(The Lion) — Chicago Public Schools and its teachers’ union have reached a tentative agreement that would boost expenses by $1.5 billion over four years, school leaders say.
“The money that we have is there to pay for year one,” said Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez during an April 1 press conference, reported by Bloomberg. “I have no worries about this year. My worries are all about the future.”
The proposal comes even as the district draws media scrutiny for “dangerous levels of indebtedness” and a reputation as “the nation’s single largest issuer of junk-rated municipal bonds.”
“There isn’t enough money, either in the city’s budget or in the school district’s, to pay for school workers’ raises and for what the city says should be the schools’ part in keeping a deeply underfunded pension plan from sinking into insolvency,” the Chicago Tribune wrote in a recent editorial.
In the first year of the contract – the current fiscal year – overall expenses could rise by up to $125 million, Martinez acknowledged.
“Teachers will get raises of at least 16% over the four years, with possible increases due to inflation,” wrote Shruti Singh for Bloomberg.
“Under the proposal, an entry-level teacher will earn more than $69,000, with median educators making about $98,000 in the 2026 fiscal year, a release from the district states.”
Ballooning costs amid low academic outcomes
Chicago taxpayers are spending nearly $20,000 per CPS student, yet the district suffers from low academic performance and chronic absenteeism.
“It’s so expensive,” said Ted Dabrowski, president of the nonprofit company Wirepoints. “Again, ordinary, everyday Illinoisans and Chicagoans are going to have to pay for this. It’s just become too much.”
Editorialists at the Tribune agree, noting Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and “his political benefactors at the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU)” refuse to consider less costly measures such as consolidating schools.
“In the real world inhabited by real people, the answer in such circumstances is to reduce expenses,” staffers wrote, noting a third of the district’s schools aren’t even half full. “Find the parts of the household or business budget that would be nice to have but aren’t absolutely necessary. And then excise them.”
The union needs approval from its House of Delegates and full membership before Martinez can present the contract to the board of education, according to Bloomberg.
