>> Chicago public schools is facing a 732 million dollar budget shortfall and possibly hundreds of layoffs for teachers and school support staff last week, CPS CEO Macklin King unveiled a nearly 10 billion dollar budget proposal that would rely on 200 million dollars in tax increment financing from the city and 5 unpaid furlough days to help close the Gap.

King calls the plan, thoughtful, responsible and entirely student-centered.

But the Chicago teachers union says the plan is dead on arrival.

It's calling for more funding from the state instead.

Joining us to discuss the budget are Jennifer Custer, CPS board member representing District One B, which includes neighborhoods like North Center and Lincoln Square.

Angie to Brown CPS board member representing District 5, a which includes neighborhoods like Austin and Ukrainian Village.

Thank you both for being here.

We appreciate thank happened.

So obviously a lot of specifics in this budget which will delve into, but just to begin with, can you kind of briefly give me your reaction to the proposal that just came out Jennifer Custer, if I can start with Sure.

I mean, I think everyone on the board can agree.

It's not a perfect budget right?

>> And it doesn't address some of the other bigger problems and certainly the cuts and layoffs or something that I don't think any of us are very happy about.

>> But we do have to consider where we are financially where we are with enrollment in the district and some of these other things to do the best and most responsible budgeting that we can at this moment and she to Brown.

What was your initial initial reaction to this proposal?

>> I agree that that this is a tough fiscal crisis.

Also believe there are ways to get a balanced budget without.

Slashing teachers without slashing a lunchroom workers without slashing teacher aides to a district that has already been wounded by those types of policies.

There's belief that this or what was to us is that budget has been very student Senate.

But I've talked to schools in my district and they had their massive layoffs, for example, Westinghouse High School has has has 15 layoffs by.

There's no way they can have a negative impact on students.

So Jennifer Custer, the board has until late August to pass a budget.

>> But you wrote in a recent Tribune op-ed that failing to pass a spending plan by the end of this month would represent a financial calamity.

Why do you think that's the case yet?

We have to pass this budget by July.

30th in order for the district to go over to the banks.

>> Get all their legal paperwork and financial paperwork in order so that we can take out more tans.

We are having some issues with our short term cash flow because the county hasn't delivered some of that money to us.

And we really need that to keep our doors open and continue to operate starting August 24th.

So we do have to get this done in a timely fashion.

that the district has enough time to get that in order to get that cash flowing in so that we can open and operate at the start of the school How about that you to ground?

think there is that sense of urgency there to get this done?

That's what being told.

>> We also understand that there may be other options to take out different types of loans.

They can get us.

>> A little more time to make sure that able 2 look at other options like a special session by by the state of Illinois.

I think it's important to note that this crisis.

He's a manufactured crisis.

It is a crisis that is that has happened because of the structural deficit that political leaders have not had.

The courage to address.

And so our children supposed to be the ones who actually pay for that.

I think it's very important that to note that you have states like California where almost 50 little bit of a 50% of the school's local school, but a school's budget are covered by state by the state and Chicago with far below that.

It's also important remember that the decades 3 decades, Chicago, Illinois, despite she have an international city and its MS 49th in education funding.

So there's generational harm that's been done right June so it is time for the state to do some get right.

But in the noise so how about that idea of a special session, Jennifer custody under, you know, the state's own evidence-based funding formula.

>> You know, the state is not providing it sort of the full freight to CPS, although it says it's ramping up.

But what do you make of of the calls from some of your colleagues and other folks for a special session?

Yeah, I they're right.

There's not enough money in the evidence.

Base funding formula were not getting everything that we should be getting from the state and >> it has taken them far longer, too, to get to where they need to and the goals that they had set.

But I think one of the things that we are not understanding is that even if a special special session were called and even if there were other progressive revenue solutions, those wouldn't be realized in this budget to help us in the crisis that we're in now, they wouldn't show up until even next year.

And we also don't know how the state will appropriate any of that money to us as it goes through the appropriations process.

So we don't know how much we will really get to the district.

How much will go to other services around the state, transportation and things like that.

So it's really important, I think to understand that just because we call a special session and we pushed for these things doesn't actually mean that any of that money will come to our door or as much money as we anticipated will come to our door through appropriations to around and say shaking your head there for some that.

>> You I respect my and you know, I'm just cut from different cloth.

