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La Raza: Lo que las familias latinas deben saber antes de votar en la elección de la Junta de Educación de Chicago

2026-10-05T20:35:11+00:00

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https://laraza.com/2026/08/28/lo-que-las-familias-latinas-deben-saber-antes-de-votar-en-la-eleccion-de-la-junta-de-educacion-de-chicago/

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Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 8b

2026-10-05T19:06:21+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Juan Ignacio González, detective veterano del Departamento de Policía de Chicago (CPD) y dueño de una cafetería local, s, se enfrenta al estudiante universitario Alexander Angeles para representar Distrito 8b, una franja larga y estrecha que se extiende desde el Loop hasta Chicago Lawn, en el suroeste de la ciudad.

Angeles entró en la contienda como candidato por escrito a finales de agosto. A principios de este verano, la autoridad electoral de Chicago retiró de la boleta electoral a la miembro actual de la Junta y persona nombrada por el alcalde Brandon Johnson, Cydney Wallace, debido a impugnaciones a las firmas de sus peticiones, lo que dejó a González como el único candidato.

González, residente de Back of the Yards, dijo que lo que lo motivó a postularse para la Junta de Educación fue escuchar a padres preocupados porque los estudiantes estaban siendo utilizados como “peones políticos” durante el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores. El Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU) y las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS) llegaron a un acuerdo para mantener las escuelas abiertas el 1 de mayo y al mismo tiempo permitir actividades cívicas, después de algunas diferencias sobre si se debían cancelar las clases para realizar manifestaciones.

“Los padres hablaban de algunos de los desafíos y los bajos estándares académicos que enfrentamos… y son temas con los que estoy de acuerdo”, dijo. “Siento que en mi comunidad no hay una voz para las personas que, muchas veces, no pueden votar o no forman parte del sistema político. Me pidieron que considerara postularme, analicé la situación y sentí que podía ayudar a los niños de la comunidad”.

Angeles, quien se graduó recientemente de CPS y estudia ciencias políticas en la Universidad de Illinois Chicago, dijo que se postula para ser una voz para los estudiantes, algo que considera que hace falta entre los miembros de la Junta de Educación.

González forma parte del Departamento de Policía de Chicago desde 1999. Durante ese tiempo, miembros del público han presentado 25 denuncias de conducta indebida en su contra, todas las cuales fueron consideradas infundadas, según los registros públicos recopilados por Civic Police Data Project, o CPDP por sus siglas en inglés.

En 2013, Hernan Barron, quien entonces tenía 21 años, acusó a González de haberlo inmovilizado contra la pared de una planta empacadora de carne con su vehículo policial durante un arresto. Barron sufrió una pequeña herida punzante en una pierna y fue llevado a un hospital para recibir atención médica. Una investigación interna de la policía determinó, con base en evidencia de video, que González no había cometido ninguna falta, según muestran los registros.

Más tarde ese mismo año, Barron presentó una demanda federal contra González y la ciudad, solicitando una indemnización por su lesión y por el dolor y sufrimiento emocional. La Ciudad llegó a un acuerdo por $98,000, según el CPDP.

“Durante casi 27 años en el Departamento de Policía de Chicago, he participado en miles de investigaciones relacionadas con algunos de los delitos más graves que afectan a Chicago, desde homicidios y tiroteos hasta agresiones sexuales y otros delitos violentos”, dijo González en una declaración enviada por correo electrónico. “Mi trayectoria en materia de seguridad pública y servicio comunitario no es algo que pueda entenderse por completo a través de una base de datos en internet. Proviene de casi 27 años de servir a Chicago y de seguir viviendo, trabajando, invirtiendo y sirviendo en la comunidad que considero mi hogar”.

“Vivo aquí. Camino por estas calles. Soy dueño de un negocio y lo administro”, destacó González. “Conozco a las familias, los residentes y los dueños de negocios de aquí, y la gente sabe que puede acercarse a mí cuando necesita ayuda u orientación”.

“El lugar donde ocurrió ese incidente también es importante para entender quién soy”, agregó. “Ocurrió aproximadamente a cuatro cuadras de donde vivo actualmente y a seis cuadras de mi cafetería. Esta no es simplemente una zona a la que me asignaron para trabajar. Es mi comunidad”.

En 2025, González abrió DreamCatcher Café, una cafetería de Back of the Yards ubicada en West 47th Street.

Además de la cafetería, González es propietario de más de una docena de propiedades en el suroeste de Chicago, según registros públicos. En una entrevista de 2023 con un pódcast sobre bienes raíces, González dijo que desde joven participó con su familia en la renovación de edificios, y que más adelante comenzó a comprar y rehabilitar propiedades por su cuenta.

“Existen riesgos tanto físicos como financieros que vienen con servir e invertir en una comunidad que ha vivido violencia grave”, destacó González en su declaración. “He decidido asumir esos riesgos porque creo en esta comunidad y seguiré haciéndolo”.

