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Eugene

(62,648 posts)
Wed Feb 22, 2017, 06:24 PM Feb 2017

Revised Chicago school budget approved, $111 million gap remains

Source: Reuters

U.S. | Wed Feb 22, 2017 | 5:43pm EST

Revised Chicago school budget approved, $111 million gap remains

By Karen Pierog | CHICAGO

The Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday approved a revised budget that incorporates unpaid furlough days and other cost-cutting measures to save $104 million to help address a $215 million pension funding shortfall.

The $5.41 billion budget still has a $111 million hole to fill before the fiscal year ends on June 30. The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) will continue to pursue money from the state of Illinois to fill the gap, including through its recently filed lawsuit against the state, according to a school spokeswoman.

The nation's third-largest public school system sued Illinois last week, claiming the state's method of education funding discriminates against the district's largely black and Hispanic student body.

CPS is struggling with pension payments that will jump to $733 million this fiscal year from $676 million in fiscal 2016, as well as drained reserves and debt dependency. The fiscal woes have pushed its general obligation credit ratings deep into the junk category and led investors to demand fat yields for its debt.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-education-budget-idUSKBN1612WJ
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