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City of Chicago School District 299 public hearing, Jul 20, 2026

3 h 53 min · 2 videos · 20 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 3 h 53 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Part 1 · 1 h 26 min

Chicago board holds second hearing on proposed $9.88 billion FY27 budget 2:07

  • The board held its second FY27 budget hearing, where a district presenter outlined a proposed $9.88 billion budget and a deficit of over $732 million. 2:07
  • Speakers at public comment raised layoffs, furlough days and special education staffing, and some asked the board to seek more state and county funding. 12:03
  • The presenter said the budget would be presented for approval at the July 30 board meeting. 36:11
  • Board members asked about a $400 million TIF surplus, IGA agreements once funded by the city and whether the TANs and the budget have to be passed in tandem. 1:05:13
Item by item (12)
  1. Opening announcements and hearing notice 0:03
    • A staff member announced translation services and said the next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 30th, 2026 at 10:30 AM. 0:22
    • The assistant secretary read the public notice for the hearing into the record and stated that notice was published and posted on July 15, 2026. 2:54
  2. Public participation rules 7:55
    • The vice president said public participation is a time for the board and senior leadership to listen rather than for dialogue. 7:55
    • The assistant secretary said speakers would have a 2-minute timer and that written comments could be submitted through the board's website. 10:36
  3. Public comment on the budget 9:47
    • Union representatives speaking at public comment raised staff layoffs and furlough days, and one called for the city to match last year's TIF funding. 12:03
    • Several speakers at public comment said special education and other teaching positions had been eliminated and asked the board to vote the budget down or seek more state and county funding. 20:55
    • Other speakers at public comment suggested alternatives to layoffs, raised spending on classroom technology and asked that school-level budgets remain intact. 25:47
  4. FY27 budget presentation 33:06
    • A district presenter said the proposed budget includes $600 million for capital, $794 million for debt service and $8.48 billion for operations. 33:33
    • The presenter said structural reductions were not enough, so the budget assumes $200 million in TIF surplus, 5 furlough days and a mid-year spending freeze projected to save about $112 million. 53:43
    • The presenter said the district's $1.25 billion in borrowing capacity will be exhausted in August and that without new borrowing authority CPS will not make payroll in September. 55:24
  5. Costs tied to immigration enforcement 57:32
    • A board member asked about the financial impact of measures to protect students and families in response to increased immigration enforcement. 57:53
    • A district staff member said the budget adds mobile safety and security support, and the superintendent said the district added $1.5 million for Safe Passage last year. 58:52
  6. Social-emotional learning and counseling reductions 1:01:48
    • A board member asked about the impact of a 37% decrease for the social and emotional learning department and a 28.5% decrease for school counseling and post-secondary advising. 1:01:48
    • A district staff member said teams reviewed programs for effectiveness and participation, and that some reductions involve expiring grants. 1:02:33
  7. City-funded IGA agreements 1:05:11
    • A board member said several IGA programs once funded by the city no longer are and called for pressure on City Council to fund them. 1:05:13
    • A district staff member said about 7 IGAs had historically been funded and that Safe Haven would be funded with local money at a smaller amount. 1:06:28
  8. Timing of budget approval 1:07:35
    • A board member asked what impact not passing a budget on July 30th would have on the start of the school year. 1:07:38
    • A district staff member said the district would not have enough time to secure borrowing needed to make payroll in the first week of September. 1:07:58
  9. Link between budget, tax levy and borrowing 1:11:26
    • A board member asked whether the borrowing and the budget have to be passed in tandem. 1:11:32
    • A district finance official said they do, because lenders rely on the tax levy, which the budget validates. 1:13:11
  10. TIF surplus revenue 1:15:18
    • A board member asked whether a $400 million TIF surplus would avoid furloughs and a mid-year freeze, and a district finance official said that was correct. 1:15:20
    • The finance official said TIF districts take in between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion a year and could be over a $3.5 billion balance. 1:16:19
  11. State funding responsibility 1:18:11
    • The board member called for the board, district staff and partners to press the governor and legislature for funding. 1:18:14
    • A board member asked why the board keeps placing responsibility for the budget on the city when it is the legal responsibility of the state. 1:18:34
  12. District leadership response and close 1:21:24
    • A district leader said the district has been sharing its budget needs with legislators and that parents want stability. 1:21:24
    • The district leader said the district has 1,700 vacancies and is reallocating resources to student needs. 1:21:24

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

Part 2 · 2 h 28 min

Chicago school board holds first hearing on proposed $9.88 billion FY27 budget 1:59

  • The board held its first public hearing on the proposed FY27 budget, which a budget officer said totals $9.88 billion. 1:59
  • Several speakers at public comment raised cuts to special education, librarian and classroom teaching positions and called for more state funding. 17:21
  • The budget officer said the plan closes a deficit that began at $732 million in part through 5 furlough days, a larger TIF surplus assumption and a mid-year spending freeze. 49:53
  • A staff member said the budget would be presented to the board for approval on July 30th and that without an approved budget the district would be in danger of not making payroll in September. 1:11:28
Item by item (6)
  1. Opening and hearing notice 0:01
    • An announcement said the next board meeting was scheduled for Thursday, July 30th, 2026, at 10:30 AM. 0:01
    • A staff member said notice of the hearing was published and posted on July 15, 2026. 2:39
    • The staff member said written comments on the FY27 budget could be submitted by July 21st, 2026. 2:39
  2. Public comment on the budget 8:14
    • Speakers at public comment raised layoffs and furlough days and asked how students with disabilities would receive services with fewer special education teachers. 10:02
    • Several speakers called for state lawmakers to hold a special session and for the county to release property tax money owed to the district. 17:21
    • Speakers also raised the loss of librarians, electives and arts programs and asked the board to vote no on the budget as it stands. 25:06
  3. Proposed FY27 budget presentation 49:19
    • The acting chief budget officer said the proposed budget totals $9.88 billion, compared with an FY26 budget of $10.25 billion. 49:53
    • The budget officer said structural and other strategies reduced the deficit to $297.6 million, which was closed by assuming $200 million in TIF surplus, adding 5 furlough days and a mid-year spending freeze. 49:53
    • A staff member said the district's $1.25 billion in borrowing capacity will be exhausted in August. 1:10:23
  4. Board questions on borrowing and deficit measures 1:12:23
    • A staff member said the furlough days would yield $85 million in savings and the spending freeze with contractual savings about $112 million. 1:13:29
    • A staff member said a total TIF surplus assumption of about $400 million would be needed to avoid those measures. 1:14:21
    • One speaker raised taking a TAN loan on the EBF, and another speaker said the budget includes approving the ability to borrow up to $1.65 billion. 1:50:28
  5. Questions on staffing and program costs 1:58:28
    • A speaker asked for a breakdown of custodial staffing, and another speaker said that if it was not in the budget book, the information would be found and provided as a follow-up. 1:58:30
    • A speaker said OST funding is going down to eight million this year, consistent with pre-pandemic funding levels. 2:00:21
  6. State funding, TIF and grants 2:02:15
    • A speaker said 26% of the FY27 budget comes from the state of Illinois and 64% from local property taxes. 2:03:06
    • A speaker asked about an update on outreach to city council and state legislators, and another speaker said that could be followed up on. 2:04:26
    • A staff member said the district has gone from 81% to 73% of state adequacy targets. 2:23:38

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Chicago Board of Education July 20, 2026 (Budget Public Hearings)”