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CPS presents $9.88 billion FY27 budget; staff say deficit cut from $732M to $297.6M with revenue and reductions
Summary
District budget staff presented a proposed FY27 budget totaling $9.88 billion and described $434.9 million in deficit reductions (about $330M structural) and additional measures—$200M assumed TIF surplus, five furlough days and a midyear spending freeze—to close the remaining gap to $297.6 million.
Acting Chief Budget Officer Emmy Lozoco presented the proposed FY27 budget on July 20, saying it totals $9,880,000,000 across capital, debt and operating funds and starts from a projected $732,000,000 deficit. The budget presentation described a multi‑step balancing process that identified $434,900,000 in total deficit reduction, of which $330,000,000 is structural.
Lozoco summarized the revenue mix: local revenue (largely property taxes) at about $5.4 billion (64%), state revenue roughly $2.2 billion (26%), and federal/grant funds near $1 billion (about 10%). She said school budgets rose by $143,000,000 compared with FY26 (largely due to salary increases) while overall operating budget is slightly down from FY26. On the remaining gap, staff said they reduced the deficit to $297,600,000 and added three additional measures—raising the TIF surplus assumption to $200,000,000, instituting five furlough days (projected $85,000,000 in savings) and a midyear spending freeze (projected ~$112,000,000)—to reach balance.
District staff warned that short‑term borrowing (tax anticipation notes) is reaching capacity and that an approved budget and tax levy are required to secure new financing; "without an approved budget this month, CPS will not have enough time to engage with lenders," Lozoco said.
