Inside the leadership crisis, school board shakeup, and upcoming elections [Video]

CHICAGO – Chicago Public Schools is the fourth-largest public school district in the country.

As of 2023, 323,000 students were enrolled in CPS. The majority are from communities of color – 47% identifying as Hispanic, 35% as Black, 11% as White, and 4.5% as Asian American.

There are 634 total schools. A handful of them are magnet and selective enrollment schools where students must test in. They are some of the highest-performing schools in the state.

CPS reported an 84% graduation rate for the class of 2023. According to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, only 31% of third through eighth graders read at grade level, and only 19% met grade-level math standards.

Even if Chicagoresidents don’t have children in CPS, they still have a stake. Fifty-five percent of every property tax bill goes toward CPS, amounting to a total levy near $4 billion. Together with state money and federal grants, CPS’s total budget is …