González es veterano del Cuerpo de Marines de Estados Unidos e hijo de padres inmigrantes de México. Asistió a la Universidad de Illinois en Chicago. Dijo que quiere que las escuelas del distrito tengan estándares académicos altos que desafíen a los estudiantes, muchos de los cuales también provienen de familias inmigrantes.

“Queremos competir, queremos que nos exijan”, dijo. “Como estadounidense de primera generación, no quiero que piensen que valgo menos simplemente porque vengo de cierto código postal”.

González también quiere mejorar la enseñanza de matemáticas y lectura y considera que las escuelas podrían ampliar sus programas de educación técnica y preparación profesional. Dijo que ofrecer vías hacia carreras en la construcción podría beneficiar a los jóvenes inmigrantes recién llegados que se han establecido en el suroeste de Chicago y que “quieren crear cosas con sus propias manos”.

“Tenemos una increíble mentalidad creativa en nuestra comunidad: en las artes, en la manera en que arreglamos propiedades”, agregó.

González también quiere analizar cómo las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago utilizan su presupuesto y cómo podrían utilizarselos recursos para mejorar la calidad de la educación.

“¿Por qué estamos perdiendo estudiantes y contribuyentes que se van a los suburbios?”, preguntó. “Somos una ciudad de clase mundial y esperamos una educación de clase mundial”.

González ha recibido contribuciones de The Urban Center, organización política centrista que promueve la elección de escuelas, y del brazo político de Illinois Network of Charter Schools, que aboga por las escuelas charter financiadas con fondos públicos y administradas de manera independiente. También cuenta con el apoyo de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política anti CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de González.

Angeles decidió entrar en la contienda después de enterarse de que Wallace, la actual miembro de la Junta, había sido retirada de la boleta electoral.

Angeles asistió a John Hancock College Prep, una escuela secundaria del suroeste de Chicago, donde fue representante estudiantil del Consejo Escolar Local. Durante su tiempo en Hancock, Angeles dice que escuchó las preocupaciones de estudiantes sobre el impacto de los recortes presupuestarios en todo el distrito, la necesidad de mejorar la comida escolar y de recibir más apoyo de los maestros.

“Si queremos tomar decisiones para la próxima generación, entonces necesitamos a alguien que forme parte de esa generación para encabezar esa lucha”, dijo.

Hijo de padres inmigrantes, Angeles también trabaja como cajero en McDonald’s y como especialista en autopartes en O’Reilly Auto Parts para ayudar económicamente a su familia, una experiencia con la que otros estudiantes pueden identificarse, dijo. Vive en West Lawn, que forma parte del distrito que busca representar.

Aunque entiende que algunos votantes podrían mostrarse escépticos ante la candidatura de alguien que se graduó recientemente de la secundaria, dijo que conoce los problemas que actualmente afectan a los estudiantes y que tiene la determinación para resolverlos.

“Estoy lleno de energía”, dijo. “Esa es la ventaja de ser joven”.

Angeles dice que su plataforma coincide con la del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago, que incluye una firme oposición al cierre de escuelas. Pero si resulta elegido, dice que planea buscar acuerdos con los demás miembros de la Junta en temas que generan divisiones.

Francia García Hernández cubre Pilsen, La Villita y Back of the Yards para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Francia en francia@blockclubchi.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La contienda por la presidencia

2026-10-05T17:30:16+00:00

Leer en inglés.

La primera contienda de toda la ciudad para elegir al presidente de la Junta de Educación de Chicago tiene todos los elementos de un drama político: millones de dólares en contribuciones de campaña, el respaldo de grupos de interés y dos candidatos que se retiró a mitad de la contienda.

Los votantes de toda la ciudad elegirán entre cuatro candidatos para liderar la Junta de Educación de Chicago el 3 de noviembre. Por primera vez, el presidente de la Junta será elegido directamente por los votantes, poniendo fin a más de 30 años de control de la Junta por parte del alcalde. La persona que ocupe este poderoso cargo, por el cual no recibe salario, representará públicamente a la Junta, dirigirá sus reuniones y ayudará a establecer la agenda. Trabajará con otros 20 miembros para definir una visión y metas para las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS) durante los próximos cuatro años.

Hilario Domínguez, exsubdirector político del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU), quien se graduó y trabajó en CPS, se postula con una plataforma progresista que incluye ampliar el acceso al preescolar a todos los niños de 3 años y exigir más fondos estatales para la educación, en lugar de hacer recortes. El CTU está financiando la candidatura de Domínguez mientras busca mantener su control sobre la Junta de Educación, que obtuvo después de que Brandon Johnson, exorganizador del sindicato, fuera electo alcalde de Chicago en 2023.

