Over half of Chicago Public Schools are underutilized, but the 10 emptiest schools cost nearly double per student the district average.
At least 255 school buildings are underutilized, according to recent data from CPS for the current 2025-2026 school year. That means those schools’ enrollments decreased below 70% of their ideal capacity and “classroom spaces are unused and/or inefficiently programmed.”
Empty schools mean high costs.
Read more at Illinois Policy.
