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3d ago

Chicago Board Finalizes $1.5 Billion CTU Contract and Allocates Initial Funding

The four-year agreement includes pay raises, staffing increases, and classroom reforms, but future funding challenges loom with a projected $500 million deficit.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates surrounded by CTU members, teachers and supporters at CTU headquarters, announce that CTU members overwhelmingly voted to approve a contract with Chicago Public Schools on April 14, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
A Black woman wearing a red suit jacket speaks from behind a wooden podium and in front of a blue background an a group of people stand next to her.

Overview

  • The Chicago Board of Education approved the four-year, $1.5 billion contract with the Chicago Teachers Union, retroactive to July 2024 and effective through June 2028.
  • The contract includes annual pay raises of 4–5%, additional compensation for veteran teachers, smaller class sizes, increased sports funding, and the hiring of hundreds of new staff, including 90 librarians.
  • A $139 million budget amendment, funded by surplus Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dollars, will cover the first year of the contract, but a $500 million budget shortfall is projected for next year.
  • Equity initiatives were codified alongside the contract, including the establishment of a Black Student Achievement Committee to address persistent disparities in academic and extracurricular opportunities.
  • CPS officials and board members plan to lobby state lawmakers in Springfield next week for increased education funding to sustain the contract in future years.