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Unions tell Chicago board: don’t balance FY27 on teachers’ backs
Summary
CTU and SEIU representatives told the Chicago Board of Education at a July 20 hearing they oppose proposed furlough days and layoffs, urging the district to pursue TIF matches, legal action over delayed county tax distributions and active state advocacy instead of staff pay cuts.
Union leaders urged the Chicago Board of Education on July 20 to reject cuts and furloughs in the district’s proposed FY27 budget and to press the county and state for revenue instead.
Dr. Diane Castro, financial secretary for the Chicago Teachers Union and a bilingual preschool teacher, said furloughs and layoffs strip schools of essential staff and harm students who rely on special education and bilingual supports. "We do not accept cuts. We do not accept furloughs," she said, describing the personal and community impact of past furloughs and calling on the board to pursue legal action to secure delayed property tax dollars from Cook County.
Tremaine Reeves, SEIU Local 73 executive vice president, told the board his members ‘‘are firmly against any furlough days’’ and urged the city to match last year’s TIF funding so CPS employees would not face pay cuts. "This would mean that no CPS employee would have to go through enduring any type of furlough days or pay cut," Reeves said. He urged an immediate plan that pairs short-term action with longer-term advocacy in Springfield.
Union officials and speakers demanded that the district use every available tool before imposing personnel reductions, including legal remedies against the county, aggressive advocacy to the governor and legislature, and asking the city to release TIF surplus funds. The CTU asked the board to "fix the budget or vote it down" rather than accept furloughs that would reduce instructional and special education capacity.
The unions’ appeals came during the public comment portion of the board’s second FY27 budget hearing. District leaders acknowledged the unions’ concerns in the presentation that followed, saying the five furlough days are a last-resort measure tied to the district’s projected deficits and short-term cash constraints.
