CPS faces $732M budget deficit next year, eyes ‘adjustments’ to staffing
CHICAGO - Chicago Public Schools is projected to face a $732.5 million budget deficit for the 2026-2027 school year, the district announced on Tuesday.
That projection came as CPS issued more than 600 preliminary budgets for individual schools.
What we know:
To close the deficit, the district said it will make "targeted adjustments" to its school staffing allocation formulas that "account for enrollment changes while continuing to prioritize support for high-need schools."
"The District has a responsibility to provide every student with a high-quality education while being responsible stewards of public resources," said Superintendent/CEO Macquline King, in a statement. "The preliminary school budgets released today reflect our commitment to protecting the investments that matter most for students while balancing ongoing financial challenges and responsibly planning for the future."
Why CPS has a budget deficit
Dig deeper:
The district’s projected $732.5 million budget deficit is a result of multiple factors, according to CPS:
- Federal and state funding are not keeping up with needs. CPS is only funded at 73% of what the state considers adequate, the district said.
- CPS is facing higher costs on several issues like maintenance of aging facilities, rising labor costs, and its longstanding debt burden.
- The costs associated with educating CPS’ highest-need student population.
Still, the district said it will include more money for key areas like adding special education teachers, classroom assistants, and related services like physical and occupational therapists for special education students.
As of 2026, CPS educates more than 315,000 students, nearly three-quarters of whom come from low-income families, according to state data.
Since 2019, the district has added more than 9,700 employees, the vast majority of whom were working in schools, with the help of federal pandemic funds. Since that time, that extra funding has dried out and student enrollment has declined by about 45,000 students.
"While these classroom investments drove meaningful academic progress, the expiration of federal ESSER funding, combined with declining enrollment, has made it increasingly difficult to sustain pandemic-era staffing levels and interventions," said Chief Education Officer Dr. Karime Asaf, in a statement. "Like many public school districts, CPS is now faced with difficult decisions about how to allocate limited resources."
What's next:
CPS leaders will present a full budget plan later this summer.
The Chicago Board of Education will have to finalize the district’s budget by August 29.