Tuesday, September 06, 2016

CPS begins new school year with same old problems

The Chicago Tribune reports:
A list of familiar pressures confront Chicago Public Schools as more than 300,000 students return to classrooms Tuesday.

For the second September in a row, there's no accord on a teachers' contract, and the Chicago Teachers Union is pushing the possibility of a strike as early as next month. School budgets are typically tight, and officials again are counting on money from Springfield to prevent another round of cuts.

The prospect of an October strike is only one of the challenges faced by Mayor Rahm Emanuel's school district.

Despite new sources of tax revenue and cuts to school budgets and other spending reductions, CPS was still forced to balance its budget on the promise of $215 million in state money that's contingent on a broad pension reform pact in Springfield. For its part, CTU is working to build public support for a walkout while continuing to push aldermen to approve more money for schools.
The struggles of Blue America.