The Chicago Board of Education held a public hearing Dec. 18 to solicit comments on a proposal to authorize the sale of general obligation alternate revenue source bonds in an amount not to exceed $1,800,000,000, President Sean B. Hardin said.

Assistant Board Secretary read the public notice, which said the hearing was published on Dec. 11 in the Chicago Sun-Times and posted on cpsboe.org and cps.edu. The notice said proceeds could be used for construction and acquisition of school and administrative buildings and equipment, site improvements and other real and personal property, working capital, refunding of board obligations and issuance costs.

At the hearing, a district presenter identified as Mr. Stock outlined the statutory process under Illinois law. He said the bond program requires three steps: (1) a public hearing to explain the purpose of the bonds and receive comment; (2) board approval of an authorization that is published in a newspaper of general circulation and carries a 30-day period during which a petition of 7.5% of registered voters could halt the authorization; and (3) a later board action to approve a bond resolution if and when the district chooses to sell bonds.

Mr. Stock said the board is proposing an authorization that would allow issuance over a multiyear period rather than immediate sale, noting the district typically plans bond series to support a pipeline of capital projects. "We're trying to basically issue bonds every year in about $600,000,000 to cash flow and to work through that pipeline of those projects," Mr. Stock said. He described the uses as repairs and renovations, accessibility improvements such as elevators, playgrounds, lab and technology investments, and limited financing of devices and prekindergarten expansions.

The presenter said authorizations are time-limited; previous authorizations from 2022 expired at the end of 2025, which prompted the district to seek the new authorization. He told the board he did not expect an immediate sale of bonds and that actual bond resolutions and sales would return to the board for separate consideration.

The hearing concluded after public comment and presentation; President Hardin noted the board was scheduled to take a vote on the authorization later in its regular meeting the same day.