As students returned to campuses this week, Chicago Public Schools has rehired more than 300 full-time employees who were laid off this summer, officials said.
Nearly 150 of those rehires are returning to their previous positions, as requested by their principals, Deputy Chief Talent Officer Jerry Taylor said during a virtual budget update Tuesday evening.
Earlier this month, the district said the money allocated in its amended $10.1 billion budget won’t be enough to restore all 700 positions cut as it aimed to close a $732 million shortfall. It’s unclear how many more teaching positions will be filled, but CPS officials said they will work to place available staff in positions principals have identified as critical. However, $100 million in state funds, as designated in the budget, will not be enough to restore all the jobs that were slashed, district officials said Tuesday.
Still, district officials touted that its teacher vacancy rate had shrunk to 1.6% for the 2026-27 school year, an improvement over the 2.2% reported earlier this month. By comparison, the district had a 2.5% vacancy rate the year before.
The vacancy rates for special education staff and bilingual teachers also improved since the previous budget update on Aug. 18, with both reporting a similar figure of 1.8% for the 2026-27 school year. Earlier this month, the district reported the special education staff vacancy rate was 2.4%, and the bilingual teachers’ vacancy rate was 2.1%.
“When we think about vacancies, I want you to know that those aren’t empty classrooms. There are faces, there are children in those classrooms, and it’s very important that we’re able to identify and hire staff to fill those vacancies across the city,” CEO Macquiline King said. “I just wanted to restate that we’re making strides, but we still have some areas of growth to make on the south and the west sides of Chicago.”
Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King greets students on the first day of school, Aug. 24, 2026, at Leland Elementary in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The update comes as the district continues to battle financial uncertainty that is creeping into the school year.
CPS is considered only 70% funded under the state’s funding formula, and, to put pressure on lawmakers, the school board approved an amended budget in July that includes $150 million in unconfirmed state funds. The amended budget also requires the district to restore the slashed positions.
District leaders previously warned that midyear cuts would be necessary if the funds don’t materialize, a message that King reiterated at Tuesday night’s meeting after spending time with lawmakers in Springfield last week.
While the meetings included talks about building ongoing relationships and expanding our advocacy, King did not say the district secured the funding it is banking on, instead calling it an “ongoing process.”
“In our conversations with lawmakers, we stressed that if we do not receive the additional funding that we need…we will be forced to make disruptive mid-year cuts to our classrooms, and that has been our priority to protect classrooms, however, in the event this year, if we do not receive the additional $150 million, then we will be forced to look at and consider cuts to the classroom,” King said.
Going forward, the focus is on ensuring the district is fully funded, she added.
“We’re going to continue to advocate for additional state funding. We are going to continue to implement the [fiscal year] budget, and we will continue to update you on how the budget is performing,” King said.