis of the Chicago Public Schools proposed FY2022 budget, the Civic Federation raised concerns over this ongoing trend. The Federation specifically pointed to a 13% increase in the District’s operating budget, which is primarily due to an influx of $2.6 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funding. Of that funding $1.06 billion will be used in FY2022. The…
Click here to read the full report (PDF). Click here to read the press release for this analysis. SUMMARY The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) proposed budget of $9.3 billion for FY2022 because it is balanced and supported by federal COVID-19 relief funding. CPS, along with all other state and local government agencies in the United States, has for the past year endured a once-in-a-century crisis and pandemic and related economic and educational disruption. Despite…
The Civic Federation opposes legislation under consideration by the Illinois General Assembly that would create a 21-member elected Chicago School Board. The proposal would establish a governing board that would: be too large to be effective; lead to expensive and divisive political campaigns funded by interest groups; allow the legislature to create gerrymandered electoral districts; not necessarily lead to improved educational outcomes; and create a potential financial disconnect between the…
In a recent analysis of the Chicago Public Schools FY2021 budget, the Civic Federation supported the District’s proposed $8.4 billion budget. However, the Federation expressed serious concerns about the budget’s reliance on $343 million in uncertain federal funding not yet approved by Congress and that several of the District’s revenue sources that have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools had reached more stable financial footing…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read the press release for this analysis. SUMMARY Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools had reached more stable financial footing than in previous years due to an influx in State-approved funding. Public Act 100-0456, passed in August 2017, instituted the new Evidence-Based Funding formula for statewide P-12 education funding, as well as additional funding for the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund normal cost and an increase to…
In March Congress passed the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, the third federal coronavirus relief act, which among many other things provided $13.2 billion in funding to K-12 schools across the country.[1] The funding can be spent on programs and coronavirus response including: Technological support for remote learning; Cleaning schools; Providing meals; and Services and outreach for low income and higher need students such as English language learners and students with disabilities and mental…
As discussed in a previous blog post, the unprecedented public health emergency brought on by coronavirus has led local governments in Illinois to enact emergency measures and loosen rules related to the Open Meetings Act. Local government bodies have been meeting remotely pursuant to Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s Executive Order 2020-07 issued on March 16. In the absence of normal meetings and business as usual, and in the interest of keeping government running, the boards and councils that…
The Chicago Board of Education adopted an amended budget for the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) 2020 fiscal year on November 20, 2019 to account for changes reflected in the collective bargaining agreements reached between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) for FY2020 through FY2024. The CPS fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. The CPS FY2020 operating budget approved in August totaled $6.18 billion. New…
The Chicago Public Schools FY2020 Budget is an example of fund-based budgeting. Collected revenues are assigned to different funds intended to support various governmental functions. The interactive chart below is a Sankey diagram showing the flow of revenues through funds and to the District’s expenditures. A full analysis of the CPS FY2020 proposed budget can be found here. The data is provided by CPS’ interactive budget website, and some revenue and spending categories are grouped for…
