{
  "id": 11287077,
  "title": "Chicago teachers, school leaders navigate uncertainty after school board reverses summer layoffs",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/chicago-teachers-school-leaders-navigate-uncertainty-after-school",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T21:31:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Chalkbeat",
    "slug": "chalkbeat",
    "url": "https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2026/10/01/teachers-and-school-leaders-navigate-uncertainty-as-layoffs-are-reversed/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chicago teachers and school leaders are navigating uncertainty following a Chicago Board of Education decision to reverse summer layoffs, despite the possibility that additional funding required for the rehired staff may not materialize. Andrew Feigenbaum, one of 350 people CPS has rehired under the budget mandate, is co-teaching a fifth-grade class at Fernwood Elementary, a school in the Far South Side. He described the school as academically focused and pleasant, but hesitates to display personal items due to the risk of being laid off again. While many rehired staff members have returned to their old schools in similar positions, others have been placed in new schools or different roles, according to district records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. The Chicago Public Education Fund's chief, Nelson Gerew, cautioned that if the additional $100 million in state funding is not available, these positions could be eliminated in December or January. However, some principals expressed that they did not necessarily need the rehired staffers and preferred to fill specific roles their schools required but that CPS had not funded. The Chicago Teachers Union and the principals union did not respond to requests for comment. The district has rehired staff at over 200 schools, with about 45% placed at their old schools and another 37% at new schools with similar job titles. The remaining 18% were placed in roles they did not have last school year. CPS CEO Maria King and her team, along with seven board members, opposed the budget amendment that assumed additional state money, warning that it could lead to midyear budget cuts and disruption for schools. The resolution remains uncertain as it is unclear whether additional funding is coming or if the city of Chicago will send more special taxing district dollars to CPS.",
  "summary": "After being laid off from his teaching job this summer and not hearing back from schools with competitive open jobs, Andrew Feigenbaum did not expect to be rehired by Chicago Public Schools. Then a divided Chicago Board of Education narrowly passed a budget in late July that required…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}