Chicago Public Schools needs $1.6 billion more from the state to provide an adequate education, records show

Chicago Public Schools needs about $1.6 billion more in state funding to provide an adequate education to students, according to state information released late Friday. That gap is about $400 million more than it was last year.

Adequacy is determined by assessing what school districts need based on the state’s evidence-based funding formula, which considers factors like how many teachers or counselors schools should have.

CPS is one of more than 300 under-funded districts that is getting a smaller percentage of what it needs compared to just a year ago. State law calls for all schools to be funded to at least 90% of adequacy by 2027, but the Center on Tax and Budget Accountability says that at the current rate the state is funding education, it will take until at least 2034 to reach that level.

For CPS, the percent toward adequacy dropped from 79% to 73%. Statewide, the average percent toward adequacy decreased slightly — by about half a percentage point — to 76.6%. The state points to a significant decrease in revenue from a state tax on corporations, as well as “rising education costs,” such as inflation and cost-of-living raises, for the drop in adequacy.

The release comes as Chicago school board members and the Chicago Teachers Union ramp up calls for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to convene a special session of the General Assembly to find more money for CPS and other school districts.

Meanwhile, CPS is grappling with a $734 million budget deficit and has yet to approve a budget for the coming school year. By law, a balanced budget must be presented next week so that required hearings can take place before the budget is approved at the end of August.

In terms of adequacy levels, the state has once again categorized CPS in Tier 1 — among the districts furthest from adequacy — a position the district shed just two years ago. But the upside of being in this category is that it gets more of the state’s pot of money for education. As a result, CPS will get $76 million more this year than it got last year.

The district has yet to release its budget for the coming school year, which would include revenue projections. But last year CPS received a $23 million increase through the state funding formula. If CPS officials were planning for the same amount this fiscal year, then this news of a $76 million increase could help reduce the deficit.

CPS officials did not immediately comment on this announcement.

Pavlyn Jankov, research director with the Chicago Teachers Union, said the magnitude of the widening gap in adequacy for CPS is “surprising.”

“CPS is disproportionately experiencing the increasing adequacy gap,” he said, noting the adequacy gap for all Illinois districts increased by $600 million, and two-thirds of that was CPS.

Jankov said it makes the case that the school district needs more state funding. He pointed out that last Thursday the state held a hearing on Chicago school funding where some lawmakers questioned whether the city public schools really needed more money.

Jankov said the steep drop in revenue this year from the state Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax, after an increase between 2022 and 2024, shows that Illinois needs to rethink how it taxes businesses and the wealthy. The CPPRT generates revenue for local governments through a levy made against the net, taxable income of all Illinois businesses, according to a report by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a local nonprofit economic think tank.

The state implemented a new evidenced-based funding formula in 2018 that sets a definition of adequacy and determines how much school districts need to get there. Adequacy is determined by measuring how much a school district has compared to minimum ratios of students to core teachers, counselors and other central staff.

The state promised to put at least $350 million in new money into education each year and to focus that new money on districts that were furthest away from adequacy. Since then, that $350 million infusion has been consistent, though this year it was $301.8 million. The state says it was less because a particular grant, called the Property Tax Relief Grant, was paused.

When the new funding formula was put in place seven years ago, the average percent toward adequacy was 67%, 10 percentage points lower than today.

“We are grateful to Governor Pritzker and the General Assembly for their continued investment in students, teachers, and families, particularly at a time when federal funding is under threat. Illinois is standing by its commitment to public schools and to supporting strong communities,” said state Education Supt. Tony Sanders in a press release.

In the release, the state officials make the case that the new funding formula is accomplishing the goal of improving state funding and directing new money toward those districts with the “greatest need.”

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.