There’s no room in the budget to cut, we’re told.
All education dollars are for the children, we’re told.
So why did Chicago Public Schools bankroll a teacher’s $4,700 trip to a Hawaiian luxury resort, a suburban spa retreat for elementary school staff, and limo (not Uber) services to and from Chicago airports?
Many folks can’t even expense a ride-share for a work event.
CPS’ Office of the Inspector General is calling on district leaders to tighten travel rules after uncovering “questionable, excessive and even exorbitant” spending on overnight trips, according to a report released last week.
The report found that CPS travel expenditures on things such as airfare and lodging more than doubled from 2019 to 2024, jumping to $7.7 million from $3.6 million before the pandemic.
Consider the genesis of this investigation. According to the OIG’s office, the whole thing started because they received a complaint about an elementary school that paid more than $20,000 to one vendor for staff travel to Egypt–without proper approval. The trip was canceled one day before folks were scheduled to leave; thus a can of worms was opened.
The Hawaii trip and Egypt tours weren’t anomalies. They were part of a broader culture of indulgence. From Orlando to Las Vegas to Disney World, CPS employees repeatedly stretched or ignored the rules: unapproved conferences, inflated fares, upgraded suites and limo rides to the airport–paid for with public money.
One principal attended seven conferences in two years. Another booked a suite in Las Vegas and shared it with their non-CPS employee spouse for the couple’s anniversary, booking the lodgings for an extra day without approval.
Don’t get us wrong–we accept that travel has gotten more expensive and that folks can benefit from professional development. Understanding best practices in the field of teaching is a good thing.
Yet the picture painted in this report is one of decadence and disregard for the district’s financial reality–of profligate spending on the taxpayers’ dime while many regular people can’t even afford a modest family vacation.
CPS officials acknowledged that the district had not been routinely reviewing or tracking overnight travel expenses each year. Administrators routinely signed off on lodging and airfare that exceeded allowable rates by two or three times–and in some cases, more. The report describes failures in the district as having a “flawed travel approval process” and a “deficient bookkeeping system.”
This is a district of half-full schools and empty coffers. As regular Chicagoans tighten their belts, so too must CPS–starting with an outright ban on luxury travel until its finances are in order.
Columnist: Spas, suites, safaris and shopping: Who wouldn’t want to work at Chicago Public Schools?
