Chicago Public Schools has a new “balanced” budget for the coming year.

Of course, the $9.9 billion CPS budget can be considered balanced only through willful disregard for gaping holes that still need to be filled. The Chicago Board of Education set aside no money to make a $175 million payment toward pensions for nonteaching CPS staff. The budget makes no provision for costs of a new teachers contract, either.

A 4% pay raise under a new contract could cost the district an estimated $120 million, according to a CPS memo reported by Chalkbeat Chicago. But sources knowledgeable about the ongoing negotiations warned me a 5% pay increase in the first year is likely, which would add tens of millions more in unbudgeted cost.

The holes will deepen next year, when a tide of federal pandemic funds that supplied $233 million for this year’s budget runs out.

Read more at chicagotribune.com.