Chicago Public School Teachers Say Board Short Changed Pension Fund by $32.5 Million

According to a article in the Sun-Times, trustees of the pension fund filed a suit on Wednesday, claiming this is the second year in a row the Board of Education in Chicago hasn’t met its obligations. 

The Board, however, claims it has paid enough. The article states a similar lawsuit by the fund was dismissed last year.

The lawsuit claims the fund received $165.6 million from the district as of June 30, the end of the 2011 fiscal year. But it claims it actually owed more than $198 million, which includes $187 million in a state-mandated base payment and required “additional employer contributions” that actuaries for the fund calculate as $11 million.

Pension fund attorney William Leathem told the Sun-Times the Board still owes the fund $32.5 million. The Board claims it owes far less - $154.5 million – and says the state kicked in an additional $32.5 million to meet the $187 million mandated by state law.

The fund also took the Board to court in 2010, accusing officials of shorting the fund by $37 million that year; however, the fund lost the case in Cook County Circuit Court.