Most states are spending less on K-12 education now than they did before the Great Recession. Illinois, however, is among the exceptions, according to a new report.
With a potential strike looming, unionized Chicago teachers at the UNO Charter School Network (UCSN) rallied with their allies Thursday afternoon in their push for a “fair contract.”
They picketed outside the charter network’s downtown headquarters, 209 W. Jackson Boulevard, with signs that read: “We don’t want to strike but we’re ready” and “We will fight for a fair contract.”
“Our students are all low income, and (UCSN has) offices down here in this fancy building, and they’re not willing to make cuts at the top” to improve the quality of education for students, said Erica Stewart.
Chicago parents, aldermen and state lawmakers urged the city Friday to support a TIF surplus ordinance to help avert a potential teachers strike next week and alleviate school budget cuts.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body approved an October 11 strike date Wednesday, putting the union one step closer toward its second walkout since 2012.
“If we cannot reach an agreement by then, we will withhold our labor,” CTU President Karen Lewis told reporters Wednesday evening after a special meeting of the union’s House of Delegates.
CTU and school district officials have yet to agree on a new labor contract to replace the one that expired in June 2015.
Progress Illinois provides highlights from Wednesday’s Chicago Board of Education meeting, during which the school district’s $5.4 billion budget was approved and TIF surplus supporters spoke out.
Chicago Public Schools officials heard familiar pleas for more school funding during a budget hearing Wednesday night in the South Loop.
CPS convened the 6 p.m. hearing to get public feedback on the district’s proposed $338 million capital budget for 2017. The hearing, held at the National Teachers Academy, was thinly attended and ended an hour early.
“I like the capital plan, but most people came here because they lost teachers at their school, they lost programs at their school,” Martin Ritter with the Chicago Teachers Union told CPS officials.
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body approved an October 11 strike date Wednesday, putting the union one step closer toward its second walkout since 2012. 