Jessica Biggs, exdirectora de una escuela de CPS y actual miembro de la Junta de Educación, quiere dar prioridad a la estabilidad financiera y a una educación de alta calidad para todos los estudiantes. Cuenta con el respaldo del progresista Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios (SEIU) Local 73, que representa principalmente a trabajadores negros y latinos de CPS con salarios bajos y que mantiene una fuerte disputa con el CTU. También ha consolidado el apoyo de la comunidad empresarial y de exfuncionarios que trabajaron bajo el exalcalde Rahm Emanuel, entre ellos la exdirectora ejecutiva de CPS Janice Jackson y la exvicealcaldesa de educación Beth Swanson.

El abogado Victor Henderson, quien forma parte de la junta de Urban Prep Charter Academy, centra su campaña en mejorar el rendimiento de los estudiantes y promover la responsabilidad fiscal. Eliminó los límites de contribuciones de campaña al prestarle $500,000 a su propia campaña y ha conseguido el respaldo de dos congresistas negros, destacados abogados y pastores de grandes iglesias negras del sur y oeste de Chicago, entre ellos Michael Pfleger de St. Sabina y Byron Brazier de Apostolic Church of God.

El consultor de liderazgo Sendhil Revuluri, quien formó parte de la Junta de Educación durante la administración de la exalcaldesa Lori Lightfoot, se retiró de la contienda el 30 de septiembre. El promete enfocarse en el aprendizaje de los estudiantes y la participación comunitaria.

Una quinta candidata, Jennifer Custer, exmaestra que actualmente forma parte de la Junta, se retiró de la contienda a finales de agosto.

Todos los candidatos dicen que se postulan porque quieren que CPS brinde un mejor servicio a los estudiantes y las familias. Sin embargo, sus enfoques son muy diferentes: Biggs quiere enfocarse en lograr que la Junta funcione mejor; y Henderson, en aportar una perspectiva externa a problemas como la crisis presupuestaria y el financiamiento de las escuelas chárter. Domínguez propone grandes iniciativas, como ampliar el acceso de los jóvenes a empleos, pasantías pagadas y programas de mentoría.

Sólo Domínguez descarta el cierre de escuelas ante la constante pérdida de matrícula del distrito, aunque los demás dicen que trabajarían con las comunidades y procederían con mucho cuidado al considerar fusiones de escuelas. Henderson consideraría abrir más escuelas chárter administradas por entidades privadas y quiere que reciban mayor apoyo, mientras que los demás examinarían con mayor rigor las escuelas charter existentes.

El pasillo que conduce a la oficina de Henderson en el centro de Chicago está cubierto de artículos de periódico enmarcados sobre clientes que ha representado como reconocido abogado defensor: el actor Jussie Smollett, quien fue acusado de supuestamente fingir un ataque racista; el concejal William Beavers, quien fue declarado culpable de evasión fiscal; Jackie Robinson West Little League, al que le retiraron su título del campeonato estadounidense de la Serie Mundial; y una directora de CPS que presentó una demanda después de ser destituida por su Consejo Escolar Local.

Henderson es el único candidato de la contienda que no tiene experiencia como educador. Sin embargo, los cuatro hijos adultos de Henderson asistieron a escuelas primarias de CPS en Beverly y a escuelas secundarias de admisión selectiva.

Henderson no sólo es abogado, sino también excontador público certificado. Dice que sabe interpretar contratos, entender presupuestos y enfrentarse a intereses poderosos.

“En esa Junta se necesita la combinación adecuada de personas”, dijo. “Tiene que haber padres. Tiene que haber directores escolares. Tiene que haber miembros de la comunidad, pero también tiene que haber abogados y quizás médicos”.

Henderson decidió postularse para presidente de la Junta después de incorporarse a lo que él llama la junta de recuperación de Urban Prep Academies. En ese momento, en 2023, la Junta de Educación intentaba cerrar la red de escuelas chárter después de que el inspector general de CPS encontrara prácticas financieras “pésimas”, entre ellas gastos sin justificar, préstamos con altas tasas de interés y la necesidad de adelantos de efectivo. El fundador y exdirector ejecutivo de Urban Prep fue acusado recientemente de malversar más de $100,000 de la organización.

Henderson atribuye los problemas de Urban Prep a una mala administración, pero dice que el intento de cerrar la red de escuelas chárter, que atiende casi exclusivamente a estudiantes hombres negros, fue un error. Funcionarios de Urban Prep dicen que sus estudiantes hombres negros obtienen mejores resultados académicos que los de escuelas administradas por el distrito, un grupo de estudiantes que históricamente ha quedado rezagado frente a otros grupos. “No se puede hacer sufrir a esos estudiantes y sus familias”.

Henderson formó parte de un grupo de hombres negros que se movilizó en apoyo de Urban Prep. La organización chárter demandó a CPS y pudo mantener abiertas dos escuelas.

Henderson dice que CPS necesita apoyar mejor a las escuelas chárter. Se muestra receptivo al argumento de que los operadores de estas escuelas deberían recibir más fondos de CPS.

Henderson comentó que encargaría una auditoría forense. Si esta determina que CPS necesita ingresos adicionales, destacó que cuenta con las habilidades necesarias para ir a Springfield y presentar el caso.

Señaló que quiere ocupar el cargo porque la educación le importa profundamente.

