At her first meeting Thursday as interim leader of Chicago Public Schools, Macquline King pegged the school district’s budget deficit at $730 million, hundreds of millions of dollars more than her predecessor acknowledged.
She said her first task will be “finalizing and passing the CPS budget in a way that is transparent, equitable and responsive to the needs of our schools and communities.” King said she will spend the coming weeks talking to “key stakeholders” to see what can be done, both in terms of limiting expenditures and finding new revenue.
A former principal who has spent the last few years serving as an educational policy advisor in the mayor’s office, King said her second task will be making sure schools have a smooth opening on August 18.
In putting the deficit at $730 million, King is rejecting several premises made by Pedro Martinez, who left CPS last week after being terminated.
Martinez said this spring that he was presenting the “best case” scenario budget and told principals to plan their budgets around that. He included $300 million in city or state money, but neither the city nor state were planning on providing that extra money and he was bashed for having “magical thinking.”
Martinez also didn’t include a controversial $175 million pension payment that Mayor Brandon Johnson needs to balance the city’s budget. The city is obligated to make the payment, but the majority of pensioners in that fund are CPS employees. That payment is now included in the deficit, and it appears King is planning on giving that money to the city.
Board member Jitu Brown thanked King.
“You were just 100% honest about the budget deficit. And I want to say this, we haven’t had honesty up to this moment,” he said.
He dismissed Martinez’s budget scenario “spin” by a “hustler.”
Brown also said he stays up at night worrying about how to solve the budget deficit. He, like several other board members, are staunchly against laying off a significant number of staff.
Brown said he would not feel comfortable looking children in the eye knowing he voted to take away resources needed to educate them.
It is unclear what options King and the board have to make up the deficit. Board members and union leaders insist that the state needs to provide additional funding. According to the state’s own calculation, CPS should be getting $1.2 billion in additional funding.
But the state budget has already been approved. It is highly unlikely that the state Legislature would call a special session to provide extra money for CPS.
Some also pointed to the city’s special taxing districts called TIFs as a source of revenue. But the school district is already counting on the city providing $298 million in TIF surplus funds, matching the record amount Johnson provided last year.
To reduce the deficit, CPS would need Johnson to surplus even more than that and experts say there are constraints beyond his control.
The school district could borrow to get through this school year and then pursue new revenue for next school year — an idea the mayor floated last year. Martinez called such borrowing fiscally irresponsible and his unwillingness to go along with it was one of the reasons he was fired. Some board members continue to be opposed to borrowing.
The school district already carries a heavy debt load and one of the reasons the deficit is so steep is because of annual debt payments.
As King grapples with how to deal with the massive deficit, schools are in limbo. Principals were given school-level budgets based on Martinez’s “best case” scenario, but principals are on guard about being given notice of changes later this summer, just weeks before the first day of school.
CPS has not announced layoffs based on the initial budgets, but unions have started to hear about staffing allocation changes, particularly as it comes to special education classroom aides and dual language coordinators.
Fearing drastic cuts due to the budget shortfall, those who represent workers in the district implored the board to avoid layoffs and find other solutions to bridge the budget gap.
“The threat of laying off any of these essential workers would be a significant blow to our education system,” said Dian Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73, which represents thousands of CPS workers. “Chicago’s children cannot afford to lose the care and resources union members have fought so hard to obtain since the pandemic.”
Palmer implored district leaders to avoid the “same mistakes” as previous leadership and engage with local and state elected officials to find other revenue, such as using TIF money.
“We call on the city of Chicago and the Board of Education to urgently explore other alternatives that will not harm these students’ education,” Palmer said. “Combining additional state funding and using TIF funds could easily bridge this gap.”
Ahead of the board meeting, Palmer and dozens of other SEIU members rallied outside of CPS central office demanding the district avoid major layoffs, or at least be transparent with workers about their status.
“If it weren’t for us workers, CPS wouldn’t be able to take care of these kids,” said Doris Alexander, a crossing guard and SEIU member. “CPS owes us and the parents more than one week’s notice before school restarts to tell us if we are laid off.”
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, echoing remarks she made at the City Club of Chicago earlier this week, told the board they should side with students.
“The choice to make is: Are we going to codify what our students need in a budget that represents forward momentum for our school district, or will we side with those who want to dismantle the public good,” she said.
“We do not expect to begin school without special education educators. We do not intend to begin school this year with vacancies all over the district. We do not intend to equivocate on any of the things that Chicago students deserve and we invite you to join us.”
The CTU held their own rally on the importance of maintaining staffing levels and avoiding cuts ahead of the board meeting.
Gabriel Paez, bilingual teacher and chair of CTU’s bilingual education committee, said CPS has already eliminated dual language coordinator positions and funding for dual language programs in schools that need them.
Paez fears deeper cuts given the district’s financial woes. He called on the state to increase funding for CPS to help the district avoid cutting positions.
“This wouldn’t be a financial challenge if the state invested $1.2 billion dollars that we are owed according to their own funding formula,” Paez said. “We live in a state that has always had the money for business in downtown — if the state has funds for quantum computing, they have the funds for our students.”
Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.