The Chicago Public Schools' Capital Improvement Program -- commonly known as the "CIP" -- is the five-year plan for what schools CPS expects to build and repair. NCBG has prepared a brief fact sheet on understanding the Chicago Public Schools Capital Improvement Program (CIP) that may be printed out and distributed at community or Local School Council meetings.

Beginning in January 1996, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) establishes a five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) to renovate school buildings in disrepair, upgrade school facilities, and carry out new construction to alleviate overcrowding or replace old, unsafe school buildings. This blueprint — known as the Capital Improvement Program, or "CIP" — includes a separate page for each school building, and lists which projects have been completed, which projects are planned, how much the project is expected to cost, the funding source, and the expected construction date. The CIP only includes money for capital projects – large-scale investments in school facilities that are expected to last for a long time — not the day-to-day expenses of running a school such as textbooks or teacher salaries. Still, there are a wide variety of projects that may be included in the CIP: basic repairs (such as broken windows or leaky roofs), new construction (such as new school buildings or additions), educational enhancements (such as science labs or computer rooms), and other school facilities (such as gyms, playlots, and athletic fields). The CIP also includes the "annual capital budget" for school improvements, or, the actual appropriations for the current year (which is the first year of the five-year plan).

The formal opportunity for public input into CIP requests has been through CPS’ annual Spring capital budget hearings, where schools and parents have an opportunity to explain the basis for capital requests in hopes of receiving funds to meet their schools’ needs. In the end, the Chicago Public Schools, without a community advisory panel (dissolved in 1999), determines as to which schools will receive funding based on three broad goals, as follows:

1. Relieve Overcrowding through new school construction


2. Provide school building Renovations and Rehabilitation upgrades


3. Provide Educational Enhancements (i.e. Playlots, campus parks, site improvements, lockers, etc.)

How much has been spent? Since Spring 2002, CPS has invested more than $2.4 billion towards improving our schools; however, more than $2 billion worth of capital projects remain unfunded! Thanks to a $1 billion appropriation for statewide school construction, Chicago’s capital program can expect to receive about $100 million from the State for each Fiscal Year 2003 and FY 2004. But we must remember that there will always be a need for ongoing capital funds and a capital program. This is why it is crucial to encourage our elected officials to prioritize funds for school construction all across Illinois so that funding will be available. CPS must create a more balanced and strategic long-term “Facility Master Plan” so that our school capital projects are not missed or forgotten, but are well-planned, and prioritized in a fair way that is responsive to schools throughout all of Chicago neighborhoods.

Below, you can see how CPS has allocated funds for this school year 2002-2003 (FY 2003).

CPS’ FY 2003 Capital Improvement Program Budget By Category & Funded New School Construction Project

Find out what your school is getting this year

New school construction has been an important piece of funding, especially since more than 30% of our students attend overcrowded schools. However, some schools have been built because their current facilities are long overdue and are clear safety and health hazards. At least two of our high schools were temporarily placed in reconfigured wharehouses, but it wasn’t until decades later that school construction funding was finally allocated to build new replacement schools. Many other schools are literally temporary modulars (meant to look like a “real” school) that are long past its building life. As you can see, the balance of building new neighborhood schools to relieve overcrowding versus investing in neighborhood replacement schools is a priority policy issue that is sometimes misunderstood; however, when explained the public can understand and sympathize with these decisions.
What is more difficult to rationalize, however, is building new schools that aren’t intended to serve the local attendance area, and schools built in neighborhoods where there is little school-age population to attract. Spending allocations to build non-neighborhood schools tends to raise concerns to the public who is often demanding: What happened to the new school or project funds promised to us using 84% taxpayers money? This raises questions about CPS’ spending priorities and ranking for school capital projects. Click here to see what schools have been built, and which schools are funded for new construction.

History of the CPS CIP: Updates from NCBG’s The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

The Chicago Public Schools have come a long way since Paul Vallas and Gery Chico took over the two top spots there in 1996. Decades of neglected repairs have been addressed at many schools, and some have been replaced entirely. Schools are being modernized to meet the science and technology needs of a 21st Century education. And for the first time in years, new classrooms have been built in Chicago to alleviate severe overcrowding in many schools. There’s no question that Chicago’s schools are much better off now than they were five years ago. This is what’s good.

But the massive building and repair program has also had its share of challenges. Some of the ambitious promises made when the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was first unveiled haven’t come true. Many projects have been delayed, or disappeared from the CIP entirely. Parents, teachers, and principals still lack details about what exactly is planned for their schools, or when it will be completed. Hundreds of projects are listed in the CIP but have no funding, calling into question whether they will ever be done. This is what’s bad.

