Budget 2023

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Dear Friends and Colleagues, 

After more than a year of remote and hybrid learning, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) was able to bring students in grades pre-k through 12 back to the classroom this school year for full in-person instruction. Our focus now is to provide the resources and supports that will allow our children to recover academically, socially, and emotionally from the pandemic and continue their trajectory of record-breaking gains.

Despite the continued challenges presented by COVID-19, CPS students achieved an all-time District-high graduation rate of 83.8 percent in 2021, along with the lowest-ever one-year dropout rate of 3.8 percent - down 1.8 percent from the 2020-21 school year. In addition, our District’s 2021 graduates were the sixth consecutive class to earn more than $1 billion in college scholarship offers, with 97.5 percent of these students completing a solid post secondary plan prior to graduation through our groundbreaking Learn.Plan.Succeed program.

The FY2023 budget, which totals $9.4 billion, will allow CPS to build on these successes by strengthening our instructional core and establishing a new standard of excellence for all schools in the wake of the pandemic. Schools will see a per-pupil funding increase of 8 percent, and $240 million more in school level funding over FY2022, which will:

• Support the hiring of 524 more teachers than last year
• Reduce class sizes and split grade-level classes
• Expand robust programming in the arts, dual-language, and early childhood education
• Provide high-quality professional development for our teachers
• Ensure safe, healthy learning environments amid the continued threat of COVID-19

This budget also provides an additional $14 million in Equity Grants to ensure that our District’s smaller schools can provide the same level of programming and academic rigor as their larger CPS counterparts. And to ensure that our students with disabilities have the supports and resources to achieve their full potential, CPS is investing an additional $45 million to support staffing needs for these students, including teachers, para professionals, and special education case managers.

As we emerge from the pandemic, we must acknowledge the toll that this challenging time has taken on our students’ mental health. In addition, ongoing concerns over safety, and continued issues of racial injustice and economic inequality are having a significant impact on student learning.

The District’s FY2023 budget will address this reality by investing $30 million to grow the number of counselors and social workers in our schools, as well as implement a universal Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum that is rooted in trauma-informed practices and a restorative approach to student discipline. And to address school safety concerns, CPS is continuing to invest in proactive safety measures, including security equipment upgrades, expanding critical programs like Choose to Change and our Safe Passage program, and creating new programs for at-risk youth.

Our FY2023 capital budget details $645 million of investments that will focus on providing all students with safe, modern learning environments and aligning our CPS facilities with the demands of 21st-century learning. Capital projects will prioritize facility needs at neighborhood schools, and will include renovations to ensure better air quality, ease overcrowding, improvements in ADA accessibility, and enhancements to athletic facilities and other student recreation spaces.

One area that has garnered significant attention with regard to the CPS budget is the more than $2.8 billion in reimbursable pandemic relief funds through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) program that has been allocated to us by the federal government. We have already used 45 percent of these funds ($1.26 billion) to support our school communities during all phases of the pandemic, from remote learning to the return of students to their classrooms with critical health and safety protocols in place. In the coming school year, we plan to allocate at least $730 million of the remaining ESSER funds to support academic and SEL programming that will allow students in every school to recover and thrive. The remaining ESSER funds will be invested strategically through FY2025 to address the evolving needs of our students and school communities. 

I thank the CPS educators, families, and community partners who engaged in our budget planning process by sharing their unique perspectives and priorities. We look forward to receiving additional feedback from our stakeholders at upcoming budget hearings, the details of which can be found at cps.edu/budget.

The past two school years have been fraught with unprecedented challenges, but they have not altered our mission of providing every child from every community in Chicago with a world-class education that will prepare them for success in college, career, and civic life. The investments put forth in the FY2023 budget reaffirm this commitment and further establishes Chicago as a national leader in urban education.

Sincerely,

Pedro Martinez
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Public Schools