Chicago Public Schools needs about $1.6 billion more in state funding to provide an adequate education to students, according to state information released late Friday. That gap is about $400 million more than it was last year.
Adequacy is determined by assessing what school districts need based on the state’s evidence-based funding formula, which considers factors like how many teachers or counselors schools should have.
CPS is one of more than 300 underfunded districts that is getting a smaller percentage of what it needs compared to just a year ago. State law calls for all schools to be funded to at least 90% of adequacy by 2027, but the Center on Tax and Budget Accountability says that at the current rate the state is funding education, it will take until at least 2034 to reach that level.
