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CPS CEO claims CTU contract would cost $10 billion over four years

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* Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez as quoted in the Tribune…

And he predicted that the [Chicago Teachers Union’s] next contract — for raises, additional staffing, help for migrant and homeless students and sports — would cost CPS more than $10 billion over the next four years.

“Long-term, that’s not sustainable. That’s not stable for taxpayers,” he said.

* Related…

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez defends his school budget plans in City Council hearing:

* WTTW | Effort by City Council to Put CPS Board Members, CEO on the Hot Seat Fizzles: Ald. Angela Clay (46th Ward) pressed Martinez, who has led the district since 2021, on why he used those grant funds to cover the district’s ongoing operations while knowing that they would run out by 2025, leaving programs in jeopardy of being cut and employees at risk of layoffs. “We all knew this day would come,” Clay said. “What’s the plan?” Martinez did not directly answer Clay’s question, but spoke at length on the need for additional aid from the state and his commitment to investing in Chicago schools and students.

* Chalkbeat Chicago | Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez asks City Council for additional $325 million in funding: Ald. Angela Clay asked Martinez how the district would cover costs next year, when it is expected to face another $500 million deficit, if the city bailed CPS out this year. Martinez said he hopes TIF districts will expire under Johnson, potentially freeing up more money for CPS. He added that he will ask for City Council “and the mayor’s help” to advocate for more state funding.

* NBC 5 | CPS CEO Pedro Martinez appears at City Council hearing as budget battle continues: “We know we have at least 100 schools, between high schools and elementary schools, that are probably at least, you know, at least 100 that are under 200 students enrollment.”

* Fox32 | Chicago City Council questions CPS CEO on budget crisis, tensions with Mayor Johnson: Some aldermen also question why CPS is keeping open schools that are virtually empty, including Douglass High School, which right now has only 39 students. Ald. Anthony Beale: “Walgreens is closing 1200 stores because those stores are either underperforming, and so they had to make a business decision that if they’re going to stay afloat, that they have to restructure.” CEO Martinez: “Yes, class sizes are very small. But again, for me, I would, I would ask, let’s change the conversation of what could be possible at Douglass High School to really attract children to go there.”

* Block Club Chicago | CPS Boss Grilled By Frustrated Alderpeople After School Board Members Skip Special Hearing: Alderpeople did use the hearing to ask Martinez about CPS funding decisions, potential cuts, school closures and other issues. Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) questioned the school chief’s decision to continuing operating Douglass High School in Austin, which only has a few dozen students enrolled. Last year, the school was spending just over $68,000 per student compared to the district average of $18,287, according to Illinois State Board of Education statistics. Martinez on Wednesday defended keeping the school open, saying he supports further investments in schools like Douglass, not less, especially as many students in Austin currently leave their neighborhood to go to school. “We have to make the investments,” he said. “I would ask, let’s change the conversation of what could be possible at Douglass High School to really attract children to go there.”

* Mayor Johnson’s chief of staff says school CEO and board kept 5th Floor in the dark: Was Pedro Martinez influencing – did he take he take over the board essentially? Cristina Pacione-Zayas: “I can’t say – again, I’m not privy to what his interaction was with the board.”

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 8:31 am

Comments

Since when is it a good idea for a CoS to give an interview admitting they are not serving their boss well?

And “not privy” - if your own appointees aren’t keeping you in the loop, that’s a “you” problem not a Pedro problem.

Comment by A.J. MacInerney Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 8:54 am
CPS enrollment has declined by 81,000 students over the past ten years. The CPS budget in 2018 was $5.6B with a headcount of approximately 36,500. The CPS budget is over $9B and a headcount of 45,000! Both CEO Martinez and the previous CPS CEO know the federal money was going to run out, this is not a secret. Adding an additional 9,000 employees no doubt was intended to mollify CTU. Now the chickens have come home to roost and low and behold we have a crisis. CTU contract demands given the CPS short term and long term fiscal situation is irresponsible.

Comment by Teve DeMotte Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:18 am
Credibility is not a strong suit for Martinez.

Comment by Precinct Captain Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:18 am
==why CPS is keeping open schools that are virtually empty, including Douglass High School, which right now has only 39 students==

According to newly released 20th day enrollment numbers, there are 28 students enrolled at Douglass High School. Freshman class has 5 kids total.

Comment by City Zen Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:41 am
How many teachers and staff support a school with 28 students? This seems crazy.

Comment by Lincoln Lad Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:44 am
==How many teachers and staff support a school with 28 students? This seems crazy.==

There’s 7 teachers, and 11 staff.

