The Chicago Board of Education adopted a nonbinding resolution proposed by Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez declaring a moratorium on school closures through spring 2027 during a heated meeting on Thursday.
It also followed
At the Thursday meeting, Martinez decried "an unfortunate misinformation campaign" that he said falsely accused him of planning school closures.
Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter suggested passing a binding resolution to dispel such rumors.
"We're not imagining drastic measures; we know that there is serious consideration of cuts over investment," he said. "If you don't fight for revenue, you can only get [a balanced budget] through layoffs."
Ward 36 Alderman Gilbert Villegas read a letter supporting Martinez, co-signed by a laundry list of fellow aldermen and current and former public officials, among them Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza and former CPS CEO and former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
Villegas said the Johnson administration wanted three things from Springfield: a "no" vote on House Bill 303, which would have codified school closures; a "no" vote on a fully elected school board; and $2 billion for a stadium for the NFL's Chicago Bears. Quoting the slogan "schools not stadiums," he suggested Chicagoans unite behind different priorities.
"We have got to figure out how we're going to work together to get funds from Springfield as well as Washington, D.C.," he said, adding, Martinez should be lauded for refusing to borrow to cover operating costs, as Johnson's administration had reportedly suggested. "Chicago needs more fiscal discipline, not less," he said.
Fitch Ratings
KBRA rates the board's fiscal 2022 and 2023 general obligation debt BBB and its capital improvement tax bonds BBB-plus. The outlook is stable. Moody's Ratings in January upgraded the board to Ba1 from Ba2, with a positive outlook.
S&P Global Ratings assigns a BB-plus long-term rating to the district's general obligation debt and alternate revenue source bonds. The outlook is stable.
Ward 23 Alderman Silvana Tabares and Ward 38 Alderman Nicholas Sposato offered support for Martinez, while Ward 25 Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez criticized the CEO's salary and vowed to demand his resignation absent a change in approach.
The CTU is in the midst of contentious contract negotiations with the district, during which it has made some of its
The union has said CPS budgets "do not include what we need."
Tabares alluded to that Thursday and suggested the teachers' union has been pushing for Martinez's removal: "We believe in the collective bargaining process," she said. "We do not support one side … getting someone fired because he is doing his job."
The state owes Chicago and CPS $1.1 billion, Sigcho Lopez asserted. He told Martinez, "School closures are unacceptable, and if you want to stop them, put it in writing and take it to the state."
At the
"We have to dip into our operations budget to fund capital improvements, which means that our students are robbed of 21st-century facilities they need and deserve," he said. "As a school district that cannot raise its own revenue, we've identified $500 million in reductions and efficiencies, and we'll continue to look for areas to save. But at the end of the day, our schools need their fair share. … We need to demand better."
The district in July
In its five-year strategic plan, CPS said it would "advocate for full, fair, and equitable school funding across all levels of government, leverage philanthropic investments, and strengthen collaborative partnerships in every community."
The plan reiterates the district's shift from student-based funding, in which dollars follow students, to a need-based funding model that aims to address inequities regardless of enrollment.
"Our progress is hindered by funding challenges on numerous fronts, including inadequate funding from the state, an expansive and aging facility infrastructure requiring capital improvements to support healthy green schools, and declining student enrollment," the plan notes. "Our current funding falls short of keeping up with the needs of our students with disabilities and fully funding early childhood programming."
Overall state funding is declining, the plan said, while facilities needs are growing and structural deficits are widening. The plan calls for a 10% annual increase in facility improvement funding, reaching $250 million within five years, by drawing on both public and private funding sources.
Other speakers at Thursday's meeting included Claude Holmes, CTU charter division secretary, who argued that charter school operators are sitting on huge reserves that could be used in classrooms; a CPS teacher who said class sizes at her school have grown by roughly 20%; and multiple parents who backed Martinez, calling him "an inspiration for our community," praising the results he's produced and arguing the revolving door of CPS CEOs — there have been seven over the past decade — negatively impacts student outcomes.