“Los hombres con educación tienen más probabilidades de casarse y formar familias. Uno se siente mejor consigo mismo”, dijo. “Los datos muestran que, como regla general, mientras más nivel educativo se tiene, más se gana. La educación simplemente transforma vidas”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Henderson.

La miembro de la Junta de Educación, Jessica Biggs, dice que su experiencia al encabezar el año pasado la búsqueda del líder principal del distrito la motivó a postularse para la presidencia.

Biggs comenta que logró que todos los miembros de la Junta llegaran a un acuerdo sobre la descripción del puesto de superintendente después de lo que describe como un proceso “auténtico” para recopilar opiniones de la comunidad.

“Eso simplemente me demostró lo que era posible cuando había liderazgo”, dijo.

Pero el proceso se vino abajo después de que los nombres de los candidatos se hicieran públicos y uno de ellos se retirara. Biggs destacó que considera que lo ocurrido fue consecuencia de las divisiones políticas dentro de la Junta, algo que la desmoralizó hasta el punto de decidir que no quería volver a postularse como miembro de la Junta.

“Hubo momentos en los que realmente quería que ciertas cosas avanzaran o fueran sometidas a una votación pública, y no pude lograrlo”, dijo Biggs.

Biggs se dio cuenta de que, para tener el impacto que buscaba, necesitaba asumir un papel de liderazgo en la definición de la agenda de la Junta. La manera de hacerlo era postularse para la presidencia, aseguró.

“Si iba a seguir dedicando mi tiempo a esta Junta”, comentó Biggs, “para mí era importante poder tener esa autoridad”.

Biggs creció en Wheaton, actualmente vive en Douglas y tiene una hija que estudia en una escuela magnet de bellas artes.

Biggs fue una de tres integrantes elegidas en 2024 sin el respaldo de poderosos grupos de interés, entre ellos el CTU e Illinois Network of Charter Schools. Ganó su contienda con alrededor del 45% de los votos a pesar de que sus contrincantes gastaron mucho más. La noche de las elecciones, dijo que sentía que la gente quería miembros independientes en la Junta. “Me siento muy querida”, añadió.

Trabaja para Southwest Organizing Project, organización comunitaria del suroeste de Chicago, en una iniciativa que conecta a las comunidades escolares con diversos servicios.

Biggs fue despedida como directora de una escuela primaria del sur de Chicago en 2018 después de que un informe del inspector general determinara que instruyó al personal para que registrara a estudiantes como impuntuales aunque hubieran faltado gran parte del día escolar y que hizo que miembros del personal recogieran a niños en sus automóviles sin obtener permiso por escrito de sus padres.

Fue incluida en la lista de CPS de personas que “no se deben contratar”. Sin embargo, fue retirada de la lista el año pasado, después de que se rechazaran intentos anteriores de salir de ella. Biggs ha sostenido que su despido tuvo motivaciones políticas.

Durante sus dos años en la Junta, se ha opuesto a algunas de las medidas más importantes impulsadas por miembros nombrados por el alcalde y alineados con el CTU. El año pasado se mantuvo firme contra la propuesta de recurrir a un préstamo para evitar recortes. Este verano votó en contra de una modificación que revirtió despidos bajo el supuesto de que el estado proporcionaría más fondos a CPS.

Desde que se postuló hace dos años, pasó de responder “no” al cierre de escuelas a dejar esa pregunta en blanco en nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS. Dice que no considera que exista una respuesta de sí o no.

“Creo que esta es una falsa dicotomía”, aseguró Biggs. “Hay lugares en este distrito donde las necesidades de los niños están siendo atendidas por escuelas pequeñas, y hay lugares donde las necesidades de los niños no están siendo atendidas por lo que ofrecemos en una escuela”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Biggs.

Después de meses de especulación sobre qué candidato respaldaría el CTU para el principal cargo de la Junta, el sindicato eligió a uno de los suyos al respaldar a Domínguez, quien dejó su puesto en el sindicato antes de lanzar su campaña. Domínguez dice que no se arrepiente de sus años como firme defensor del sindicato. Es el único candidato a la presidencia que trabajó como maestro de tiempo completo en CPS y también es esposo de una subdirectora escolar del distrito.

Domínguez asegura que su defensa de la educación se remonta a cuando era estudiante de Whitney Young Magnet High School, donde organizó una protesta estudiantil para oponerse a recortes presupuestarios en 2010.

Originario de Pilsen, trabajó como maestro de educación especial en el suroeste de Chicago. Se tomó dos años fuera de la educación para enfocarse en campañas políticas, incluida su propia candidatura fallida al Concejo Municipal. Más adelante ayudó a organizar una huelga de maestros de 11 días en 2019, cuando fue arrestado junto con otros miembros del sindicato durante una protesta sentada en las oficinas del fallido megaproyecto Lincoln Yards. Posteriormente se retiraron los cargos por allanamiento en su contra y contra los demás manifestantes.