Comment by Principal Skinner Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:54 am
Cristina Pacione-Zayas Interview was a disaster. She seems to think Johnson was elected to do some sort of revolutionary change. News flash : he was elected because he wasnt Paul Vallas. They successfully defined him as a Republican in a very Dem city. Congratulations to them for that, but they shouldnt read that as a mandate for what they are proposing.

Comment by low level Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:57 am
The CPS team had a pretty good powerpoint that included a chart on exactly that cost projection. Hopefully some intrepid reporters can request/FOIA it, lot of interesting data in it yesterday.

Comment by ChicagoBars Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 9:58 am
We went through something similar in a suburb a few years ago.

Enrollment in our district has dropped by almost 25% in the past decade. The districts response was to remove this info from the district website, and to then build a new school.

There’s something about the mindset in educational administration that is stuck in an infinite growth model, and when reality shows up the common response seems to be to not just ignore it but attempt to take action to make it seem like reality is in fact not reality.

If we simply stop creating a crisis, we wouldn’t need to respond to a crisis.

Such is the human condition I suppose.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 10:18 am
= CPS CEO claims CTU contract would cost $10 billion over four years=

A bargain compared to CTU estimates …

“We are asking you to give us an opportunity to tell our story. It will cost $50 billion, and three cent,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said Tuesday at the City Club of Chicago this week, setting the stage for upcoming negotiations with the city. “And so what? That’s audacity.”

Comment by Donnie Elgin Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 10:25 am
= They successfully defined [Vallas] as a Republican in a very Dem city =

In fairness, he did a pretty good job of defining himself that way.

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 10:49 am
There’s so much swirling around this right now, it’s easy to lose sight of the the fact that Brandon Johnson losing control of his own board is one of the biggest sheer political failures in Chicago mayoral history.

Comment by Telly Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 11:02 am
The State can let CPS/City keep talking and watch that train wreck. Let’s see the City budget. The spring legislative session should be exciting. What is the exact level of state advocacy that they are looking for? Advocate all you want. The State will not send a billion to CPS next year. CPS is maxed out. It uses tax anticipation warrants to smooth out the real estate tax revenue. And it is at the statutory limit on conventional borrowing which is why they are talking about a high interest rate, payday loan.

Comment by Two Left Feet Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 11:04 am
==it’s easy to lose sight of the the fact that Brandon Johnson losing control of his own board is one of the biggest sheer political failures in Chicago mayoral history.==

Precisely correct, not only losing control but losing control so quickly, only about a year or so after they were appointed. That has never happened. Incredible.

Comment by low level Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 11:31 am
- A.J. MacInerney - Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 8:54 am:

Wrong. Martinez’s performance evaluations have consistently dinged him for a failure to communicate with other stakeholders. That’s the literal definition of a “Pedro problem.”

https://www.wbez.org/education/2024/09/25/as-chicagos-mayor-tries-to-oust-cps-ceo-the-ceos-contract-is-a-major-hurdle

Comment by Google Is Your Friend Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 11:55 am
To low level - totally agree that the Pacione-Zayas interview was a disaster if you are a resident of Chicago - her condescending tone and response too Martinez’s performance “obviously says that you haven’t done the homework or the full assignment” was telling. It made it obvious to me that the Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Chicago thinks she is still a member of the CTU and not responsible for the success of the City as a whole.

For those of you who are interested in the thought process and tone of the 5th floor, take a look at the WGN interview. There is not a firewall

Comment by So Let Me Get This Straight Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 12:13 pm
One thing I found interesting about CPZ’s interview was that she was upset that CPS’s General Counsel provided legal advice to the old board. It is something the new board should think long and hard about. Otherwise, most of the interview consisted of just completely empty responses from CPZ.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 12:17 pm
=- Google Is Your Friend - Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 11:55 am: =

Ah yes, an appeal to Chicago’s long and proud history of fulsome employee evaluations.

That such a thing was leaked (when the Mayor will not even comment on his current union membership status) and the CPS board voted with Pedro anyway and has apparently refused to fire him tells us everything we need to know.

That sound you hear is generations of 5th floor staffers groaning. Like, seriously. It’s not even that the current crew is wrong on the policy merits, it’s that they’ve been so counterproductive to their own goals and yet are not only oblivious to it, they are proud of it.

Comment by A.J. MacInerney Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 12:34 pm
===evaluations have consistently dinged him===

One evaluation was reported on.

