Dear CPS Families, Colleagues, and Supporters,
As the Superintendent/CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS), my goal is to shape a system that provides every child from every neighborhood with a rigorous, joyful, and equitable daily learning experience. This goal is at the core of Together We Rise, our District’s five-year strategic plan, and our annual operating budget is the blueprint for the implementation of that plan.
The FY2027 budget, which totals $9.88 billion, is rooted in equity, transparency, and student-centered decision making. It follows the revised funding model introduced by CPS at the start of the 2023-24 school year, which provides resources to schools based primarily on student need. This budget also increases the overall funding provided to schools by $143 million over last year, and includes additional funding aimed at ensuring our students with disabilities have the resources they need to achieve their full potential and find their rightful presence at school. Importantly, the FY2027 budget also avoids adding to our District’s existing debt, which currently totals more than $9 billion. This debt burden costs our school communities in excess of $900 million each year - money that would be much better spent supporting students in their classrooms.
Like many school districts across the country, CPS is grappling with a host of financial challenges, including declining enrollment, declining revenue, and greater student need. While our highest-need student populations continue to grow, federal and state funding are not keeping up with their needs. CPS is also facing higher costs in several key areas, including labor contracts, employee pensions, and maintaining our aging facilities that are an average of 86-years-old.
All of these factors contributed to the budget deficit of $732.5 million that CPS needed to close as a part of the FY2027 budget. We began as we always do, by rigorously identifying efficiencies and reducing spending across our Central Office and citywide departments in an effort to keep cuts as far from our classrooms as possible. Our next step was to make some modest changes to the positions allocated to our schools, including slightly adjusting the student-to-teacher ratio and the number of assistant principal positions allocated to our smallest schools.
Even after this work was complete, a budget gap of $297.6 million remained. The FY2027 budget includes these additional measures to close that remaining deficit:
- An assumption of $200 million in surplus Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds from the City of Chicago
- Five furlough days for all CPS employees that WILL NOT reduce instructional time for students
- Mid-year reductions to non-personnel budgets, including a Districtwide mid-year spending freeze
Implementing furlough days for staff is an absolute last resort, and we hope that additional revenue provided by our local, city, and/or state partners will avoid CPS needing to take this step.
I want to thank the hundreds of students, parents, educators, and community partners who participated in our robust community engagement effort around the FY2027 budget. We will need everyone to keep making their voices heard moving forward, especially as we continue collaborating with our state and local partners around identifying new sources of revenue to support CPS schools.
More revenue is needed to secure long-term financial stability for our District, beginning with our partners at the State of Illinois. According to Illinois’ own Evidence-Based Funding (EBF) formula, CPS is currently receiving just 73% of the funding needed to adequately support our schools. This is down from 79% in FY2025 and 81% the year prior, marking a troubling eight point decline in state funding in just the past three years.
With support from our students, families, educators, and labor partners, CPS will continue advocating for the equitable state funding our students deserve. We will also continue partnering with the City of Chicago, and with our community and philanthropic partners, to leverage every dollar possible to support our students' continued success.
I thank all of our District’s stakeholders for your partnership in shaping our FY2027 budget, and for your continued support as we work toward our shared mission of providing every child from every community in Chicago with the high-quality education they deserve.
Sincerely,
Dr. Macquline King
Superintendent/CEO
Chicago Public Schools
Public Hearings on Proposed FY2027 Budget
Monday, July 20, 2026
Budget Hearing
Hearing time: 1:00PM – 2:30PM
Where:
Chicago Public Schools Loop Office
Board Room, Garden Level
42 W. Madison St.
Chicago, Illinois 60602
CPS staff, families, and community members are invited to attend this public hearing discussing the District's proposed 2027 fiscal year budget.
For these two Public Hearings, advance registration to speak will begin on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and will close on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 5:00 pm.
Anyone interested in speaking can sign up. After the 24-hour registration period, a lottery will randomly select a set number of speakers from those who registered. For example, if 100 people register, the lottery might select 15 of them to speak.
To ensure equity of access to address the Board, an individual may not speak at back-to-back meetings and more than one meeting per month.
Advance registration during this period is available by the following methods:
• Online: www.cpsboe.org (recommended)
• Phone: (773) 553-1600
Members of the public may submit written comments related to the FY27 Tentative Budget via the Written Comments Form on the Board’s website at www.cpsboe.org or mailed to 42 W. Madison Street, Garden Level by 5:00 pm July 21, 2026.
Monday, July 20, 2026
Budget Hearing
Hearing time: 4:30PM – 6:00PM
Where:
Chicago Public Schools Loop Office
Board Room, Garden Level
42 W. Madison St.
Chicago, Illinois 60602
CPS staff, families, and community members are invited to attend this public hearing discussing the District's proposed 2027 fiscal year budget.
For these two Public Hearings, advance registration to speak will begin on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and will close on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 5:00 pm.
Anyone interested in speaking can sign up. After the 24-hour registration period, a lottery will randomly select a set number of speakers from those who registered. For example, if 100 people register, the lottery might select 15 of them to speak.
To ensure equity of access to address the Board, an individual may not speak at back-to-back meetings and more than one meeting per month.
Advance registration during this period is available by the following methods:
• Online: www.cpsboe.org (recommended)
• Phone: (773) 553-1600
Members of the public may submit written comments related to the FY27 Tentative Budget via the Written Comments Form on the Board’s website at www.cpsboe.org or mailed to 42 W. Madison Street, Garden Level by 5:00 pm July 21, 2026.
Public Hearings on Proposed FY2027 Capital Plan
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Capital Plan Hearing
Hearing time: 12:00PM – 1:30PM
CPS staff, families, and community members are invited to attend this virtual hearing regarding the District's 2027 fiscal year Capital Plan.
Where: Members of the public can view this hearing via our YouTube channel during the time listed above at youtube.com/chipubschools
Advanced online registration to speak opens Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and will close on Friday, July 17, 2026 at 5:00 pm or after all 30 speaking slots are filled.
Advance registration during this period is available by the following methods:
• Online: Registration Form (recommended)
• Phone: 773-553-1190
Members of the public may submit written comments related to the FY27 Proposed Capital Plan via the form below. The public comment form will remain open from Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and closes Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm.
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Capital Plan Hearing
Hearing time: 6:00PM – 7:30PM
CPS staff, families, and community members are invited to attend this virtual hearing regarding the District's 2027 fiscal year Capital Plan.
Where: Members of the public can view this hearing via our YouTube channel during the time listed above at youtube.com/chipubschools
Advanced online registration to speak opens Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and will close on Friday, July 17, 2026 at 5:00 pm or after all 30 speaking slots are filled.
Advance registration during this period is available by the following methods:
• Online: Registration Form (recommended)
• Phone: 773-553-1190
Members of the public may submit written comments related to the FY27 Proposed Capital Plan via the form below. The public comment form will remain open from Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and closes Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm.
Thursday, July 23, 2026
Capital Plan Hearing
Hearing time: 3:00PM – 4:30PM
CPS staff, families, and community members are invited to attend this virtual hearing regarding the District's 2027 fiscal year Capital Plan.
Where: Members of the public can view this hearing via our YouTube channel during the time listed above at youtube.com/chipubschools
Advanced online registration to speak opens Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and will close on Friday, July 17, 2026 at 5:00 pm or after all 30 speaking slots are filled.
Advance registration during this period is available by the following methods:
• Online: Registration Form (recommended)
• Phone: 773-553-1190
Members of the public may submit written comments related to the FY27 Proposed Capital Plan via the form below. The public comment form will remain open from Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 5:00 pm and closes Thursday, July 23, 2026 at 7:30 pm.