CPS, City finance teams present options as board weighs $139M TIF surplus and MEABF reimbursement

Chicago — Chicago Public Schools finance staff and the City of Chicago presented the board with a short list of financial options on March 14 as members weighed whether to use a remaining $139 million in TIF surplus to cover labor costs and a reimbursement to the city for a portion of Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund (MEABF) costs.

Mike Sekowsky, chief of budget and grants management for CPS, told the board the FY25 proposed amendment would increase the district’s operating budget from $8.43 billion to about $8.57 billion by adding the remaining $139 million of the $298 million TIF surplus the city appropriated in its December budget. The board was told that CPS originally requested $484 million from the city over multiple sessions; the city provided $298 million of which $159 million was already included in the budget passed in July 2024.

"This amendment provides the board the flexibility to utilize the remaining $139 million in TIF surplus funding plus other potential appropriate local resources for the aforementioned pending contracts," Sekowsky said during the presentation.

Board member…