Despite the presentation of a balanced budget containing no loan for the upcoming Chicago Public Schools academic year after months of debates over a multi-million dollar budget deficit, the entirety of the Chicago Board of Education is not sold on the $10.25 billion plan.

The proposal was the result of weeks of planning and bolstered by community engagement. It combines cuts to expenditures — that avoid cuts to classrooms — with input from outside partners such as the city and state, according to the district’s Chief Budget Officer Mike Sitkowski, who presented the plan to the school board at their bi-monthly meeting Wednesday.

Notably, it balances the budget without a $200 million borrowing scenario or a $175 million pension reimbursement to the city, as proposed by Mayor Brandon Johns

See Full Page