I believe that was needed to make changes time space and will just because they tell us this is what it Does not mean.

That's what it is.

They told us we couldn't pass progressive revenue this session and we passed a digital ads.

Tax which is providing much more than was anticipated.

Another option could pushing the state to make sure that is an amount earmarked for education and that money is available this year.

So I it's debatable whether the money will be available coming from the state this year.

I think there are ways to make that happen.

We've seen things like that happen before and also believe that there there's an existing revenue source that has just been one where money could be for education from the digital at.

Jennifer Custer.

In a statement last week, Chicago teachers union president Stacy Davis, Gates.

>> Said this proposed spending plan is dead on arrival, citing among other things, the layoffs in the furloughs.

What's your reaction to the seat whose opposition to this budget?

>> I just don't think that's collaboration.

I think we've heard President Davis Gates come and say to people all the time come to the table.

Come with us.

Come do this.

But I don't think that she's reciprocating.

That notion on this budget.

I think, you know, Doctor King said this in her interview.

This is a budget with a shared sacrifice.

It's not just one entity that is seeing these cuts.

It's everybody and they're sharing that sacrifice across the district.

And I think when you lead, you have to show our families and our students that you are willing to collaborate and have conversations.

We do have to protect.

Our district as well.

We do have to make decisions that are best for the district best for the students of the district moving forward.

And that means we need everybody at the table that's actually going to collaborate.

And if you just come in and say now we're not going to do this.

This is dead on arrival.

We're not gonna be part of the conversation.

It's not true collaboration and we're not really working together.

How about that CTU acting as a as a collaborator here?

I'm curious what your reaction I believe that the Chicago teachers union has attempted to meet with the district, has attempted to sit down with the district >> repeatedly, I didn't go our way back to the mayday controversy right in there and that there were efforts to sit down with the district.

I think we have to do a better job as a district.

Of actually knowing and understanding how to be in coalition.

I think it and I look at it like this.

My job is not to protect the shield right?

I I was elected to represent the people.

They live on the west side of Chicago.

And so my loyalty is there.

And so I think, yes, we we have to make decisions that it that they keep the district solvent.

But also it's important note that that.

Chicago public schools, we could have been working in harmony with the city of Chicago.

The the labor unions, community-based organizations since the beginning of this year.

To prep some to call for the Progressive Revenue Solutions and to start calling for that.

Now.

Unfortunately, as a district we get on board, we just passed a legislative agenda right?

So we do move.

We have to understand we don't move like we understand how to be a coalition.

so I think that's a and it's a can.

That's that is a constructive criticism.

It's very I do not believe that the Chicago teachers union should be demonized in this moment.

And while most of time.

But I want to ask you both, you know, obviously the pressure is on, you know, to close the 700 million dollar cap for the upcoming budget.

>> But CPS, as you both mentioned, as long-term structural challenges.

Jennifer Casteel, start with you.

What do you think needs to happen to put CPS on a more long-term stable footing?

I think we need to take a look at our real fiscal situation.

And I think we have to live within our means.

>> The reality is that our district and many districts across the country, our our funded based on local funds and not necessarily heavily on state funds and federal funds.

And so we have a finite amount of money that we can use and that we can build with.

And we have to live within our means and start talking about what is the return on some of the investments that we've made.

What are some of the programs that we're doing?

How are they operating?

And we need to have some serious conversations about what that looks like moving forward to to >> Respectfully.

What my colleague just said.

Is the language of school closings.

It's the language of consolidations and and 88% of the children impacted by school closings.

A black children.

That is absolutely not a that just double for me.

If I understand correctly, there's some get right needs to be done with communities that have suffered from they have suffered from decades of disinvestment.

So.

A school that's under utilized.

I'm using quotation marks.

It's actually an opportunity.

The finding to give black children smaller class size to finally give black and brown children services in schools that can actually meet the needs like the food, a clinic that Cedric Elementary School.

So I don't believe in the notion of right-sizing the district that is a private eyes.

As mine said.

And that is how we should be representing the families and the children of the city of Chicago.

All right.

Very complicated topic.

both sharing your insights.

Jennifer Custer due to ground.

Thank you very Thanks for having Thank you.

>> Up next to congressional candidates kicked off November's ballot, share their reactions.

>> Education reporting on