Chicago Public Schools are cutting nearly 700 jobs but at the same time seeking to hire 1,900 individuals. Teachers and support staff being laid off can apply to the new openings. | Stock Photo
Chicago Public Schools are cutting nearly 700 jobs but at the same time seeking to hire 1,900 individuals. Teachers and support staff being laid off can apply to the new openings. | Stock Photo
When the Chicago Public Schools students head back to school, in whatever format, it may be with fewer teachers unless more educators are hired.
The district in June said it was laying off 286 teachers and 417 support staffers because of declining enrollment and program changes, Chalkbeat Chicago reported in mid-June. However, the report said Chicago Public Schools intend to hire approximately 1,900 people for education-related openings. Laid-off staffers will be allowed to vie for the new positions, with all the recruitment and hiring set to take place in a virtual capacity.
“Consistent with previous years, the number of available positions far exceeds the number of impacted staff, and the district will be hosting several virtual hiring events in the coming weeks,” district spokeswoman Emily Bolton said in a statement, Chalkbeat Chicago reported.
In all, 286 teachers and 417 support staff members are set to be laid off due to declining enrollment and “programmatic changes.”
According to Chalkbeat, Chicago Public Schools in 2019 laid off 220 teachers and almost 500 support workers before embarking on a hiring spree where more than two-thirds of those staffers were rehired in other positions.
Over the last decade, student enrollment has steadily declined in Chicago, resulting in the teacher workforce falling this year to 21,430 compared to upwards of 25,000 as recently as in 2010.
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