As Teachers Strike Looms, School Board Starts Planning What to Do With CPS Students

CHICAGO, IL — With union leaders meeting in special session Wednesday to discuss the possibility of a teachers strike, the Chicago Board of Education began creating contingency plans on what to do with Chicago Public School students, the Chicago Tribune reports.

CPS is developing a plan that involves working with city officials, Chicago Park District and other agencies to find places for students to go during school days if a strike happens, the report stated. This plan is similar to how the city handle the 2012 teachers strike and would cost the district up to $15 million, the report added.

Members of the Chicago Teachers Union voted Monday to approve a strike with 95 percent of its educators giving the go-ahead to walk out. Chicago teachers have been upset over school-based cuts that have hit special education students hard and eliminated teaching positions.

RELATED: Chicago Teachers Union Approves Going on Strike

Even with a possible walkout looming, CPS and the union continue to work out a new contract, the Tribune reports.

"We will continue to listen, continue to negotiate and continue to do everything possible to avoid an interruption to our students' learning," CPS CEO Forrest Claypool said during Wednesday's school board, according to the Tribune. "A strike would harm the children we're all here to serve, … and it would create an enormous burden for CPS families."

Union officials will decide whether to give the school board a 10-day strike notice during a special session later Wednesday, Sept. 28. The earliest teachers could go on strike would be Oct. 11.

More via the Chicago Tribune

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