A Harsh Reality: Deficit Pain Hits Chicago’s Schools
An ordinary Friday brought extraordinary tidings for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) staff. More than 160 employees, primarily from central office, network offices, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 73, received pink slips—part of an urgent response to a staggering $734 million budget deficit. Even more positions vanished on paper, with over 200 vacant roles eliminated in a desperate effort to keep the financial wheels of Illinois’ largest school district turning.
The ripple effects extend far beyond bureaucratic shuffles. For many Chicagoans, the idea that a city—regarded as a beacon of Midwestern resilience and diversity—cannot fund its own public schools is both infuriating and heartbreaking. While no classroom-based staff have been cut—for now—insiders warn these layoffs are the tip of the iceberg. District officials have signaled that additional cuts, potentially including teachers and school-based support, could arrive in July if the shortfall persists or worsens.
How did the deficit balloon out of control so quickly? New interim CEO Macquline King inherited a problem her predecessor, Pedro Martinez, had pegged at $529 million. In just months, costs spiraled. Economic inflation, pandemic-era learning recovery expenses, and the end of COVID relief aid combined into a fiscal perfect storm. The result: a 15% cut to crossing guard staff—individuals who literally keep children safe en route to their education each day. The symbolism here stings almost as much as the impact.
The Human Toll: Workers and Communities at Risk
Behind each layoff is a human story. SEIU Local 73, which represents over 11,000 CPS support staff—ranging from special education classroom assistants to custodians, bus aides, security officers, and parent liaisons—emphasized that these are not superfluous jobs. These are the people who create safe, accessible learning environments. President Dian Palmer minced no words: “These workers are essential…their absence will be felt in every corner of our city.”
The Chicago Teachers Union, never shy about sounding the alarm, urged the district to pursue dramatic alternatives—loans, additional state funding, and the long-contentious Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds. The CTU’s warnings aren’t without historical precedent. The last time mass layoffs hit CPS, classroom conditions deteriorated and staff morale plunged. And while the district claims these initial cuts avoid direct impact to schools, everyone from union leaders to parents fears a slow slide toward deeper, more damaging reductions.
The relationship between fiscal choices and student opportunity is impossible to ignore. When custodians are cut, buildings suffer. When fewer crossing guards patrol intersections, safety is compromised. These are not theoretical losses—they are real, measurable setbacks for thousands of families. According to a 2023 report from the Learning Policy Institute, every $1,000 reduction in per-pupil spending correlates with significant drops in student achievement, especially in low-income districts like CPS.
“Laying off classroom and support staff doesn’t trim fat—it cuts directly into the muscle of our public education system.”
Beyond that, union advocates point to decades of chronic underfunding from Springfield as the deeper culprit. Illinois, a state separated into wealthy, well-funded districts and those perennially left behind, has long failed to achieve true educational equity. As Harvard education policy expert Dr. Trent Alexander put it, “You can’t solve multigenerational gaps with austerity. It never works—and the costs multiply for society down the line.”
Finding a Way Forward: Reckoning With Policy Choices
A closer look reveals that Chicago’s immediate crisis is rooted in a pattern playing out across America’s largest cities. Progressive values demand that education be treated as a public good—never a budgetary afterthought. Yet for years, policymakers have pitted essential services against one another in the zero-sum game of city budgeting. The latest layoffs are just an especially visible flashpoint in a long-term battle over what we value, and for whom.
What options remain for a district already “doing more with less”? Both the CTU and SEIU have called for a fundamental rethinking. They want Illinois lawmakers to address the funding formula that routinely shortchanges Chicago’s kids. Some advocates, including Mayor Brandon Johnson’s supporters, argue the time is ripe to tap into the city’s TIF reserves—money that’s often directed away from schools and into pet development projects. Yet these solutions face political headwinds, not least from conservative lawmakers who insist on belt-tightening and “tough love.” Such approaches, history shows, rarely produce the equity or results they promise. As historian Diane Ravitch noted of past waves of urban school austerity, “Cuts masquerading as reforms have only widened achievement gaps and worsened segregation.”
Every budget is a statement of priorities. If protecting students and workers is at the margins, the district, city, and state must be held accountable. Funding public education is the surest investment in Chicago’s long-term health, racial justice, and economic stability. The specter of layoffs—especially for the lowest-paid, most indispensable staff—should force every policymaker, voter, and taxpayer to ask: Are we really doing right by our city’s children?
As the summer unfolds, tough decisions loom large. Will Springfield finally muster the will to reform school funding? Will City Hall unlock financial reserves in time to prevent classroom cuts? Or will this round of layoffs prove to be the beginning of another lost decade for Chicago’s public schools? At stake is nothing less than the future of a city that has too often treated educational justice as an optional extra.