Also, that very same board refused to take action against him.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 12:43 pm
=There’s something about the mindset in educational administration that is stuck in an infinite growth model, and when reality shows up the common response seems to be to not just ignore it but attempt to take action to make it seem like reality is in fact not reality.=

Lol, sure. I wonder how you know the mindset of “educational administration” and why you think we have some monolithic mindset.

I would be interested to know what suburban district lost 25%. I do understand that you may not want to reveal that for legitimate reasons.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 12:59 pm
What in the heck are they asking for that will cost $10 billion? I know you start high in negotiations but for crying out loud . . .

Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 1:49 pm
Re: Douglass High School and the 20th day enrollment of 28 students…here’s a thought.
It would make sense and be cost effective to close the school and pay tuition to the Archdiocese of Chicago for the 28 students at Douglass.
If it works for Stacy Davis Gates and her family enrolled at an Archdiocese school, why not for the students at Douglass.

Comment by Rudy’s teeth Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 1:54 pm
-she was upset that CPS’s General Counsel provided legal advice to the old board.-

And corporation counsel does what, exactly, for both the mayor and the city council?

Are all the mirrors broken at city hall?

Comment by Legal Eaglet Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 1:59 pm
CPZ is a former state senator and yet the mayor has no Springfield strategy. She is also at every press conference right next to the mayor instead of being in the office managing the team. She seem more invested in her brand than actually working for the city.

The mayors office has no leader, no structure and no plan or strategy. Attacks on Pedro fall short because they don’t have things in order. It legitimizes critiques that Pedro (and others) raise about the fifth floor and CTU.

Comment by You win more bees with honey Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 2:06 pm
PS the CPS general counsel did their job. Any board member that votes to fire Pedro without cause is at risk of being held personally liable.

Comment by You win more bees with honey Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 2:07 pm
Well, if he said it, it must be true.

Comment by Neighborly Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 2:23 pm
==The State can let CPS/City keep talking and watch that train wreck.==

They can, certainly, and likely will. But then they’d be failing the students and families.

So many people love the horserace side of politics and journalism.

Comment by Neighborly Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 2:28 pm
===But then they’d be failing the students and families===

Stop.

Elections have consequences. The mayor is duly elected. We’re about to get a bunch of elected school board members.

As bad as their fiscal situation is, they’re a very long way off from a true crisis which they cannot solve on their own.

You can’t just overturn the results of a legitimate election simply because you don’t like the way things are being run.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 2:33 pm
Opposing Mayor Johnson is not the same thing as overturning the results of a legitimate election.

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 3:01 pm
===Opposing Mayor Johnson is not the same thing as overturning the results===

It is if it involves state power.

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 3:14 pm
===It is if it involves state power.===

A court of law is a state power. Is it undemocratic now to ensure the Mayor’s Office follows the law?

Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 3:22 pm
===Is it undemocratic now to ensure the Mayor’s Office follows the law?===

What law is he breaking?

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 3:26 pm
CPZ is a candidate to replace Pedro, which could be why we’re seeing her at press conferences and doing interviews — it’s an audition.

== ensure the Mayor’s Office follows the law ==

Like it or not, the law essentially says the mayor runs the schools until the fully elected board is seated in January of 2027. He’s within his legal right to screw things up until then. There’s an election shortly thereafter. That’s when he’ll be held accountable,

Comment by Telly Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 3:45 pm
West Chicago D33 - down 27.8 in the past decade

Plainfield D202 - down 25% in the past 14 years.

Elgin Area District U-46 has seen a 14.2% decline during that time.

In the 104 suburban public school districts in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties, enrollment dropped by 6.9% from 2015.

In addition to District 33, other districts that have seen enrollment declines of more than 20% in the past decade include Addison Elementary District 4 and Wood Dale Elementary District 7 in DuPage County. Rosemont Elementary District in Cook County along with Diamond Lake Elementary District 76, Millburn Elementary District 24 and Woodland Elementary District 50 in Lake County also saw declines greater than 20% since 2015, according to ISBE records.

I’m not sure why you are trying to link the very real and long predicted changes in demographics with some kind of personal attack.

The reality is that this has happened. My observation of how school districts are reacting to this, is based on simply watching how school districts are reacting to it. Some of them still think it’s unique to their school district, and think it’s because they aren’t building enough new houses - again that’s the infinite growth model mindset they are stuck in.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 3:57 pm
100% agree w Rich. Im certainly not a fan of this administration but any talk of a state takeover is very premature at this point.

Comment by low level Thursday, Oct 17, 24 @ 4:18 pm