Mayor Brandon Johnson and top education officials are meeting Wednesday, ahead of a crucial Chicago Public Schools board meeting Thursday.
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and fired CPS CEO Pedro Martinez were seen walking into City Hall Wednesday afternoon.
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The goal is to try to bring all sides to the table ahead of a budget decision Thursday.
The city is asking the school district to make a $175 million payment to cover pensions.
Without the payment, the city’s budget would be unbalanced.
Johnson was joined by seven senior cabinet members, including his finance and budget directors Tuesday, to lay out options for CPS in its budget battle with the city: at issue is a $175 million pension payment for non-teacher employees at CPS.
The city already made the payment, and now is demanding CPS repay the money before the end of the month.
“We’re recommending a short-term borrowing to serve as a bridge to working out a more fulsome budget solution for CPS,” Chief Financial Officer Jill Jaworski said.
CPS is in the middle of a five-year plan to assume full responsibility for its employees pensions. During this time, the city is helping the cash-strapped district make those payments.
On Thursday, the Board will vote on an amended budget that calls for paying for teacher and principal contracts, but not making the pension payment, because it doesn’t have the money to do both.
“Well, look, there’s a responsibility the Board of Education has. They have to do both. They have to do both,” Johnson said.
In a report just completed for the Board of Education, a consultant offered numerous options.
Budget cuts were considered “highly challenging at best.”
And refinancing debt, the report warned, could result in “additional interest costs … and thus potential future budget shortfalls.”
The mayor criticized CPS CEO Pedro Martinez for not including the $175 million payment in the budget that was passed last August.
“The failure to do that is, is reprehensible,” Johnson said.
This is a developing story; check back with ABC7 Chicago for updates.
The video in the player above is from an earlier report.
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