The Fund’s chief public affairs officer, Nelson Gerew, testified before the Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. He pointed out that if Chicago Public Schools (CPS) does not close its projected $734 million budget gap for fiscal-year 2026, it may have to cut thousands of educator positions, leading to larger class sizes and stalled academic progress. He urged the Board of Education, district leaders, and the city of Chicago to find sustainable revenue and prevent further cuts to school budgets. The video of his testimony is below, followed by a transcript.
Testimony Delivered to the Chicago Board of Education on July 9, 2025
I’m Nelson Gerew, Chief Public Affairs Officer at The Chicago Public Education Fund.
Thank you all for your commitment to transparency during what interim CEO & Superintendent King has noted is an extraordinarily challenging budget season.
We know that CPS has already cut $230 million. These are real cuts with real consequences. Everyone in CPS, from crossing guards to central-office personnel, ultimately is supporting our students.
We also know that school leaders are being asked to do more with less. In our 2025 Principal Engagement Survey, principals noted that budget changes, limited resources, and facility and supply issues are having a significant impact on their school communities.
Now we’ve learned that the district faces a total gap of $734 million — $500 million beyond the $230 already cut. If that gap isn’t closed, the resulting cuts could be catastrophic: thousands of educator positions lost, class sizes rising, and academic progress potentially stalling out.
In that context, some have already asked whether CPS can borrow its way out of this crisis. But borrowing is not a solution. It may delay the pain, but it cannot prevent it. Voters understand this — polling shows fewer than 10% support borrowing to close the CPS gap. This feeling is well-founded because part of our current budget gap is caused from interest costs from previous borrowing to cover gaps earlier this decade.
During this budget process, we urge the board, CPS leadership, and the city to work together and continue to protect what matters most: our students. That means finding new sustainable revenue, preventing additional cuts to schools, and ensuring every school can deliver on the promise of a high-quality public education, now and in the future.
Thank you.