CPS Budget Cuts Hit Classrooms

Why It Matters

CPS is facing a projected $732.5 million budget deficit. The district says the era of using federal COVID relief money to maintain expanded staffing levels is over. 

The result: schools across Chicago are now preparing for teacher losses and fewer assistant principals.

By the numbers:

• CPS says no elementary school will lose more than 4 teachers 
• No high school will lose more than 6 teachers 
• Independent estimates suggest 700–800 teaching positions could ultimately be eliminated
• CPS enrollment has dropped by roughly 45,000 students since 2019, yet the district added nearly 10,000 staff positions during that same period using temporary, one-time federal relief dollars 
• CPS currently receives just 73% of the funding the state says is needed for an “adequate” education 

What’s changing: CPS is increasing student-to-teacher ratios by one student across grade bands. That could mean:

• Fewer classroom teachers allocated to schools
• Larger class sizes
• More pressure on principals to make difficult staffing decisions

Small schools are also expected to lose assistant principal positions if enrollment falls below 250 students. The principals’ union estimates roughly 120 AP positions could be affected. 

The district’s argument: CPS leadership says the budget reflects financial reality, not preference.

• Superintendent/CEO Macquline King emphasized that the district must budget based on existing revenue, not hoped-for funding from Springfield or City Hall. 
• District leaders also argue that staffing priorities are shifting, not shrinking. CPS says it plans to:
  • Increase special education staffing
  • Add 60 new cluster classrooms for students with disabilities
  • Expand supports for English learners
  • Preserve contractual class size caps

The bigger issue: This budget cycle exposes a structural problem that Kids First Chicago has been talking about for years. 

• For several years, federal pandemic aid masked underlying financial pressures:
  • Declining enrollment
  • Rising labor costs
  • Aging facilities
  • Growing pension and debt obligations
• Now that relief funding is gone, those pressures are surfacing all at once.
  • CPS debt service alone has grown from roughly $607 million in 2019 to more than $1 billion today. 

The political fight ahead: The final budget is far from settled. Several major variables remain unresolved:

• Whether Springfield increases education funding
• Whether principals successfully appeal staffing cuts
• Whether the city declares a larger TIF surplus, which likely will not be finalized until December
  • CPS budgeted just $100 million in TIF surplus revenue after receiving more than $500 million last year alone
• Whether CPS must reimburse the city $175 million for non-teacher pensions

Bottom line: For the first time in years, CPS is no longer trying to fully shield schools from financial pain. The district is attempting to balance two competing realities:

• Enrollment is down and temporary federal funding is over
• Student needs, especially around special education and mental health, remain high

The hardest question now is no longer whether cuts are coming. It’s where the system decides to absorb them.