Fund Director and Former Principal Provides Testimony to School Board on 2026 CPS Budget

The Fund’s senior director of Educator Supports, Mariel Laureano, testified before the Chicago Board of Education on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. She spoke from her perspective as a former CPS principal who led schools through several budget deficits. Mariel asked the board to support principals, Local School Councils, and school communities through the budget challenges facing CPS in fiscal year 2026, stressing transparency and school-level autonomy and flexibility. The video of her testimony is below, followed by a transcript.

Testimony Delivered to the Chicago Board of Education on May 14, 2025

Good morning.

I am Mariel Laureano, proud former principal of Prieto Math and Science Academy. I currently serve as a director at The Chicago Public Education Fund. 

As a principal, I led through five budget cycles with an overall deficit. Over 60% of current principals have never had that experience. In addition to engaging in this process for the first time, they will do it during a CPS superintendent leadership change.

I am respectfully asking you to consider three actions today:

1. Implement a budget that maximizes available resources for students while minimizing long-term harm to the families of the future.
   I led through years with revenue expectations that didn’t materialize, which meant cutting staff mid-year. I also experienced short-term borrowing to close gaps, which meant bigger cuts for students down the road. There are ways to avoid both, but they will require pragmatic leadership and negotiations at every level.
    
2. Communicate the implications of decisions to school communities, and be clear about trade-offs.
   Release school-level numbers as soon as a realistic plan is complete. Clarify the assumptions being made for principals and LSCs. Be transparent about the repercussions for schools if those assumptions change. Central cost savings that create school resource gaps must be named now so principals can plan around them.
    
3. Please sustain and support local control and autonomy.
   If school-level cuts must be made, provide maximum flexibility. Ensure allocated positions can be converted to flexible funds and other positions as principals and LSCs see fit. Be sure communities have the support to craft and communicate budgets that meet student needs, while acknowledging constrained resources.​ 

You are facing tough decisions, with no easy solutions. For our part, the Fund will deepen its support for budget creation, contingency planning, and communication strategies for principals and LSCs in partnership with those who share our commitment to the work. We will roll out resources by the end of this week. 

Because to be clear: On August 18, over 600 school teams will open their doors and welcome 325,000 students back from summer break—just 13 weeks away.

We must continue to work together to ensure that welcome is one that our students deserve.

Thank you.