(WTTW News)

Chicago Public Schools will host a series of public meetings next month to gather community input as it works to finalize its capital spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year.

Six public meetings, including one held entirely in Spanish, have been scheduled for the first week in May before CPS officially releases its fiscal year 2022 capital plan later in the summer.

“Engaging the community and stakeholders on the capital investment process is a district priority, and we are looking forward to another year of community meetings on this critical topic,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said. “This year, our meetings will be even more transparent and accessible, with live streaming, real-time Spanish translation and sign language interpreters in English-language meetings. All students deserve access to high-quality educational facilities that meet their needs and we look forward to this year’s engagement process.”

Meetings will be held May 4, with sessions from 3-4:30 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m., and May 6, with sessions from 3-4:30 p.m. and 5-6:30 p.m. A citywide meeting in Spanish is scheduled for 3-4:30 p.m. May 7.

This is the second year in a row that the district has held public meetings before releasing its capital plan. CPS said the feedback it gathered last year led to the prioritization of restroom upgrades and parking lot refurbishment projects in its FY2021 capital plan.

Additional hearings will be held once the new capital spending plan is released.

The meetings will be live-streamed on the CPS YouTube channel, and all presentation materials will be available online at cps.edu in multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Polish, Urdu and Arabic.

Video recordings of the meetings will also be posted online at cps.edu/capitalmeetings.

Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | [email protected] | (773) 509-5431