The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Inspector General has issued a damning report highlighting the school district’s expenditure of $14.5 million on what it terms “excessive” travel over the fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

This revelation emerges amidst concerning educational outcomes, as statistics show only 30.5% of students from third to eighth grade achieved proficiency in reading, while a mere 18.3% met math proficiency standards by spring 2024.

Chicago pastor Corey Brooks expressed his frustration to Fox News Digital, stating, “It’s disheartening to witness the extent of our city’s decline and the poor leadership at play. Those in charge seem to prioritize personal spending over investing in the students who genuinely need it.”

Brooks further elaborated, “In our community, reading proficiency stands at just 6%. When the citywide average is only 30%, it’s imperative for everyone in positions of power to address this issue.”

According to the Inspector General’s report, CPS’s travel expenditures reached $14.5 million for FY 2023–24, even as student proficiency rates faltered—with just 30.5% achieving reading proficiency, 18.3% in math, and nearly 41% of students frequently absent. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

In FY 2024 alone, CPS spent $7.7 million on travel, marking a staggering 2,467% increase from the $300,000 spent in FY 2021. Comparatively, pre-pandemic travel expenses in FY 2019 were significantly lower, totaling $3.6 million.

CPS OIG’s report also reveals school system officials took lavish trips to Las Vegas, Egypt, Finland and South Africa. 

In addition to the proficiency levels for grades 3–8, data also shows that in spring 2024, just 22.4% of CPS 11th graders were proficient in reading based on SAT scores, a test which is required by the state of Illinois. Similarly, 11th graders showed just 18.6% proficiency in math. 

“The Chicago Public School system is a complete dumpster fire,” Educational Freedom Institute Executive Director Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital. “These government-run institutions are sentencing children to a future without opportunities.”

Amid dire academic performance and attendance rates, pastor Corey Brooks blasted CPS leadership for prioritizing lavish travel over students’ needs, calling it “a sad commentary on how far our city has fallen.” (Getty Images)

“Chicago Public Schools spend about $30,000 per student and most of the kids still can’t read on grade level,” DeAngelis added. “The government school system is a bottomless pit, lighting taxpayer money on fire, while constantly asking for more.” 

In addition to the poor proficiency levels, school attendance has also been a major issue in the Windy City. If a student misses 10% or more of school days during the year, CPS labels the student a chronic absentee. 

In 2024, 40.8% of students in CPS suffered from chronic absenteeism.

“These young children aren’t even going to school now, and you never hear [about] it,” Brooks explained. “No one ever talks about it.”

“You have third, fourth, fifth, sixth graders who can’t read, and they’re going to eventually become frustrated to the point of what we’re seeing, just saying, I quit, I’m not going to go,” he added. “You add to that the lack of parenting. Where parents are allowing these children to just do what they want to do… they’re just disinterested, and they’re falling by the wayside every single day.”

CPS responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by saying they have formed a committee to review travel expenses. CPS said the committee was effective Oct. 29 and that a letter was sent to all CPS staff on that date. 

CPS told Fox News Digital they have changed their travel policies after the school system spent millions on “excessive” expenses.  (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

CPS also noted that they are restricting “nearly all employee travel.”

“Travel controls, transparency, and auditability will improve with the implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) financial system that is currently underway, a spokesperson for CPS told Fox News Digital. “ERP will improve automation for improved reconciliation between travel requests and travel spend as well as automate restrictions on types of travel, amounts, and accounts.”

“We take seriously the findings and recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards and that our employees act in the best interest of our students, the District, and our city,” the spokesperson added.

Brooks also told Fox that educational, city and state leaders often ignore the needs of the widely damaged public school system, saying officials get to put their kids in the “best schools” while public school students suffer.

“[They] are looking at the interest of themselves, not looking at the interest of their children, but even more so, they get to send their children to private schools and the best schools while children in our neighborhoods continue to fail,” he explained. “That’s not right.”