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Oyez, oyez, oyez!

🔔 It’s Makiya Seminera, your digital town crier (cue the imaginary sounds of a clanking handbell). I’m here to deliver a pressing announcement from my colleague Reema Amin that you’ve likely kept a close eye on: Chicago Public Schools has officially passed its 2026-2027 budget.

Don’t assume this puts an end to this budgetary story arc. For weeks, we’ve been in what your English teacher might call rising action. All that hubbub on the budget proposal, and subsequent changes to said proposition, was the lead-up to yesterday’s passage — albeit a narrow 11-7 approval vote with one abstention — of the district’s $10 billion budget. If you’re following along with my analogy, that means we hit the climax of this narrative.

Nevertheless dear readers, if you remember English literature class, then you know where I’m heading next. The story doesn’t abruptly end there. We’re entering falling action territory, when it’s time to tie up loose ends before the story’s resolution. That’s easier said than done, considering the approved budget includes reversing hundreds of CPS staff layoffs — a move CEO Macquline King is incredibly wary of — on the assumption the district will get $150 million more in state funding than expected. Yeah … it might be a while before we reach a true resolution. That makes Reema’s latest budget coverage a must-read as we strap in for the long haul.

But wait, there’s more! First, from Chalkbeat Chicago Bureau Chief Becky Vevea, CPS is cutting half of its funding for Whole School Safety Plans, which replaced police officers at some high schools with restorative justice policies. And we have another story from Reema — yes, she’s a reporting superhero — yesterday about how CPS lunchroom workers’ are taking a critical step toward a possible strike. Keep an eye on this thread as we approach the upcoming school year in the next few weeks.

Well, I’ve reached the end of the public announcements written on my old timey scroll. What did we miss? Or what should we turn our attention to next? As always, send those suggestions to [email protected].

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Local News

Seeking to reverse layoffs, Chicago school board approves budget, assuming more state money will come

The board voted to approve a roughly $10 billion budget that assumes more money from the state that may not materialize.

Chicago Public Schools’ lunchroom staff move closer to strike

Unite Here Local 1 has demanded a fact-finding process that could eventually lead to a strike. The union wants the district to raise its members’ pay.

Chicago to cut funding earmarked for schools that replaced police with restorative justice policies

Chicago Public Schools plans to slash money for Whole School Safety Plans by over 50%. The funding was previously earmarked for schools that removed police officers from their campuses.