The Board of Education is required to pass a balanced budget by Aug. 28.

Chicago Public Schools is grappling with a massive budget deficit. Here’s why.

CPS has long had a structural deficit caused by state underfunding. That’s exacerbated now by several big challenges: the end of federal pandemic relief money, which the district used for a hiring spree over several years; rising transportation and building maintenance costs; expensive annual debt and pension payments.

Chicago Public Schools needs $1.6 billion more from the state to provide an adequate education, records show

New state calculations show that CPS has only 73% of the funding it needs to give students what it deems an “adequate” education. That’s a drop from 79% last year — one of 300 underfunded Illinois districts that sa

See Full Page