Chicago Public Schools announced plans Wednesday, July 15, 2026, to lay off 760 teachers, 801 teacher aides and classroom assistants, and 162 central office and citywide employees as the district attempts to close a $732 million budget deficit for the 2026-27 school year.
The 1,723 layoffs are part of a proposed budget that also depends on five unpaid furlough days for employees, a districtwide midyear spending freeze and an assumed $200 million in surplus tax increment financing funds from the City of Chicago. The Chicago Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the spending plan July 30.
CPS officials said the furloughs and spending freeze would not begin until the second half of the school year, giving the district, unions and elected officials until the end of December to secure additional revenue. The five furlough days would fall on days when students are not scheduled to attend school, including professional development, planning or report card pickup days.
District officials estimated the furloughs would save about $85 million. The Chicago Teachers Union said the unpaid days could cost the average teacher about $2,300, or approximately 2.3 percent of annual salary. CPS has not imposed furloughs on employees in roughly a decade.
“These are all impacts that are disruptive to the education of our students, the learning experience, and ultimately the academic outcomes that we’re projecting for next year,” King said. She also said declining enrollment and growing student needs have collided with state and federal funding that has not kept pace.
The scale of the layoffs is particularly significant for Black Chicago. CPS enrolled 316,224 students during the 2025-26 school year, including 108,380 Black students. Black children made up 34.3 percent of district enrollment—more than one of every three CPS students—and many attend neighborhood schools on the South and West sides where families have long raised concerns about large classes, limited electives, insufficient counseling and uneven access to experienced educators.
CPS has not released a school-by-school racial analysis showing where the layoffs will fall, so it is not yet possible to conclude Black students will lose staff at a higher rate. Still, cuts affecting teachers, classroom assistants, librarians, restorative justice coordinators and special education personnel could be felt sharply in predominantly Black schools serving many high-need students.
District data show 71.8 percent of CPS students are economically disadvantaged and 17.3 percent have disabilities. Black students also represent 34.3 percent of enrollment but 20.7 percent of teachers, although Black employees account for 31.9 percent of all district staff.
The reductions arrive as CPS continues implementing its five-year Black Student Success Plan, which was created to address longstanding disparities in achievement, discipline, graduation, advanced coursework and college access. Removing trusted adults from schools could complicate that work, especially where students rely on classroom assistants, counselors, librarians and restorative justice staff for support beyond daily instruction.
CPS said it sought to protect classrooms by first reducing central office and citywide spending and changing staffing allocations. The district slightly increased student-to-teacher ratios used to determine foundational teaching positions and reduced assistant principal allocations at some of its smallest schools. CPS emphasized that those formula changes do not increase contractual class-size limits.
The district also said it would preserve most out-of-school-time programs, maintain existing numbers of crossing guards and continue Safe Passage and Safe Haven. It plans to hire additional bilingual and special education teachers, Special Education Classroom Assistants and related service providers, even as other employees receive layoff notices.
The Chicago Teachers Union rejected the budget and accused CPS and state leaders of balancing the district’s finances on the backs of students and educators. CTU President Stacy Davis Gates called the plan “dead on arrival” and said students already have endured overcrowded classrooms, unpaid coaches and overburdened caseworkers.
CTU said the layoffs could include restorative justice coordinators, librarians, bilingual teacher assistants, technology coordinators, athletic directors and special education employees. The union warned that unfilled vacancies and fewer support workers could lead to larger classes and reduced services. It has demanded bargaining over the layoffs and is urging Gov. JB Pritzker and state lawmakers to provide more money.
CPS said Illinois currently provides the district only 73 percent of what the state’s evidence-based funding formula considers adequate. The district also remains the only Illinois school system required to directly fund its teachers’ pensions. CPS has asked the state, city, Cook County and federal government to help close the remaining gap.
City assistance remains uncertain. The proposal assumes CPS will receive $200 million from surplus TIF funds, far less than the $576 million provided during the previous budget year. CPS officials said approximately $400 million in new revenue would be needed to avoid both the furloughs and the midyear spending freeze.
Families and employees may submit written comments through July 29. CPS will hold public hearings on the operating budget July 20, with capital budget hearings scheduled July 22 and July 23.
For Black families, the central question is not only how many positions will disappear on paper, but which adults will be missing when schools reopen. The answer will determine whether CPS can maintain services, protect smaller classes and fulfill its promises to improve outcomes for more than 108,000 Black students while navigating one of its most severe financial crises in years.