A
teacher facilitates online classes from an empty classroom at Dr.
Martin Luther King, Junior Academy of Social Justice in Englewood.
| Pat Nabong/Sun-Times file photo
The amount is more than double what district officials had
anticipated and would help pay for technology for remote learning,
air purifiers and cleaning supplies for soon-to-be-open classrooms
and new staff.
Chicago Public Schools officials are expecting to receive about
$720 million if President Donald Trump signs the coronavirus relief
package passed by Congress Monday, federal funding that would help
fill holes for the financially strapped district and support the
school system’s planned reopening in the new year.
But late Tuesday, Trump threatened to veto the package over what
he called “ridiculously low” direct checks of $600 to most
Americans, saying Congress should boost payments to $2,000. The
surprise move by the president put the fate of the relief package
in limbo.
CPS leaders would collectively breathe a sigh of relief if Trump
signs off after the district’s budget for this fiscal year had
assumed at least $343 million in federal funding, a risky
calculation that could end with more than double the anticipated
funds after a months-long stalemate in Congress.
“This crucial federal funding ensures our ability to support
the critical resources needed to reopen classrooms, expand access
to high-quality academic programming, employ record high numbers of
nurses and social workers, invest in social and emotional supports,
and provide additional resources to our highest-need schools,”
CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a statement earlier Tuesday.
“Black and Brown families in Chicago need the option to send
their children to school this academic year, and this funding
relief is essential to the safe and supportive learning
environments needed to mitigate learning loss and prevent long-term
harm.”
The $720 million figure is an estimate, with the exact number to
be calculated in the coming weeks if the president signs the bill,
officials said. Another $80 million would be sent to the city for
non-public schools, Jackson said.
In part, the funding would help pay for expenses over the past
few months, including technology for remote learning, air purifiers
and cleaning supplies for soon-to-be-open classrooms and newly
hired staff.
The new funding could also offset an anticipated $300 million in
revenue losses next year, officials said, including declines in
property tax revenues, teacher pension contribution growth and
stagnating state funding.
The federal dollars could in turn help fulfill obligations made
in the new Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiated last fall.
Those expenses include $17 million for additional nurses, social
workers and special education case managers; $80 million worth of
raises for CTU and SEIU Local 73 members; and $25 million for new
preschool programming.