After four years of work on the Capital Improvement Program, CPS acknowledges that $2.5 billion worth of unfunded capital needs still remain. This $2.5 billion estimate only addresses today’s capital problems. It does not take into account the ongoing costs of maintenance, upkeep, expansion, and modernization of school facilities. The ability to use property tax revenues to issue new school construction and repair bonds is almost tapped out. The State’s infrastructure program – Illinois FIRST – has provided millions to help the cause, but it, too, is running out of funds. Bipartisan school construction legislation at the National level had enjoyed significant momentum and the aggressive backing of the President, but now is in jeopardy as the White House changes hands. Distressing questions exist about where Chicago will get the money to finish the job. This is what’s ugly.

This report looks at how far the Chicago Public Schools have come with its capital program since 1996: where it has succeeded, where it has failed, and what the future may hold. Finally, we present some suggestions for making the process better, and an assessment of where State and National school construction efforts stand.

Among the report’s key findings are:

The Good

Since 1996, CPS reports having completed approximately $2.3 billion worth of school improvements and new construction.
CPS has completed 489 major repair projects at a cost of over $598 million.
A dozen new elementary schools, three new high schools, and 53 elementary school additions have opened since 1996.
97 new classroom-construction projects are planned for the next five years at the elementary school levels, along with five new high schools and six additions to existing high schools.
CPS has been aggressive about seeking out what money is available beyond its local property tax base. CPS has captured $203 million in Illinois FIRST dollars and $14 million in National "Qualified Zone Academy Bonds," with more on the way. In addition, CPS has pursued changes to the State’s treatment of teacher’s pension funds that would bring another $1 billion into the capital program if passed, as well as attempted to tap into the City’s Tax Increment Financing program to fund school projects in certain neighborhoods.

The Bad

Many planned school improvements projects are unfunded. In fact, one-third of high school projects and three-quarters of planned elementary school projects are unfunded.
About $229 million worth of projects have disappeared without a trace from the CIP. More than half of these projects once were funded, but now have been cut from the capital plan without explanation.
Overcrowding remains a persistent problem. 36 percent of high schools and 32 percent of elementary schools are operating above their intended capacity, and many of them are severely overcrowded. Even more distressing, new elementary school additions are overcrowded again almost as soon as they open their doors. Of the 55 elementary school additions and six new schools that have been completed since 1996, 54 percent are already overcrowded again.
Not enough is being done to solve the high school overcrowding problem. In fact, just three of Chicago’s 10 most overcrowded high schools have any capacity additions planned, and none of these projects are funded.
Many elementary schools haven’t had their overcrowding problems addressed yet, either. In fact, 75 of the 149 overcrowded elementary schools – a full 50 percent – have no capacity additions planned.
CPS has been unclear about its plans for educational technology. Several generations of projects have come and gone from the CIP without clear evidence that they were completed. What is CPS really planning to do to make its schools ready for the 21st Century?

The Ugly

According to the National Education Association, Illinois needs $9.2 billion to meet all its school construction and repair needs.
CPS estimates that Chicago alone has $2.5 billion in unfunded capital needs for its schools.
Illinois FIRST risks running out of funds even before it expires in 2003. In fact, over half the funds allocated for school construction were spent in just the first two years of the five-year program.
National legislation is in jeopardy. After successful pilot initiatives sponsored by Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), and strong bipartisan support for a bill sponsored by Rangel and Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-CT), the push for National legislation has slowed. While there is still significant support in Congress, President Bush’s education plan focuses a wide range of other issues, and has expressed no interest in National legislation to assist with local school construction and repair needs.
Despite the change in administrations, pressures exist in strong Republican states for help with school modernization. In fact, unmet capital need per student are actually highest in strong Republican states, and enrollment growth is also high in Republican areas of the country. This provides a ray of hope for those who want a National school modernization bill to pass.

Does your child's school building need basic repairs?

Broken windows, leaky roofs, flaking lead paint, and exposed asbestos are just a few of the basic repair problems that still exist in some school buildings. These problems not only pose a threat to the safety of children, but they also interfere with learning. Students learn better in better school buildings. If your school is in especially poor condition, it might be time to investigate building a new school rather than that trying to save the current building. Come prepared to testify about specific repair needs in your child's school. Check your school's listing in the CIP book to see what repair projects are scheduled, how much money has been allocated, and when they are expected to be completed. The table to the right shows what CPS completed through the end of the 1997-98 school school year. CPS CEO Paul Vallas told the City Council on April 7 that CPS has completed new roofs at 309 schools, new windows at 308 schools, tuckpointing at 292 schools, and playlots at 188 schools since 1996.

Completed Projects in Current CIP