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Read the press release here.

Rauner Fires Back At CPS Cuts, Calling Them 'Curiously Timed, Unfortunate'

By Heather Cherone | February 7, 2017 3:10pm
 Rauner attends ground breaking for new By The Hand Club building in Austin.
Rauner attends ground breaking for new By The Hand Club building in Austin.
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DNAinfo/Mauricio Pena

CHICAGO — Gov. Bruce Rauner fired back Tuesday at Chicago Public Schools officials for slashing $46 million from public schools' budgets to fill the hole blown in the district's budget by the governor's veto of $215 million officials had been counting on.

In a letter to Chicago parents on Rauner's letterhead and signed by Illinois Education Secretary Beth Purvis, the governor called the cuts "curiously timed and unfortunate."

On Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool likened Rauner to President Donald Trump and accused him of attacking the "most vulnerable among us — largely poor and minority students — to score points in a political chess match."

RELATED: SEE HOW $46M IN CUTS AFFECT YOUR SCHOOL

However, the letter from the governor's office blamed "CPS' continued mismanagement" for the shortfall, and said the governor had been working to "help Chicago."

"That is why yesterday's announcement by CPS that the district would cut services came as a shock to all of us," Purvis wrote.

However, Claypool said in a statement that the governor "has proven himself to be unreliable" in the effort to ensure Chicago schools are equitably funded.

"If this is a change of heart, we hope there is funding behind his rhetoric," Claypool said, adding that CPS had no choice but to "take emergency actions now to meet its legal obligation to keep revenues and expenses balanced, and cannot blithely and irresponsibly fail to do so as the governor and Springfield have done for two consecutive years."

CPS had counted on the $215 million vetoed by Rauner to pay employees' pensions when that bill comes due in the summer.

CPS officials said they would freeze half of schools' discretionary funds, which can be used to purchase textbooks and technology as well as to pay for afterschool programs, field trips and hourly staff totaling $46 million. However, in an attempt to avoid penalizing schools that squirreled away money, schools will lose no more than 5 percent of their overall budget, officials said.

The school district will save another $5 million by canceling professional development events for the district's central office staff. Unless the state funds are restored, charter schools will also see their budgets slashed by $18 million by the end of the year, officials said.

Last month, Claypool ordered four unpaid furlough days for all school district employees to save $35 million. The first unpaid day was Friday, and more than 100 teachers protested outside the mayor's office.

The School Board is expected to consider the cuts at its Feb. 22 meeting. CPS, which has a low credit rating, would be hard-pressed to borrow money, forcing officials to impose cuts at schools across the city.

The fiscal crisis for the school district began in November, when Rauner blamed Illinois Senate President John Cullerton for torpedoing a compromise inked in June that allowed schools to open in September. Part of that deal promised Chicago schools an additional $215 million to help cover its pension obligations — in return for statewide "pension reform," a long-held goal of the governor.

However, Cullerton said in a statement that he did not break the agreement and was willing to continue hammering out an agreement with the governor on pension reform.

In a message to legislators, Rauner said he would not sign the bill because it would amount to a "bailout" for CPS.

Rauner and Speaker of the House Michael Madigan have been locked in a bitter fight over the Illinois budget.

The governor wants lawmakers to adopt his agenda, which he says will spur business growth in Illinois as part of a budget agreement. Democrats have refused, and the impasse lasted nearly two years.

A bill that would adopt a budget, and set a new funding formula for school districts, is pending in the Senate.

"Why would CPS arbitrarily create a crisis and hurt its students and teachers rather than work to pass the Senate's balanced budget reform package?" Purvis wrote to Chicago parents.

"Rather than cutting services and creating a crisis to help justify a campaign to raise taxes in Springfield, it would be helpful to everyone if CPS would work with all parties" to pass a balanced budget, Purvis wrote.