Después de comenzar a trabajar de tiempo completo para el CTU en 2022, Domínguez también trabajó en la campaña que llevó a Johnson a la alcaldía y en las candidaturas de miembros de la Junta respaldados por el CTU en 2024. El sindicato gastó considerablemente más que grupos bien financiados que promueven la elección de escuelas en esas contiendas. Ayudó a conseguir victorias en tres de las nueve contiendas disputadas.

Domínguez dijo que a lo largo de los años ha realizado más de 100 viajes a Springfield para hacer cabildeo, “más que todos mis contrincantes juntos”. Sin embargo, hasta ahora los esfuerzos por conseguir un aumento significativo de los fondos estatales para las escuelas no han tenido éxito. Domínguez dice que, como presidente, trabajaría para involucrar a más familias en las labores de cabildeo y movilizar a distritos escolares de todo el estado.

Propone ofrecer preescolar gratuito de día completo a todos los niños de 3 años de la ciudad mediante una colaboración con centros privados de cuidado infantil y guarderías en hogares. Afirma que este cambio impulsaría el desarrollo económico, aumentaría la matrícula del distrito y “haría lo correcto por las familias” al reducir los costos del cuidado infantil.

Las demás prioridades de Domínguez también coinciden estrechamente con las del sindicato. Dijo que impulsará una mejor calidad de la comida en las cafeterías y la expansión continua del programa de Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables.

Se opone firmemente a cualquier cierre de escuelas y sostiene que el distrito y la ciudad deberían utilizar los espacios vacíos de las “supuestas escuelas subutilizadas” para ampliar servicios como clínicas de salud y sucursales de bibliotecas.

“Cuando hablamos de escuelas con baja matrícula, debemos dejar claro que hablamos principalmente de estudiantes negros y latinos en vecindarios negros y latinos que merecen más inversión y no castigo”, aseguró.

En 2021, Domínguez enfrentó una queja de otro maestro, quien afirmó que Domínguez hizo un saludo nazi, lo llamó Hitler frente a estudiantes y cuestionó la orientación sexual de ese maestro. La queja fue retirada posteriormente. Domínguez calificó la denuncia de “infundada” y dijo que estaba enfrentándose a un colega racista que había faltado al respeto a un estudiante.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Domínguez.

Nota del editor: Este artículo se actualizó después de que Sendhil Revuluri retirara su candidatura el 30 de septiembre. Aún puede leer el cuestionario completo de Revuluri.

Mila Koumpilova es reportera sénior de Chalkbeat Chicago y cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Mila en mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Sarah Karp cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago para WBEZ y el Chicago Sun-Times. Puede comunicarse con Sarah en skarp@wbez.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 2a

2026-10-02T18:41:49+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Un abogado se enfrenta a una actual miembro de la Junta con experiencia en organización comunitaria en una contienda de dos candidatos para representar una de las zonas con mayor diversidad cultural de Chicago, ubicada en las orillas del lago en el extremo norte de la ciudad.

Elegida en 2024, Ebony DeBerry está a favor de aumentar los impuestos a las corporaciones y a las personas de mayores ingresos para enfrentar los problemas presupuestarios de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Héctor Morales, un abogado y exalumno de CPS, dijo que el distrito debe gastar de manera más eficiente.

El Distrito 2a alberga a un gran número de familias inmigrantes. Solo en el vecindario de Rogers Park se hablan más de 80 idiomas, según la Rogers Park Business Alliance.

Los tres candidatos tienen opiniones diferentes sobre cómo financiar e invertir en programas de educación bilingüe y de doble inmersión, mientras se aborda el déficit presupuestario de CPS.

“Tenemos que encontrar maneras de hacer que las corporaciones, los millonarios y los multimillonarios paguen la parte que les corresponde”, dijo DeBerry durante una entrevista. Morales, por su parte, comentó que los miembros de la Junta “tienen que asegurarse de que estamos aprovechando bien lo que ya tenemos antes de empezar a pedirle más dinero a la gente”.

DeBerry, exmaestra de CPS, obtuvo el 43% de los votos en 2024 y superó por un estrecho margen a otros tres candidatos, entre ellos Leon.

DeBerry cuenta con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU), mientras que Morales cuenta con el respaldo de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

El invierno pasado, el grupo publicó anuncios en contra de la propuesta del alcalde Brandon Johnson de imponer un impuesto por empleado a las empresas. El CTU, por su parte, apoyó firmemente ese impuesto.

Morales también cuenta con el respaldo de The Urban Center, organización política centrista que promueve la elección de escuelas tanto públicas como privadas.

DeBerry ha vivido toda su vida en Rogers Park y fue estudiante, maestra y madre de un estudiante de CPS. Se graduó de Sullivan High School y enseñó en preescolar, kínder y primer grado en CPS a principios de la década de 2000. También enseñó en los suburbios de Evanston y Arlington Heights. Su hijo se graduó en 2021 de Northside College Prep, escuela secundaria de admisión selectiva de CPS.

