The Chicago Board of Education is scheduled to vote Thursday, July 30, 2026, on a proposed $9.96 billion budget for the 2026-2027 school year. The plan closes a $732.5 million deficit by cutting nearly 1,000 core instructional positions, including English, math, and art teachers. A WBEZ analysis of school-level budget data released by the district shows that high schools with predominantly Latino student populations are losing the most regular classroom teachers, with 158 teachers cut, or 7 percent of their teaching staff.
The deficit is driven partly by structural trends. CPS has 45,000 fewer students than in 2019, according to WTTW News, but added nearly 10,000 staff positions over the same period, many funded by federal COVID relief that has since expired. The district's existing debt totals more than $9 billion, costing over $900 million annually.
Budget details and cost-saving measures
The budget closes the gap with $330 million in structural deficit reduction, a $200 million TIF surplus assumption from the City of Chicago, five furlough days for all CPS employees saving $85 million, and a districtwide mid-year spending and hiring freeze saving $112.6 million, according to The Bond Buyer. CPS warned the board that without the budget passed, the district would be unable to make payroll in September, as its $1.25 billion borrowing authorization for tax anticipation notes will be exhausted in August and there would not be enough time for lenders to extend new financing.
Disparate impact on Latino high schools
Two factors explain why Latino high schools experienced the deepest cuts, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The district increased the student-to-teacher ratio used in its funding formula by one student for every grade band. For example, high-poverty elementary schools will now have one teacher for every 23 students, up from one for every 22. At the same time, many predominantly Latino high schools have seen enrollments decrease. Kelly High School lost five teacher positions plus two interventionists after its enrollment dropped by about 100 students.
Overall, there are about 4 percent fewer teachers across all CPS schools under the proposed budget, not counting special education teachers. The district capped teacher losses at no more than four per elementary school and six per high school, but changes at individual schools range from a single part-time position to 16. The budget increases overall funding to schools by $143 million over last year and adds hundreds of new special education positions. More than 200 schools will have more staff positions, driven mainly by those new special education roles, while roughly 270 schools will have fewer staff than in the prior year, according to Chalkbeat.
Comparative precedent: Shift from non-instructional to classroom cuts
The current budget marks a shift in the types of positions eliminated. In the prior fiscal year, the board approved a $10.2 billion FY2026 budget on August 28, 2025, closing a $734 million deficit primarily through cuts to non-instructional staff: 500 custodians, 100 crossing guards, and 250 lunchroom workers. That budget rejected a high-interest loan and did not guarantee a $175 million pension payment to the city, according to Chalkbeat. By contrast, the FY2027 budget directly targets classroom teaching positions.
Two years ago, CPS switched from a student-based budgeting model to a needs-based position allocation model that assigns each school an Opportunity Index score based on factors including low-income student population and area life expectancy. In the first year of that model, FY2025, at least 150 schools had fewer staff positions, and 68 percent of schools lost at least one full-time staff member when comparing proposed budgets to prior-year staffing, according to Chalkbeat. The district had denied multiple open records requests for school-by-school budget data before releasing it.
In June 2025, CPS laid off 161 central office and citywide employees while facing the $734 million deficit. In July 2026, it laid off 162 central office employees, saving about $18 million, according to the Chicago Morning Star. The affected departments included the Talent Office, Information Technology Services, the Department of Principal Quality, and the Office of School Counseling.