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Is CPS Planning To Repair Your Child's School? Find Out Here

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago has big plans for 300 schools across the city next year. With $820 million budgeted for everything from additional pre-K classrooms to much-needed improvements to aging buildings, thousands of students will see their schools improved in coming months.

Close to 15 percent of the money in Chicago Public Schools's (CPS) 2020 budget will go to the city's ongoing pre-K expansion, started by Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The rest will pay for playgrounds, athletic facilities, interior renovations, new windows and roof repairs.

 

 

Is your child's school getting an upgrade?

 

 

Crumbling facilities are nothing new to CPS schools. In January, CBS 2's Jim Williams reported parents of kids at George Washington Elementary on the city's Southeast Side had complained their school was in such bad shape it was making them sick. Parents blamed a leaky roof, floors separating from walls and faulty heating and air conditioning, but the school received only $36,000 for improvements in the previous year's budget.

 

Related: George Washington Elementary Parents: School Is Making Our Kids Sick

 

This year, it's a different story. George Washington Elementary, along with hundreds of other schools, will see millions in improvements; George Washington's budget for 2020 is $4 million for interior renovations.

 

Where did the money go? 

 

 

Among the biggest winners in next year's budget are Roger C. Sullivan High School in Rogers Park, with more than $25 million budgeted for roof repairs, and Morgan Park High School, which will receive more than $22 million for roof repairs and a new athletic field. Across the city, at least 35 schools will receive at least $1 million for improvements, according to city data.

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