DeBerry dijo que su experiencia como maestra y su trabajo con ONE Northside, organización sin fines de lucro que ayuda a los vecinos a involucrarse en diversos asuntos comunitarios, le han demostrado la importancia de involucrar a los estudiantes y a sus familias.

“Nuestras experiencias de vida nos convierten en expertos en lo que necesitamos”, dijo DeBerry. “Creo que por eso valoro tanto las escuelas comunitarias: una iniciativa que lleva programas y recursos a las escuelas de acuerdo con las necesidades de cada comunidad escolar. No todas son iguales porque cada escuela necesita algo diferente”.

Si resulta elegida para un segundo término, DeBerry comentó que le gustaría crear un consejo asesor juvenil para que la Junta pueda escuchar directamente a los estudiantes.

“Necesitamos escuchar una amplia variedad de opiniones, experiencias personales y conocimientos de la comunidad”, agregó DeBerry.

También destacó que el estado necesita reforzar sus políticas sobre las escuelas chárter para evitar que los estudiantes queden rezagados cuando una escuela cierra repentinamente, como ocurrió con las escuelas chárter de Acero la primavera pasada.

“Tuvimos estudiantes de último año que no sabían si podrían graduarse juntos, que no sabían si podrían tener su baile de graduación”, agregó DeBerry. “Fue desgarrador”.

DeBerry quiere que CPS comience a elaborar presupuestos para varios años que tomen en cuenta los aumentos salariales y los costos de mantenimiento de los edificios, para que haya menos recortes de último momento al comienzo del año escolar. También dijo que el sistema de impuestos de la Ciudad debe cambiar y que las personas de mayores ingresos deben contribuir más a CPS.

“Estamos asfixiando económicamente a los propietarios de viviendas, y no todos son ricos”, dijo DeBerry. “Tenemos un sistema de impuestos muy injusto: la clase trabajadora y la clase media cargan con todo en esta ciudad”.

Hasta mediados de septiembre, el principal grupo donante de la campaña de DeBerry era ONE People’s Campaign.

Lee el cuestionario completo de DeBerry.

Morales trabaja como abogado y su práctica privada se especializa en licencias comerciales, bienes raíces y zonificación. Pero Morales también es un apasionado de la música electrónica y recientemente obtuvo un título en artes e industrias del sonido en Northwestern University.

Morales, quien asistió a las secundarias Senn y Roberto Clemente antes de graduarse de Truman Middle College Alternative High School, dijo que la música no le pareció accesible hasta que estaba en sus treintas, cuando tomó una clase de circuit bending, técnica para modificar circuitos electrónicos y crear nuevos sonidos.

Morales tomó el teclado descompuesto de su sobrina, lo conectó a su computadora portátil y comenzó a crear su propia música electrónica.

“Me demostró que cualquier cosa puede convertirse en música”, dijo.

Morales dijo que decidió postularse a la Junta de Educación después de ser voluntario en Gale Elementary School en Rogers Park, donde enseñó a los niños a crear música electrónica.

“Noté que los niños que al principio eran tímidos se animaban, empezaban a hacer música y se les iluminaba la cara”, recordó Morales.

Si resulta elegido, Morales destacó que le gustaría incorporar la música y las artes al currículo básico de las escuelas. Dijo que fomentar la creatividad de los estudiantes los ayuda a convertirse en alumnos con una formación más integral.

Morales, egresado de Loyola University, creció en el complejo de vivienda pública Lathrop Homes y fue la primera persona de su familia en graduarse de la universidad. Dijo que empezó a considerar la universidad como una posibilidad, en gran parte, porque un estudiante de Loyola fue su tutor cuando estaba en la secundaria. Agregó que le gustaría que CPS estableciera más alianzas con universidades locales para mostrarles a los estudiantes de secundaria que ir a la universidad es una opción.

Morales también dijo que dirigir su propio despacho de abogados desde principios de la década de 2000 le ha dado experiencia en el manejo de presupuestos. Si resulta elegido, dijo que quiere asegurarse de que CPS esté “utilizando cada dólar de la manera más eficiente posible”.

Hasta mediados de septiembre, Morales no había recibido donaciones para su campaña, según los registros de la Junta Electoral del Estado de Illinois.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Morales.

Molly DeVore cubre los vecindarios del extremo noroeste de Chicago, entre ellos Portage Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Forest Glen y Sauganash, para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Molly en molly@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 2a, Far North Side

2026-10-02T17:32:18+00:00

Read in Spanish.

This story was reported and published in collaboration with WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, and Block Club Chicago, a nonprofit newsroom covering Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods. Stay informed with Chalkbeat Chicago’s newsletter, WBEZ and the Sun-Times’ education newsletter, and Block Club Chicago’s newsletters.

An attorney is challenging an incumbent with a background in community organizing in a two-way race to represent one of Chicago’s most culturally diverse areas along the Far North Side lakefront.

