Chicago Teachers Union goes to the Capitol, says state is shortchanging CPS
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Members of the Chicago Teacher’s Union came to Springfield Wednesday to lobby for more money for Chicago Public Schools.
They said the state owes Chicago Public Schools $1 billion. That number comes from the amount of money the state’s evidence-based funding formula says the district needs to be “fully funded.”
The Evidence-Based Funding formula disperses money based on how far away a school is from its adequacy target, or how much money it needs to be adequately funded. If the school is further away from that benchmark, then it will get a bigger cut of the state’s allocated education funding.
The demand comes as lawmakers are in the final two weeks of negotiating a budget. The governor proposed only a $350 million increase to K-12 schools across all of Illinois during his February budget proposal. That is the amount the state agreed to ramp up spending by each year when the Evidence-Based Funding Formula was first passed.
Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson first claimed the state owed CPS $1 billion last week prior to visiting Springfield.
Chicago mayor’s bumpy first year tests progressive credentials, puzzling some supporters
Pritzker’s office defended its record of sticking to the funding ramp. They released information showing that funding for CPS from the state has increased by 14 percent since he has been in office. Chicago Public Schools also went from a Tier 1 to a Tier 2 School District under the formula, showing a significant improvement toward that fully funded mark.
Senate Republicans criticized the Chicago Teacher’s Union this week. They called the lobbying day a “taxpayer-funded paid vacation” since it took place on a school day.
“It flies in the face of a taxpayer when they say we are paying for the teacher’s union to have the day off and advocate in Springfield,” Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said.
ISBE to fund $3 million for computer education
But the Chicago Teacher’s Union pushed back on that, saying their calls will help the students the most.
“We came down here because it is disrupting our schools,” Eric Waller, a member of the Chicago Teacher’s Union said. “We are all from different schools. This is not some figment of our imagination. So yeah we are going to take that one day to come down here and advocate for our children, because they deserve it.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
