CPS officials will have no choice but to end school nearly three weeks early unless the state agrees to give the district more money — or a court orders it to do so, CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool said Monday afternoon.
“This is the worst-case scenario,” Claypool said of the plan to cancel 13 days of instruction. “We have very few good options left.”
Claypool declined to tell reporters when school district officials will make a final decision on whether the school year will end early.
Earlier this month, five families sued the state on behalf of CPS, claiming that the state has violated the civil rights of their children by giving Chicago schools less funding than other districts.
Claypool has repeatedly accused Gov. Bruce Rauner of supporting a “wrong and immoral” school-funding system that “cements racial discrimination that violates the civil rights of our children and threatens their very future.”
CPS will ask a judge to fast-track its lawsuit against the state, officials said.
Chicago’s students face “imminent and irreparable” harm, Claypool said.
“A judge must act when the politicians refuse,” Claypool said.
Illinois Education Secretary Beth Purvis said in a statement that Claypool should “engage in a constructive process to pass a balanced budget with changes that would help schools across the state, including those in Chicago.”
Ending the school year early would roll back Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s much-touted efforts to lengthen the school year. In 2012, his push to extend it by 10 days helped trigger a seven-day strike by the Chicago Teachers Union, along with a host of other issues.
Shannon Breymaier, a spokeswoman for Emanuel, said the longer school year boosted students’ test scores and the district’s graduation rate.
“CPS has been forced into an impossible situation because of Governor Rauner’s careless veto,” Breymaier said. “Our first choice, and the right choice, is to have Springfield equitably fund schools and teacher pensions, but while nothing is final and set in stone, CPS has to be forthright about its financial position and its options.”
A statement from the Chicago Teachers Union said the city should use money from Tax Increment Finance districts and institute a tax levied on corporations based on the number of employees.
“The mayor behaving as if he has zero solutions is incredibly irresponsible,” said CTU President Karen Lewis. “[Emanuel] needs to look at his wealthy friends and at the TIF money he has already collected to provide what our schools need.”