PORTAGE PARK — A panel discussion designed to help parents make sense of the budget issues facing the troubled Chicago Public Schools is set to take place at O.A. Thorp Scholastic Academy.
Hosted by the Portage Park Neighborhood Association, the event has invited representatives of the Chicago Teachers Union, CPS officials as well as members of parent group Raise Your Hand, organizers said.
The panel is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. March 21 at Thorp, 6024 W. Warwick Ave.
CPS officials, facing a massive financial shortfall, told principals Wednesday to stop spending money as district leaders scramble to meet a $688 million pension payment due June 30.
The union Wednesday announced that a general strike would take place April 1 and asked "all concerned Chicago citizens" to skip work and boycott classrooms.
A teachers strike could occur as early as the end of May, depending on the outcome of negotiations.
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