CHICAGO _ Chicago Public Schools on Monday moved ahead with plans to lay off about 950 staff members but put off an announcement on an operations budget, citing a need to wait for action on school funding from state lawmakers.
A proposed budget for the fiscal year that began July 1 had been expected on Monday, two weeks after principals received spending plans that anticipated state lawmakers would send an extra $300 million to CPS. The education funding picture remains muddled however after Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner issued an amendatory veto on a plan passed by the General Assembly that would reduce the money going to CPS.
Principals were nonetheless expected to move forward with staff adjustments. The district said 356 teachers and 600 support staff would be let go as a result of "enrollment changes, program adjustments and/or changes in students' academic needs."
A CPS spokesman said the district expected to have 500 vacant teaching positions it would try to refill by the time classes begin next month. The teachers whose positions were eliminated will be able to apply for those jobs.
"The number of open teaching positions in CPS schools is far greater than the number of teachers involved in today's staffing changes, and we expect the majority of impacted teachers to find new full-time positions in district schools," district spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement.
CPS said 240 elementary school teachers would be affected by Monday's changes, along with 116 high school teachers. City high schools will also feel the largest impact of school support personnel layoffs: 466 of those staff members will be let go. Another 134 elementary school ancillary staff members will be laid off.
Last year, CPS laid off more than 500 teachers and another 500 school-based staff members prior to the beginning of the year. The district then let another 250 teachers and staff members go after the year began, due to a steeper-than-expected drop in enrollment.
August's regularly-scheduled Chicago Board of Education meeting will also be rescheduled for later in the month, while the ongoing impasse over school funding unfolds in Springfield.
