CPS to spend an additional $200 per student for the 2017-18 school year

Cash-strapped and debt-ridden Chicago Public Schools plans to increase per-pupil funding by roughly $200 a student over last year’s budget.

Chicago Public Schools revealed July 20 that the district’s spending per pupil will increase by nearly $200 a student, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Officials also shared that the district expects 8,000 fewer students in the coming academic year. The district’s student population has steadily declined over the last several years.

CPS will increase its base allocation per student to $4,290 from $4,087 for students in grades four through eight, and will increase its per-student allocation to $4,590 from $4,372 for children in kindergarten through third grade. The district will allocate $5,320 for each high school student, according to the Sun-Times.

The increase announcement comes amid negotiations in Springfield over Senate Bill 1, an education bill that would require Illinois to adopt a funding system that’s been proven ineffective in other states and contains an annual $215 million pension bailout.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has said he will veto SB 1.

CPS is currently counting on a bailout from the state to cover mounting pension debt and costs for opening schools on time come September.

Recently, the district borrowed nearly $1 billion in high-interest loans to cover costs before the school year begins.

CPS has a history of financial mismanagement, which has left the district with a junk credit rating and more than $9 billion in debt.