In a potentially final bid to whip up support for its budget, CPS officials said the desire to reimburse the city for a much-debated pension payment and taking out a $200 million loan would result in cuts to schools and a credit downgrade for the district.
Mayor Brandon Johnson picked Ángel Vélez, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant and native Puerto Rican who lives in West Englewood, to represent neighborhoods from Canaryville to Auburn Gresham. He will be sworn in the same day the school board is set to take a pivotal budget vote ahead of a Friday deadline to get a spending plan in place.
The new law, called Safe Schools for All, creates protections upheld in a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, which said all students are afforded access to a free and public education, regardless of immigration status.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and interim CPS CEO Macquline King rang the ceremonial first bell to mark the 2025-26 school year on the playground of Courtenay Language Arts Center.
From changes in enrollment to changes in the classroom, there are several things to watch for this school year.
The charter school was one of five the Chicago Board of Education voted to save and turn into a district-run school. But the school community worries about its future after the Archdiocese of Chicago put the building up for sale.
The Chicago Board of Education is split on the district’s budget proposal for next school year. A group of mostly appointed members has asked CPS to alter its proposal that it includes a much-debated pension payment and loan.
State Sen. Rob Martwick, a lawmaker who helped usher in Chicago’s elected school board, says it’s still the mayor. Others say it’s the school board.
Officials said the spending plan for the 2025-26 school year that’s expected to be unveiled Wednesday will not include a $175 million
Chalkbeat spoke to budget watchdogs, municipal finance experts, district officials, school board members, the teachers union, community groups, and civic organizations about possible solutions for Chicago Public Schools’ budget crunch.