CPS shortfall of $500 million from last year hangs over current budget woes

Chicago Public Schools faced a shortfall in its operations budget of roughly $500 million at the close of its past fiscal year, leaving the financially troubled district with a significant bill to cover even as it struggles to balance this year's spending plan.

The budget shortfall was reported in a recently issued financial postmortem for 2016 that also repeated a long-held conclusion: CPS either needs an infusion of new money or will have to make major cuts if it is to keep operating as it has been.

CPS has faced budget gaps for years, but has been able to cover them partly by dipping into cash reserves and tapping costly lines of short-term credit for cash to pay the bills. Those strategies are beginning to reach their limit, district officials acknowledge.

That means CPS faces a narrowing range of options, according to Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability.

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