Chicago Public Schools budget vote to be postponed until union contract is settled
The Chicago Board of Education has decided to wait to vote on a budget amendment for the Chicago Public Schools until a contract deal is reached between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union.
Tense negotiations have been going on for months over pension payments for Chicago Public Schools employees and raises for teachers. There has been no agreement on the pension payments, nor on the union contract.
The board had been slated to vote on the budget on Thursday. Tensions were high with that vote being anticipated.
The CTU thought an agreement on a union contract deal would be reached before the vote happened Thursday. But Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden pulled the vote because of the lack of a deal.
"We stand here with a clear and resolute message for the Chicago Board of Education — do the right thing!" said Chicago Teachers Union member Vicki Kurzydlo.
Late Thursday, Mayor Johnson issued this statement:
"Following yesterday's meeting, we are pleased that Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union are making meaningful progress towards a contract agreement. As a result, Board President Harden decided to postpone the budget amendment vote until the contract is settled.
"Board members have expressed a desire for clarity on the final cost of the contract before voting on the budget amendment. The Board President is confident that the two sides are very close to coming to an agreement, and I share his confidence. A contract agreement is critical to the stability of our schools and communities.
"Furthermore, given that President Trump plans to sign an executive order as early as today that would dismantle the Department of Education, we want to ensure that our school district and our teachers are fully aligned and that we are doing everything we can to protect our students and protect our schools from harmful policies and potential budget cuts."
President Trump signed the executive order Friday that would begin the process of dismantling the U.S. Department of Education "once and for all."
Back in Chicago, the idea of a teachers' strike has been floated.
Chicago Teachers Union members on Thursday were heading to the school board meeting by the busload — a show of force they hope will sway the partially elected board to vote in favor of the latest CPS budget amendment.
The CTU urged teachers to request a bus if they were coming in groups of 20 or more. It was a show of force similar to the one just before the 2019 teachers' strike back when Lori Lightfoot was mayor.
In the fall of 2019, CTU members marched through the Loop signaling the desire for change.
But since then, Mayor Lightfoot has been supplanted by Mayor Brandon Johnson — himself a former CPS teacher and a member of the CTU "on leave."
The mayor met Wednesday with CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, and Ald. Jason Ervin (28th), head of the City Council Budget Committee, as they try to iron out next year's CPS budget.
The mayor said the meeting was not a negotiation session, but just a "conversation to find a pathway forward together" and seek out potential compromises to avert a work stoppage that would keep kids out of school and parents home from work.
"There's no reason for any of these outcomes when we are so close to landing a deal," Mayor Johnson said after the meeting Wednesday.
The CTU has been asking for smaller class sizes, more prep time for teachers, and a revised procedure for teacher evaluations.
The budget amendment could allow the Mayor's office to take out a controversial $300 million high-interest loan to pay for teachers' raises and CPS pension payments.
Gates pointed fingers at Martinez this week, saying he stormed out of the room during the Wednesday meeting and is standing in the way of a deal.
"Pedro's the only person that isn't ready to land it," Davis Gates said Wednesday.
Martinez has long opposed taking out that controversial high-interest loan, and has been at odds with Mayor Johnson for months because of it. Still, he agreed a resolution is long overdue.
"I wanted that a month ago," Martinez said, "so join the club."
Martinez said he left the meeting because his team has already been working on ironing out a deal.
"Weekends, holidays — whatever it takes," he said.
A two-thirds vote is needed to pass the budget amendment.
