CPS faces tough choices as Johnson proposes $240M borrowing plan: 'This is not our mess'
Johnson pressures CPS Board to make pension payment
The mayor is pushing hard for CPS to borrow more money.
CHICAGO - CPS has a math problem.
Mayor Brandon Johnson proposes that the school system borrow up to $240 million to fund the new teachers' contract and a $175 million retiree pension payment.
However, a recent report warns that this could lead to significant financial strain.
The backstory:
An impassioned Mayor Johnson criticized his rival, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, and urged the board to approve new short-term borrowing when they meet this Thursday.
"I need the City of Chicago, as you voted for me, to stand with me to ensure we don't have an individual or individuals that want to take this to a dark time in our city's history," said Johnson.
He emphasized multiple times that a new independent report from the consulting firm Baker Tilly would offer a roadmap for funding options.
The $35,000 report commissioned by the district concludes there are no easy solutions to funding both a new teachers' contract and the pension payment. It presents three possible options, noting that two—budget cuts, employee furloughs, and increasing TIF surplus funds—would be difficult to implement.
That leaves the tough choice of restructuring current debt. Board member Ellen Rosenfeld argues that CPS can afford either the new contract or the pension payment, but not both.
'CPS is a big math problem': Will CTU go on strike and what does that mean for Johnson?
Mayor Brandon johnson says the school system should borrow upwards of $240 million to help fund the new teachers contract and a $175 million retiree pension payment. But a new report says that would cause some major financial pain. Paris Schutz breaks it down.
"Fronting the pension and CPS contract would be financially irresponsible on behalf of the children and families of CPS," said elected board member Ellen Rosenfeld. "This is not our mess, it's on the city."
The report comes as CTU President Stacy Davis Gates intensifies the threat of a teachers' strike, sending a letter to CPS urging them to meet the union's demands to avoid a "protracted confrontation."
What's next:
The Board of Education is set for a vote on the budget amendment that could authorize the massive new borrowing this Thursday.
The Source: Paris Schutz reported on this story.