By Jennifer Keiper, WLS-AM 890 News
(CHICAGO) Chicago Public Schools, which is already suing Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois State Board of Education over school funding, is now threatening to end the school year three weeks early.
CPS is faced with a huge deficit and an upcoming teacher pension payment. CEO Forrest Claypool says drastic measures will have to be taken if they don’t get money from Springfield. One of those measures would be pushing up the June 20 school year end date to June 1st.
“The next round of cuts will almost certainly require more pain and more days cut from the school year. There’s no question that ending school early is our worst case scenario. I want to be crystal clear: We believe that it is possible to avoid ending the school year early, but only if Springfield acts or if Judge Valderama enjoins the state from distributing funding in a racially discriminatory manner,” Claypool said.
CPS has asked a Cook County judge to fast-track it’s civil right suits, which it filed earlier this month. It alleges that the state’s school funding formula discriminates against CPS students who are predominantly black and Latino. They’re seeking a preliminary injunction barring the state from disbursing education funding until it adequately funds the state’s largest school district.
Illinois Education Secretary, Beth Purvis, says now is the time for CEO Claypool to engage in a constructive process to that would help schools across the state.
