Interim CPS CEO Macquline King on Thursday stood by the district’s commitment to its existing policies after the Department of Education threatened to withhold millions in funding.

Public school enrollment is projected to tumble 5.5% between 2022 and 2031, largely due to changing demographics, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Other factors include the shift by some students to private education or homeschooling and some immigrant families’ decisions to leave the country.

Federal education authorities have threatened to withhold grant money from Chicago Public Schools unless the district agrees to do away with its Black Student Success Plan and revises policies regarding transgender students.

Chicago Public Schools’ Loop headquarters was placed under a temporary lockdown Wednesday morning following a reported shooting nearby.

Chicago Public Schools says it does not intend to offer a remote learning option to students amid a possible deployment of National Guard troops, immigration strike teams or other armed military personnel into the city.

The Chicago Board of Education on Thursday voted to approve the settlement with the school’s former interim principal John Thuet and assistant principal Michelle Brumfield.

The board voted 12-7, with one abstention, late Thursday following a contentious debate between board members who were split on how best to fund city schools while keeping costly cuts out of the classroom.

CPS officials have laid out a plan that aims to fill a $734 million budget gap. But there’s still debate over whether a loan should be a part of the final plan — and whether the district should take on a $175 million pension payment.

Chicago Public Schools is set to finalize its fiscal year 2026 budget this week, but questions remain about how the cash-strapped school district intends to plug a $734 million shortfall.

CPS is facing a $734 million shortfall with a deadline to pass a balanced budget coming next Friday, but the options facing CPS board members and the interim CEO appear to be narrowing.

CPS leaders said they crafted a budget proposal to keep cuts out of the classroom, but the plan leans heavily on one-time funding, raising questions about long-term stability.

Chicago Public Schools students returned to their classrooms Monday for the start of the new academic year, as district officials continue working to finalize a budget proposal to close a $734 million funding gap.

The letter came after several board members voiced concerns about the district’s proposed spending plan, one CPS officials have pledged would keep any cuts out of the classroom.

“The choices we have are difficult ones,” CPS chief budget officer Mike Sitkowski told the Board of Education, “and it’s very difficult for us to be able to make cuts of this magnitude and keep the impact off of our schools.”

The lawsuit details sixteen arrests that preceded the hire of Romel Campoverde by the district. The complaint highlights cases in which police said he admitted to being a member of the Satan Disciple street gang before he was hired at Farragut Career Academy High School.

CPS officials are faced with closing a whopping $734 million deficit by the end of the month. There is little wiggle room to cut costs or bring in revenue.