CHICAGO (WLS) — Chicago Public Schools announced layoffs on Friday impacting over 100 employees and over 200 vacant positions, including many crossing guards.

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CPS said 67 Central Office and Network Offices employees were impacted across all offices and 166 vacant positions were closed, seven Chicago Teachers Union employees were impacted and 19 vacant positions were closed, and 87 SEIU Local 73 employees impacted, mostly crossing guards, and 24 vacant crossing guard positions were closed.

“The District remains committed to open communication moving forward and acknowledges the thoughtful and difficult work undertaken by teams across the organization to ensure these decisions have the least possible impact on students,” CPS said in a statement.

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The layoffs come as the district faces a $734 million budget deficit.

SEIU Local 73 President Dian Palmer issued the following statement:
“It is our understanding that CPS has begun issuing layoff notices to staff, however, we do not yet have numbers on how many have or will be impacted. We believe that laying off any of these essential workers would be a significant blow to our education system. Our union will work to mitigate the impact of any layoffs and continues to call on the City of Chicago and the Board of Education to urgently explore other alternatives that will not directly harm students’ education. Combining additional state funding and using Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds from Chicago could easily bridge this gap. Mayor Brandon Johnson has the power to declare a surplus of those funds, which would go a long way towards honoring his promise to equitably fund and staff our schools. SEIU Local 73 represents more than 11,000 CPS support staff including Special Education Classroom Assistants, Custodians, Crossing Guards, Bus Aides, Security Officers, and Parent Workers.”

ABC7 has reached also reached out to the CTU for comment.