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* Chicago Sun-Times editorial…
Allow us to suggest another 415 million reasons for the state Legislature to reject a bill to create a fully elected school board for Chicago.
That’s $415.4 million, to be exact — the amount of money the City of Chicago kicked into the Chicago Public Schools’ budget for fiscal year 2021.
Good luck collecting that kind of cash in the future, no matter how pressing the need, if Chicago’s chief executive — the mayor — no longer has authority over the public schools.
The city as a whole has its own financial problems, as any mayor would be sure to point out, and other priorities, such as not raising property taxes, would come first. Let the 21 members of an elected school board solve their own problems.
Yeah. The mayor is just gonna walk away from the school system and let it collapse if s/he doesn’t fully control it. Right. Well, OK, maybe this mayor might try, but she can’t do it.
* Our trusted pal Amanda Kass fact checks…
From reading the pension code and CPS financial reports, my understanding is that the City of Chicago is responsible for the cost of pension benefits for all members of the [Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago], which would include the non-teaching CPS staff. In other words, even though CPS is the employer for all CPS staff, the City of Chicago is legally responsible for the employer contribution for CPS staff that are part of the MEABF.
Both CPS and the CTU have said the pension cost of CPS staff in the MEABF is the City’s responsibility. CPS has explicitly stated this in past financial reports […]
As a means of relieving some of that fiscal pressure the City, under Mayor Lightfoot’s leadership, is looking to have CPS pay the pension cost for the CPS employees that are in MEABF. The way this has been structured is that the City pays the money to MEABF, and CPS makes a payment to the City (rather than CPS just paying into MEABF). This began with the City’s 2020 budget and is outlined in this intergovernmental agreement between the City and CPS. City leadership is referring to this as a “pension reimbursement”, but I think of it more as a cost shift since the City has historically paid for the CPS-MEABF member pensions.
In 2020, CPS paid $60 million, and from the IGA it looks like CPS will pay $100 million in 2021. To sum, the context for why this is happening now is that the City is looking to have CPS pay for CPS staffs’ pensions that the City has historically paid for as the City’s required contributions increase over time.
Bringing it back to the topic of the Sun-Times editorial, their argument (and the Civic Federation who they link to) seem to be arguing that without Mayoral control, the City can’t (or won’t) make the pension payments for the CPS-MEABF members. But, again, CPS’ legal interpretation is that the payments are the City’s, not CPS’, obligation. In other words, this isn’t something the Mayor has discretion and is choosing to do. As such, the implications of an elected school board may be the reverse: that without Mayoral control, the City can’t get CPS to pay for the CPS-MEABF pensions. [Emphasis added.]
So, the city is already trying to get out of its commitment, but it is ultimately responsible for paying the tab. And if mayoral control evaporates, the city could be even more on the hook.
Heh.
Somebody got duped.
[Headline explained here and here.]
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 28, 21 @ 2:10 am
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If CPS pays the pension costs for the CPS employees that are in Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago, isn’t there a risk that classroom funding will be cut? This is the wrong time, IMHO, to give urban parents another reason to bolt for the suburbs.
Comment by Kramer Friday, May 28, 21 @ 6:19 am
With an elected school board we will have a fascinating dynamic where a municipality without an elected executive (CPS) negotiated with the GA to help shift these mandates. It will boost the influence of Chicago legislators with respect to schools, and make for some fascinating career paths. Is still a promotion to go from State Rep to City council? From city or state legislator to CPS board?
Lots of extra work for operatives and lobbyists too, of course.
Comment by Phineas Gurley Friday, May 28, 21 @ 7:05 am
I’m just still unconvinced that an elected CPS board is a good idea. Do we really want high cost elections for school board? What happens when a tax increase is needed? Do the “targeted” members take a pass on voting for it or any controversial decisions? Then there is this question regarding the CoC - CPS relationship as in the original post.
As it currently stands, if a voter is unhappy with the way Chicago schools are being run, they vote against the mayor. She is clearly in charge of CPS currently. With an elected board, the voter has to research who their school
Board members is, their voting record, etc etc. Will they do that or have the tools to evaluate that? Seems like less accountability with an elected board rather than more.
Comment by low level Friday, May 28, 21 @ 8:26 am
Yet another example of an editorial board that leads with a conclusion and ignores facts which don’t support it. Can’t really say that newspapers are being duped if they’re not willing to verify the most basic assumptions that form their opinions. But hey, why should the Trib ed board have all the fun?
Comment by Pundent Friday, May 28, 21 @ 8:33 am
If we had a mayor who understood Springfield and the political process, a statutory shift in pension payments would have been discretely placed in the bill as a break on the transition to a fully elected board. Tough talking press conferences are no replacement for an actual legislative strategy.
Comment by TNR Friday, May 28, 21 @ 8:34 am
What a bunch of nonsense. The issue of an elected school board is in no way related to the budget or Chicago’s financial obligation since it is codified in statutes.
There is a simple fix though. Give the elected board the same power to levy for the expenses of CPS that every single other school district in the state of Illinois possess.
Since CPS is a PTELL district there will be automatic limitations. Whatever their base tax rate is would be deducted from the city tax rate.
At the end of the day every single school district (with the exception of CPS)in the state has and elected school board. CPS should too.
Comment by JS Mill Friday, May 28, 21 @ 8:34 am
=== if a voter is unhappy with the way Chicago schools are being run, they vote against the mayor===
lolol
When has a Chicago mayor ever lost a race over the schools?
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 28, 21 @ 9:20 am
**a statutory shift in pension payments would have been discretely placed in the bill as a break on the transition to a fully elected board.**
LOL - that is not something that you can get done discretely.
