Chicago Public Schools weighs furloughs, spending freeze despite fierce union opposition

While furloughs and spending freezes are rising in public schools nationwide, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) had appeared unlikely to pursue such actions until last week, when it announced steps “to close the district’s massive deficit.”

“CPS has not furloughed staff in a decade, and the (Chicago Teachers Union) and other staff unions are likely to challenge the cuts, as they would eliminate some of their negotiated pay raises,” reported WBEZ Chicago, part of Chicago Public Media.

Staffers would go on furlough for five student nonattendance days while the district froze midyear spending, according to the news outlet.

“Not paying staff for five days would save the district around $85 million. For the average teacher, that would translate to a $2,300 pay cut … or around 2.3% of their salary.”

District officials also announced layoffs affecting 760 teachers, 801 teacher aides and 162 staffers in the central office and across the city.

Superintendent Macquline King, CEO of CPS, described the proposed budget as a responsible move to address what she called the district’s “serious financial challenges” in closing its $732 million shortfall.

“These are all impacts that are disruptive to the education of our students, the learning experience, and ultimately the academic outcomes that we’re projecting for next year,” King said.

Both the furloughs and spending freeze would not be implemented if the district receives more financial aid from the city, county or state, which journalists noted seemed “likely a bid to capture the attention of lawmakers and other officials who have so far ignored pleas for more funding.”

However, CTU has already pronounced the proposed budget “dead on arrival,” calling for Gov. JB Pritzker to increase public-school funding instead.

“Students have had to learn in overcrowded classes, practice under unpaid coaches, and be counseled by caseworkers with loads beyond compare all year, and now CPS thinks they can plan a week of furloughs and tell the staff who serve them they don’t have a job? Please,” said CTU president Stacy Davis Gates in a statement.

‘The most egregious conduct covered’

As previously reported by Heartlander News, the district has received criticism for allowing financial fraud, as well as a culture on campus that enabled sexual abuse and assault.

“Our investigations revealed a culture at the time where professional boundaries between staff members and students were blurred,” said Philip Wagenknecht, the district’s inspector general. “It was not unusual for staff to message students on social media, gossip with them, and treat them like friends rather than students. This could have been seen as normal and may have made it easier for bad actors to go unnoticed.”

Meanwhile, the district was required to repay more than $1 million after several instances of fraud, including one staffer who had continued overstating enrollment numbers for a federally funded program over years.

“With respect to fraud and financial mismanagement, this was arguably the most egregious conduct covered in the annual report,” Wagenknecht said. “It wasn’t a clerical mistake or an accident.”

(Image credit: Screenshot/Instagram/abc7chicago)