Elected in 2024, Ebony DeBerry favors taxing corporations and the wealthy to confront Chicago Public Schools’ budget woes. Her opponents both see belt-tightening as a path forward. Hector Morales, an attorney who attended CPS, said the district must spend more efficiently.

District 2a is home to a large number of immigrant families. More than 80 languages are spoken throughout the Rogers Park neighborhood alone, according to the Rogers Park Business Alliance.

The three candidates’ views differ on how to fund and invest in bilingual and dual-language education programs while also addressing CPS’ budget deficit.

“We have to find ways to make corporations, millionaires, and billionaires pay their fair share,” DeBerry said during an interview, while Morales said board members “need to make sure we’re using what we got now, before we start asking folks for more money.”

DeBerry, a former CPS teacher, won 43% of the vote in 2024, edging out three other candidates, including Leon.

DeBerry has been endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, while Morales has been endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Last winter the group ran ads attacking Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed corporate head tax. The CTU, on the other hand, strongly supported the corporate head tax.

Morales is also endorsed by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools.

DeBerry is a lifelong Rogers Park resident and a former CPS student, teacher, and parent. She graduated from Sullivan High School and taught pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade for CPS in the early 2000s. She also taught in suburban Evanston and Arlington Heights. Her son graduated from Northside College Prep, a CPS selective enrollment high school, in 2021.

DeBerry said her work as a teacher and with ONE Northside, a nonprofit that helps get neighbors involved in various community issues, has shown her the importance of engaging with students and their families.

“Our life experience makes us experts on what we need,” DeBerry said. “I think that that’s why I value community schools so much — an initiative that brings programming and resources to schools based on the needs of that school community. They don’t all look the same because every school needs something different.”

If elected to a second term, DeBerry said she would like to establish a youth advisory council so the board can hear directly from students.

“We need to hear from a wide swath of opinions, of personal expertise, of community expertise,” she said.

The state needs to tighten its policies around charter schools, DeBerry said, so students aren’t left stranded when schools abruptly close, as happened with the Acero charter schools in spring 2025.

“We had seniors who didn’t know if they would be able to graduate together, who didn’t know if they would be able to have a prom,” DeBerry said. “It was heartbreaking.”

DeBerry would like CPS to start creating multiyear budgets that account for rising wages and building maintenance costs so there are fewer last-minute cuts at the beginning of the year. She also said the city’s taxing system needs to change, and that the wealthy need to contribute more to CPS.

“We are crippling our homeowners, who are not all wealthy,” DeBerry said. “We have a very unfair taxing system — the working class, the middle class, take care of everything in this city.”

DeBerry’s top group donor as of mid-September was ONE People’s Campaign.

Read DeBerry’s full questionnaire.

By day, Morales is an attorney whose private practice specializes in business licensing, real estate, and zoning. But Morales also has a passion for electronic music, and recently got a degree in sound arts and industries from Northwestern University.

Morales, who attended Senn and Roberto Clemente high schools before graduating from Truman Middle College Alternative High School, said music didn’t feel accessible to him until his 30s, when he took a class in circuit bending.

Morales took his niece’s broken keyboard, hooked it up to his laptop, and started making his own electronic music.

“It showed me that anything can be musical,” he said.

Morales said he was inspired to run for school board after volunteering at Gale Elementary School in Rogers Park, where he taught kids how to make electronic music.

“I noticed kids that were shy at first would get up there and start making music and their faces would light up,” Morales recalled.

If elected, Morales said he would like to make music and the arts part of schools’ core curriculum. Nurturing students’ creativity makes them better, more well-rounded students, he said.

A Loyola University alum, Morales grew up in the Lathrop Homes public housing project and was the first person in his family to graduate from college. College felt like a possibility for him largely because a Loyola student tutored him while he was in high school, he said. Morales said he would like to see CPS partner more with local universities to show high school students that college is an option.

Morales said running his own law firm since the early 2000s has given him experience balancing a budget. If elected, he said he wants to make sure CPS is “using every dollar as efficiently as possible.”

Morales did not have any campaign donors as of mid-September, according to State Board of Elections records .

Read Morales’ full questionnaire.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after learning a third candidate, Bruce Leon, was no longer running. His name is not on the ballot.

Molly DeVore covers Chicago’s Far Northwest Side neighborhoods, including Portage Park, Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, Forest Glen, and Sauganash, for Block Club Chicago. Contact Molly at molly@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago teachers, school leaders navigate uncertainty after school board reverses summer layoffs

2026-10-01T21:31:52+00:00

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After being laid off from his teaching job this summer and not hearing back from schools with competitive open jobs, Andrew Feigenbaum did not expect to be rehired by Chicago Public Schools.

Then a divided Chicago Board of Education narrowly passed a budget in late July that required the district to reverse hundreds of school-based layoffs like Feigenbaum’s, relying on additional state funding that has not yet come.

Feigenbaum is one of the 350 people CPS has rehired so far under the complex budget mandate, or about one-third of the school-based staffers eligible to have their layoffs reversed. But it’s unclear how long those jobs will last if CPS doesn’t receive an additional $100 million this fiscal year.

