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 Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot faces $452 million in new contract
demands from the Chicago Teachers Union, meaning precarious finances would be
even worse if it were solely up to the union representing some of the nation’s
highest-paid teachers.
CTU presented demands totaling $452 million to Lightfoot and the Chicago Public
Schools Board of Education, and has rejected a neutral fact-finder’s contract
recommendations, threatening to strike for the third time in seven years if
demands are not met, according to the Chicago Tribune. Lightfoot is caught
between the threat, CPS’ precarious financial situation and the damage likely if
city taxpayers are again asked for more. Chicago taxpayers face the highest debt
burden of the 10 most populous cities in the country, according to Truth in
Accounting.
An Aug. 11 report by a fact-finder appointed to make recommendations in the
stalled negotiations calls for raises totaling 16% over five years, compared to
Lightfoot’s original offer of 14% over five years, according to WTTW. CTU is
demanding 5% a year, and only wants a three-year contract.
Employee health insurance contributions are also at issue.
The Lightfoot administration has indicated it accepts the fact-finder’s
recommendations.
Negotiations with CTU
CPS’ history of mismanagement and poor financial decisions has led to excessive
borrowing and a “junk” credit rating. Its debt has quadrupled since 1998, with
current debt at over $8 billion. The district is also forced to allocate
hundreds of millions of dollars each year to the Chicago Teachers Pension Fund
after multiple years of making inadequate contributions.
Lightfoot’s first contract proposal included a 14% pay increase over a five-year
period. It infuriated CTU leaders, who said it didn’t cover any of the union’s
primary demands. CPS also proposed having employees contribute 1.5% more toward
their health insurance during the final three years of the five-year contract,
according to WTTW.
CTU’s demands include a 5% pay raise each year, more generous benefits, numerous
staffing requirements, 55 additional “community schools,” a reduction in class
size, creation of affordable housing for teachers and many other guarantees. CTU
wants a three-year contract instead of the five-year deal the district and mayor
prefer.
The fact-finding report, which WTTW obtained, recommended raises of 16% over
five years, as well as a 1% increase in health insurance contributions by
employees over the contract term.
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If Lightfoot were to accept all of the union’s
demands, it would cost the district an additional $452 million in
the first year, with that number increasing year over year due to
pension costs and compensation increases.
Politico reports Lightfoot has offered to hire an additional 200
social workers and 250 full time nurses, adding to the current 413
social workers and 310 nurses. However, CTU wants 500 additional
nurses and enough social workers to bring the ratio of general
education students to counselors to 250 to 1 and the ratio of
special education students to counselors to 50 to 1, according to
the Chicago Tribune. Given the district’s 372,214 students, that
would require more than 1,000 additional social workers.
Lightfoot’s offer is a reasonable way to increase services for
at-risk students without overburdening overtaxed Chicago residents.
CPS spends $15,412 per student. That is $2,075, or 16%, higher than
the state average. Chicago Public Schools continues to underperform
the state academic achievement benchmarks year after year. Average
SAT scores in CPS schools are 56 points lower than the state
average, 4-year graduation rates are 11 percentage points lower, and
the percentage of CPS teachers rated proficient or excellent comes
in at 11 percentage points lower than the state average.
Implementing a 5% salary increase as CTU has demanded would cost the
city an additional $120 million in the first year. That would limit
opportunities to hire more faculty and relieve pressure on existing
district employees.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education, less than 1% of
Illinois districts have a higher base salary than CPS. Its maximum
salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree is also the fourth
highest at over $96,000, not adjusted for cost of living.
According to the Teacher Contract Database of the National Council
on Teacher Quality, CPS compared to school districts in the nation’s
10 largest cities for which data are available has the highest
maximum salary for teachers with a bachelor’s degree, as well as the
highest maximum salary for teachers with a master’s degree. They
come in second, behind San Antonio Independent School District, for
base salary of new teachers with bachelor’s degrees and master’s
degrees. CPS has the highest average salary among school districts
in 10 of the nation’s top 13 largest cities – comparable data was
not available for three of the cities – when adjusted for cost of
living.
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