RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Chicago Public Schools students head back to school Monday after a summer in which layoffs and last-minute budget changes made it challenging for schools to staff up for the first day.
Many principals had planned to start the 2026-27 school year with fewer staff, but then the school board overhauled the budget , hoping to reverse many planned layoffs.
That won’t be enough to add back all the lost positions. But district officials say they’re now in the process of bringing back staff and placing them in schools.
There’s positives, too. District officials point to the addition of special education staff to support the rising number of CPS students with disabilities, and the expansion of dual language and world language programs that help students learn a language other than English.
And even with the staffing changes, the district has a low teacher vacancy rate, which likely means many laid-off teachers found new jobs within CPS.
There’s lots of other issues to watch this year , too, including whether the state or city will come through with the extra revenue that CPS is counting on, and how a fully elected school board will shape the direction of the district.
We’ll be updating this story throughout the day as we check in with students, parents, educators and Supt. Macquline King, who’s set to ring in the start of the school year at Leland Elementary School in Austin this morning.
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