Just a few months into the school year, Chicago Public Schools has overspent its budget and its emergency contingency budget for special education by $27 million — one of several “compounding financial pressures” that could mean midyear cuts if the school district doesn’t get more from the s tate in the state Legislative veto session that starts Tuesday.Besides ballooning special education costs, CPS officials say they had to pay more than expected in interest on short-term loans to make payroll and received $19 million less in state funding than expected.These unexpected costs don’t even include the staff that CPS rehired this fall at the direction of school board members aligned with the Chicago Teachers Union. In a controversial move, these members approved a last-minute budget amendment counting on $150 million more from the state, even though it had yet to be committed.The district only wound up re-hiring some of the staff laid off — 128 teachers and 153 support staff at a cost of $29 million. District officials are already planning to lay off those staff members again as early as Dec. 1 if no additional money comes through, according to a memo obtained by the Chicago Tribune.But district officials have yet to say how they plan to handle the other costs that are creating “compounding financial pressures” and adding to a hole in the district's budget. “The CPS Finance team is closely monitoring our budget, assessing implications of rising costs and a shortfall if no additional state revenue is received, and identifying potential solutions,” CPS officials said in a statement. “CPS will continue to keep our Board and community apprised of any additional financial savings that will need to be enacted this school year.” Acting Chicago Public Schools CFO Wally Stock (right) and Acting Chief Budget Officer Emila Zoko during a Chicago Board of Education meeting at CPS headquarters in the Loop on July 30. Candace Dane Chambers/Sun-Times CPS is also counting on the city pulling $285 million out of special taxing districts called TIFs and sending it to the school district. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget provides this revenue, but it has yet to be approved by the City Council, some of whose members have balked.The CTU, in a message sent to members on Friday, said laying off staff would create chaos and pointed out that rehiring staff turns out not to be the most urgent financial problem facing the district.“Before CPS reversed one layoff at the beginning of the school year, the district was already coming up short because of the Governor and the Illinois General Assembly’s skipping its payments to Chicago and other districts across the state,” CTU leaders told members, referring to state's funding formula that shows it doesn’t provide the funding CPS needs to provide an adequate education to students.CPS leaders and board members, along with groups of members from CTU and other major CPS unions are planning to go to Springfield for the veto session to lobby for more money.Still, many have said that the chances of additional funding are unlikely. House Speaker Chris Welch said this summer that he was open to it, but he will be a lame duck during the veto session, as he’s decided not to run for his leadership position. And Gov. JB Pritzker has repeatedly said it is “not going to happen.” Any state funding package that could be passed in the upcoming state legislative veto session would likely need to include much more than what CPS needs and money for other underfunded districts in order to get any traction, making it a costly proposition.Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP Chicago isn’t the only school district hoping for more money.The Illinois Federation of Teachers this month called on lawmakers to provide an additional $670 million toward education funding during the veto session, $400 million of which would go toward the state's general education funding and $100 million for services the state requires, such as transportation.Those funds wouldn’t close the funding gap that exists statewide but would provide “urgently needed relief and help,” said Arnoldo Fabela, IFT director of field and organizing. In 2017, Illinois changed how it distributes funds to school districts. The law established the amount of funding each district needs to provide an adequate education. Illinois has fallen way behind on meeting those targets.Of about 940 school districts, 714 have moved further away from adequacy this year. That’s despite education funding in Illinois rising overall under Pritzker. CPS now has only 70% of what it needs to provide an adequate education, down from 73% last year and 79% the year before.Many factors are causing the state to fall short, including a change in the way the state counts the number of poor students and costs going up.Any state funding package would likely need to include much more than what CPS needs and money for other underfunded districts in order to get any traction, making it a costly proposition. That means district leaders will have to get legislators from outside of Chicago on board with their plan. Some have expressed skepticism about giving Chicago schools more money.Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter. More CPS budget news Chicago School Board approves budget that reverses layoffs, but counts on shaky state funds In a shocking move, a majority of school board members rejected the school district’s spending plan that would have made deep cuts to classrooms to close a deficit, and instead approved a budget that counts on the state to provide extra funding. Read More CPS moves further from funding adequacy despite getting more state dollars The news will immediately bolster growing calls for the state to give the city’s school district more money. CPS faced a $732 million deficit this year, and just last week, the school board approved a budget that included hundreds of staff cuts in central office and classrooms. Read More Separate classrooms, more staff: How CPS copes with staggering rise in special ed needs, costs The Chicago Public Schools system is spending nearly twice as much on special education as it did in 2019. Too little state and federal funding means much of this burden falls on Chicago taxpayers. Read More ...read more read less