Comment by SaulGoodman Friday, May 28, 21 @ 9:23 am
Saul is right.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 28, 21 @ 9:27 am
==When has a Chicago mayor ever lost a race over the schools?==
If you define lost as an incumbent losing a race, well it’s a pretty small sample size in Chicago. Schools were a pretty central issue in Mayor’s Emanuel’s 2011 campaign and his reelection in 2015.
Comment by Three Dimensional Checkers Friday, May 28, 21 @ 9:32 am
On the issue of an elected Chicago School Board, the Sun Times echoes the Chicago Tribune editorial board, promoting fears and doubts.
Michael Sacks, close ally of former Mayor Emanuel, has an ownership stake in the Sun Times. Sacks was part of a group whose of the Sun Times was predicted to…
“….shift control of the company from a consortium of organized labor groups to Sacks, Wirtz and Jorge Ramirez, who continues as board chairman. A majority of seats on the board will be held by the new entity, Sun-Times Investment Holdings LLC. The announcement did not disclose financial details.” https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/03/28/new-investors-sacks-wirtz-fortify-sun-times-ownership-group/
Sachs traveled to Springfield several years ago, when Emanuel was Mayor, to lobby on the city’s behalf.
Sacks is Chairman and CEO of GCM Grosvenor, a global asset manager with $65 Billion in assets.
Comment by Ashland Adam Friday, May 28, 21 @ 9:37 am
== When has a Chicago mayor ever lost a race over the schools?==.
Never said they have, but that certainly can be one factor in voting decisions Chicago residents make.
At least in that scenario, if I’m completely unsatisfied with the way CPS is run, I know to vote against the mayor. With this elected board, I have to figure out who my board member is, what his or her voting record is, etc etc.
For political junkies and readers of this blog, they will know how to research this. Will the average voter do so? As of now, not only do most Chicagoans not know who their state rep or senator is, they don’t know what they are. Can we expect better for CPS Board races / members?
It’s an open question certainly.
Comment by low level Friday, May 28, 21 @ 10:09 am
==the City of Chicago is legally responsible for the employer contribution for CPS staff that are part of the MEABF==
Amanda missed something. According to the Civic Federation, CPS also picks up 7% of the employee pension contribution for non-teacher, union members of the City of Chicago Municipal Pension Fund. The current cost of that benefit is $40 million/year. So it’s not just the employer contribution that’s in play here.
https://www.civicfed.org/sites/default/files/fy2021_cps_budget_analysis_.pdf
Comment by City Zen Friday, May 28, 21 @ 10:10 am
=== Will the average voter do so? ===
Up to them. That’s part of living in a democratic republic.
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 28, 21 @ 10:10 am
The real reason some people do not want an elected school board is fear CTU will get their slate of candidates elected. There is no other teacher union in the state as politically savvy as CTU.
Comment by Chicagonk Friday, May 28, 21 @ 10:13 am
=There is no other teacher union in the state as politically savvy as CTU.=
And yet time and again we see parents siding with the CTU over the mayor, regardless of who it is, in labor disputes. Seems that a lot of the opposition to an elected board is coming from people that don’t have kids attending CPS and/or people that don’t live in the city.
Comment by Pundent Friday, May 28, 21 @ 10:26 am
== The real reason some people do not want an elected school board is fear CTU will get their slate of candidates elected==
With an elected CPS Board, we will have one slate of candidates supported by CTU and another slate backed by business interests. These will be high cost / high profile
contests.
Comment by low level Friday, May 28, 21 @ 11:08 am
With an elected board, we may actually get to be represented by some parents with children currently attending the Chicago public schools.
Comment by James Friday, May 28, 21 @ 11:33 am
I think Jane Byrne lost in part because of her choice for school board. Really angered Black voters and gave Garold Washington another issue.
Comment by DuPage Saint Friday, May 28, 21 @ 12:06 pm
City Zen:
I’m aware of the pick-up, but I don’t believe that’s what is at play. The pick-up (the employer paying a portion of what is otherwise the employee’s contribution) is already being done by CPS for both the teaching and non-teaching staff. Paying the pick-up is a function of the union contracts between CPS and the employee unions, not an IGA between CPS and the City.
The pick-up costs are separate from the employer contributions to the MEABF and CTPF. So the $60M, now $100M, CPS is reimbursing the City is in addition to the money it already pays for the pick-up costs.
Comment by That Kass Friday, May 28, 21 @ 12:13 pm
Isn’t this essentially a repeat of Rauner threatening to hold CPS funding hostage unless he got his way?
Comment by Third reading Friday, May 28, 21 @ 1:00 pm
Amanda Kass, the good Kass, is a treasure.
Comment by The Captain Friday, May 28, 21 @ 1:16 pm
60% of the MEABF employees are CPS employees. It’s really a CPS pension fund. And why should the City pay for CPS employees? It’s like asking them to pay for Cook County pensions. Also, as Laurence notes, the City is the only city in the state that has to pay for their school district’s non-teacher pension costs. How is that fair?
Comment by Burning Porch Friday, May 28, 21 @ 4:17 pm
=== It’s really a CPS pension fund===
Tell that to the aldermen
Comment by Rich Miller Friday, May 28, 21 @ 4:28 pm
==60% of the MEABF employees are CPS employees. It’s really a CPS pension fund.==
Many IMRF participants are employed by schools, but I wouldn’t call it a school pension fund.
Comment by City Zen Friday, May 28, 21 @ 5:09 pm
== When has a Chicago mayor ever lost a race over the schools?==.
Jane Byrne, who replaced black board members with white ones, sparking the fire that led to Harold Washington’s election.
Comment by Ancient Chicagoan Friday, May 28, 21 @ 5:58 pm