When Chicago teachers marched through the Loop in early April, they put Chicago Public Schools on notice that a strike before the end of the school year is a real possibility.
Now, CPS is making plans on how to handle what could be a shortened semester, attempting to ensure in particular that seniors will be able to matriculate.
"We have contingency plans in motion," CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said Thursday. "We are working closely with our principals to ensure that our children can graduate and that a strike would not prevent them from graduating."
Both the school district and the teachers union continue to negotiate, and to look to Springfield.
The Chicago Teachers Union is looking to revamp the school funding formula.
"The District desperately needs sustainable, stable and increasing revenue to finance its operations," said CTU President Karen Lewis.
Chicago Faith leaders met with Governor Bruce Rauner Thursday morning, seeking some kind of funding solution that would keep Chicago Schools open.
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"He listened and he talked, and we listened and we talked. It was a great dialogue," said Rev. Walter Turner of the New Spiritual Light Missionary Baptist Church.
"We hope there is not a strike, and our intention is as always to get a deal and we are going to do everything possible to get a deal," Claypool added.
The earliest that teachers could go on strike is May 16.
