Chicago Public Schools (CPS) released a budget for Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17), proposing a plan that puts the District on a path toward fiscal stability while protecting classrooms so Chicago’s students can continue their remarkable academic gains. For the first time in years, the District eliminated its practice of operational borrowing and balanced the budget in a way that lays out a roadmap for fiscal soundness in the years to come – giving families more certainty that their schools will remain strong. The FY17 budget reduces operational spending by more than $230 million compared to last year, even as major costs such as pensions and health care continue to climb. There are several important developments in this budget proposal that stabilize the District’s finances and improve on the FY16 budget:

• This budget includes a landmark “Equity Grant” from the State of Illinois, which acknowledges that the State needs to improve how it funds the education of students in poverty. This grant serves as an important first step as the state determines how to best reform education funding.
• Under this budget Chicagoans play a greater role in protecting classrooms, by restoring a property tax levy of $250 million for teachers’ pensions – ensuring that more funding remains in the classroom.
• This budget includes major administrative streamlining efforts – including nearly $200 million in cost-savings measures that have already been realized, with tens of millions more in projected savings – that reduce the District’s footprint and redirect limited funds toward the classrooms.