The Chicago Board of Education approved the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) budget for the 2025-26 school year on August 28, 2025, just one day before the state deadline. The budget addresses a $734 million deficit that CPS faced at the start of the school year, which began on August 18. To manage this shortfall, the board included provisions allowing CPS to borrow a $200 million loan. The budget approval followed intense negotiations and disagreements involving CPS officials, the mayor's office, the Chicago Teachers Union, and city alderpeople, particularly concerning a municipal pension payment and the allocation of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) surplus funds. The Chicago Teachers Union urged alderpeople to commit $500 million in TIF surplus to CPS to help close the budget gap and restore cuts to workers. Additionally, CPS has added over a dozen new sustainable community schools amid the budget discussions. Meanwhile, the University of Chicago announced $100 million in spending cuts to address its own structural deficit. The CPS debt has reached over $28,000 per student. The budget vote was a critical moment in a budget season described as one of the most momentous in recent memory for Chicago schools.