CPS BUDGET INVESTS $4 BILLION FOR SCHOOLS TO STRENGTHEN CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION, PROVIDE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL RESOURCES, AND INCREASE EQUITY

CHICAGO — Chicago Public Schools (CPS) today released the 2022-23 school budgets that aim to strengthen rigorous standards-based teaching and learning following the past two challenging years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $4 billion school budgets were created with feedback from community members, parents, and principals as well as an in-depth needs analysis to ensure the city’s public school system delivers a high-quality, equitable education to all students.

“The 2022-23 CPS budget is responsive to the needs of parents, faculty, staff and most importantly, students,” said Chicago Mayor Lori. E. Lightfoot. “This budget prioritizes robust and holistic teaching so that students can continue to learn, grow, and succeed academically, socially and emotionally.”

In addition to school-level budget investments, the financial commitments include additional centrally-funded resources for all schools, as well as targeted funding supporting lower-enrollment schools and schools with the greatest needs. Highlights include $72 million in teaching positions to support all schools in meeting the instructional core priorities and $45 million to expand schools’ capacity to advance practices connected to the instructional core focus areas. New for the 2022-23 school year, the District is providing two additional days of professional development.

The school budgets going to principals today emphasize the District’s commitment to strengthen academic student progress by providing resources at the school level to prioritize class size considerations and limit split-grade classes, support through dedicated intervention teachers, and a well-rounded education with access to the arts for all elementary students. Investments also reflect a commitment to systems of support for students’ social and emotional development including the continuation of some pandemic-related investments made in the past year through federal funds with initiatives that cover targeted investments in tutoring, summer school programming, after school programs, student technology devices, and Skyline, the District’s digital curriculum.

“As I prepare my first budget as CEO for a school district where I was once a bilingual student, I want to ensure we are putting teaching and learning first,” said CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. “Principals, teachers and school staff members have worked so hard supporting students and families and building relationships amid the challenges we have faced together. This year’s school budgets prioritize support for core instruction to improve the classroom experience and set a new standard of excellence.”

For the third year, CPS hosted school funding public forums where participants voiced priorities, including a focus on foundational skills and interventions to support unfinished learning as a result of the pandemic, social and emotional learning supports and adequate staffing. CPS principals echoed those priorities with calls for additional instructional coaches, intervention experts, and more professional development to support quality classroom instruction and students’ academic progress. 

Principals specifically voiced a strong call to prioritize engaging core instruction coupled with comprehensive academic and social-emotional learning supports to ensure students meet and exceed grade-level learning standards and have opportunities for collaboration and teamwork from pre-K through graduation with strong early childhood and literacy initiatives to college and career readiness programming, including dual credit and certification programs that help students build their pathways from education to careers. 

The District strives to ensure students graduate as real-world-problem-solvers with strong communication skills, the ability to collaborate and apply their knowledge across multiple fields. All CPS graduates are expected to graduate with a post-high school plan, part of goal-setting lessons for college, careers, and life. 

More than $290 Million of Investments to Support School Needs

The School Year 2022-23 budgets include more than $290 million of investments, which includes the above-referenced $72 million to fund teacher positions across all schools based on school size and the District’s Opportunity Index, and $45 million to build instructional capacity at schools.

“Students must experience core instruction that is responsive to and sustaining of who they are and what they bring, and empowers them to connect, imagine, and collaborate to shape the world,” said Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova. “Our students must not only learn to obtain and retain information but to apply it in an ethical and meaningful way.”

The Opportunity Index uses indicators to analyze differences in access to opportunity structures in order to ensure those most impacted by inequity have strong, vibrant and healthy school communities. A multidimensional analytical tool for identifying barriers to opportunity - including race, socioeconomic status, education, health and community factors - and conditions that can be used to identify and advance a more equitable future state.

The District will continue to drive a systemwide focus on equity - making sure the different needs of students are identified and funded, and that programs are accessible to all. This includes increasing targeted investments aligned to school needs, including:

• $50 million to ensure small declining-enrollment schools have resources to cover priority investments, an increase of $14 million from FY2022 small school allocations
• $6 million to add 53 school counselors to further bolster the 64 counselors added in FY2022
• $5 million to provide stability at schools with the largest enrollment losses
• $3 million increase to bilingual education funding for teachers, Dual Language Program Coordinators, and Bilingual Advisory Councils
• $2 million for 23 new positions to support Students in Temporary Living Situations, which builds on 20 positions allocated to schools in FY2022

“The changes we’ve made this year will have a significant impact on our schools by directing more resources to high-needs schools and providing greater support to our school leaders and teachers,” said Board of Education President Miguel del Valle. “The dramatic expansion of our centrally-funded resources and equity initiatives is a direct result of the feedback we received.”

$10 Million to Support Early Childhood Learning

To continue the City’s multi-year commitment to establish free, full-day Pre-K at four years old as the District’s grade of entry, CPS is increasing its early childhood budget by $10 million from last year to support Pre-K classrooms with an emphasis on ensuring the District is serving more diverse learners and providing resources for schools to add enrichment activities, resources, and/or positions.

Access to high-quality Pre-K is one of the strongest predictors of a student’s long-term achievement, and our continued expansion of free, full-day Pre-K will positively impact Chicago’s students for generations. The District aims to serve four-year-olds in all 77 Chicago communities by Fall 2023.

$50 Million Allocated for SY2023 Summer and Out-of-School Programming

The District will provide additional resources to schools for summer school programming to ensure that all schools are able to offer programming appropriate to their community needs and staffing capacity. These are comprised of three types of summer programming:

• Central summer school programs, such as the Extended School Year (ESY) for diverse learners, the Bridge program to support students with failing grades as well as a high school credit recovery program.
• Optional but targeted local programming based on individual school-level interest and staffing capacity for transition year programs such as “Kick-off-to-Kindergarten,” and “Freshman Connection,” for rising 9th graders, as well programs focused on specific subjects.
• A summer school program designed at the local level can be submitted for District review, approval and funding.

The District expects to spend $30 million to cover the costs of summer programming. In addition, the District will support up to $20 million in school-based before- and after-school programming. These resources will be provided on top of the allocations schools are receiving in their initial SY2023 budgets.

Support for Cost of Living Increases, Continued Investments in Strategic Priorities

Included as part of the school budgets are funds to keep labor costs in line with cost-of-living adjustments with a 3.5 percent increase to Student-Based Budgeting rates to match teacher cost -of-living adjustments and a 3.5 percent increase in Supplemental Aid and Title I rates.

The investments and commitments reflected in school budgets and materials shared with school leaders today also include the following:

• $39 million in additional funding for Diverse Learners to advance equity and meet student needs
• $21 million to increase nurses, social workers, and case manager staffing to an all-time high
• $7 million to support athletics, including funding for full-time athletic directors at over half the District’s high schools
• Over $15 million growth in funding for the District’s charter and contract schools
• Continued centrally-funded support for professional development, teacher devices, and materials for schools implementing Skyline, the District's online curriculum
• Continued centrally-funded student devices for all schools
• Continued funding for the District’s Tutor Corps program launched in SY2022
• Programming that supports college and career readiness, include Career and Technical Education, STEM, International Baccalaureate, and more.

The District’s capital budget and overall SY2023 District budget will be released later this year.

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