Side Letter on Progressive Revenue

The Board and the Union shall collaborate to support mutually agreeable local, state and federal legislation that calls for a sustainable taxes that are levied on a progressive basis.

The Board and the Union shall also collaborate to seek additional local revenue, including advocating for record annual funding through the city's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) surplus, advocacy for allowing Chicago Tax Increment Financing Districts to expire, increasing the property levy up to the extension limitation, full state funding of Chicago Pre-K programming, additional state and federal special education funding to meet the rising needs of students with disabilities, maximize medicaid reimbursement for all eligible students, progressive taxation to ensure that schools are funded properly and provide increased state funding to meet the adequacy targets set by the Evidence-Based Funding Formula.

This collaboration shall include jointly supporting mutually agreeable levels of increased state funding for the We Care Mentor Program and District-managed teacher mentoring programs, with the goal of expanding the programs, providing stipends for coaches, and considering other ways to increase the programs’ effectiveness. The Board and union will collaborate on release time to coordinate lobby days for school funding efforts and shared policy objectives. Lobby days requiring the release of more than fifteen (15) CTU bargaining unit members will be scheduled only on non-instructional days and limited to two (2) days per academic year.