His new assignment is co-teaching a fifth-grade class at Fernwood Elementary on the Far South Side, which he described as an academically focused and pleasant school where he’s already memorized his new students’ hobbies, favorite books, and strongest subjects.

But besides a photo of his kids and some artwork and cards from his former students, Feigenbaum has hesitated hanging up more of his personal items in his classroom because he doesn’t know how long he’ll be there.

“Some kids are like, ‘We really hope you can stay for a while,’” Feigenbaum said. “For me, it’s like, you don’t want to open up too much because the more you open up, the more you get hurt if you do have to leave quickly, so I’m kind of trying to find that middle ground.”

Many staffers have returned to their old schools in similar positions, while others have been placed in new schools or in different roles, according to the district and records obtained by Chalkbeat through a Freedom of Information Act request.

“No one knows what the ultimate resolution will look like,” said Nelson Gerew, chief of internal and public affairs at the Chicago Public Education Fund. “If that money isn’t available, will these positions go away in December, in January? I think there’s a big question hanging over this as well.”

At the same time, some principals told Chalkbeat they didn’t really need the rehired staffers, and they would have preferred to fill specific roles their schools needed but CPS had not funded.

Neither the Chicago Teachers Union nor the principals union responded to requests for comment for this story.

Where CPS has placed rehired staffers

CPS placed rehired staffers at more than 200 schools across a range of positions, such as teachers, assistant principals, security guards, and school clerks, according to the staffing records.

About 45% of these rehired staffers were placed at their old schools in similar positions, and another 37% were placed at new schools with similar job titles. The remaining almost 18%, about 62 people, were placed in roles they did not have last school year, according to the records and a CPS spokesperson.

In late July — less than a month before the first day of school — 11 board members aligned with the mayor’s office and the Chicago Teachers Union supported amending the district’s proposed budget to assume an additional $150 million in state money, with $100 million earmarked for reversing layoffs.

Supporters view the maneuver as a way to pressure Springfield to provide more money, pointing to how CPS is funded at 70% of what the state considers adequate. They’ve also described how painful it is for schools to lose trusted staff and cited statements from key state lawmakers who said they will push for more school funding during the state legislature’s veto session in November.

CPS CEO Macquline King and her team, along with seven board members, opposed the move, warning that it risked midyear budget cuts and disruption for schools if the money doesn’t come. It remains unclear whether additional funding is coming. It’s also possible that the city of Chicago will send more special taxing district dollars to CPS, known as TIF surplus, than expected, as it did last year.

Asked why the district has rehired just one-third of the staffers who are eligible to come back, CPS said it is “actively addressing” the budget’s staffing mandate and will keep hiring “when funding and student needs warrant.” A spokesperson also emphasized that the district is not obligated to rehire everyone it deems eligible to come back.

“The number of returning employees will depend on available vacancies, school-level needs, employee eligibility, and the District’s capacity to adequately fund those positions,” said Sylvia Barragan, a spokesperson for CPS, in a statement.

How rehiring is playing out in schools

By the time the board directed CPS to reverse layoffs, school budgets and schedules were largely set. CPS decided to rehire staffers centrally so that principals didn’t have to reopen their budgets. To determine who to rehire and where to send them, the district’s Talent Office surveyed principals and teachers roughly two weeks after the budget vote and 12 days before the start of school.

Feigenbaum, the new Fernwood teacher, filled out the survey and had hoped to get rehired at DePriest, his old school on the West Side, where he taught third-grade math and science. Still, despite his minimum 40-minute drive from his Northwest Side home to Fernwood and uncertainty about the future, he’s “extremely thankful” to have a job.

As a co-teacher in a new school, he’s been figuring out how to be “worthwhile and helpful” in his classroom while not overstepping what the existing teacher does well or has planned.

The students are “just happy that they have more people who can give them attention and give them the stuff that they need,” which can be difficult in a class of 30 with just one teacher, he said.

Some school leaders told Chalkbeat that their class sizes are already manageable as enrollment has dropped again across CPS, and the district sent them people their schools didn’t really need.

One principal, who requested anonymity in order to speak candidly, said their South Side high school needs a Spanish teacher. When the principal got the district’s staffing survey, they asked if they could have a Spanish teaching position opened in their budget. District leaders said no — they were focusing on bringing back displaced staffers who have not yet found other jobs, the principal recalled. The survey sent to principals asked them to rank positions they wanted that were previously cut from their school.

Ultimately, the principal requested an art teacher they had laid off this past summer, and CPS reassigned her to the school. But an hour after the teacher arrived for her first day, she informed the principal that her parents had retired and left her the family business, so she would be taking a leave of absence, the principal recalled.

The principal had not yet changed class schedules to account for this teacher, so the school was able to “keep going as we had planned,” the principal said.

On the Northwest Side, one high school’s biggest need was a second interventionist, who provides more intensive academic support to students. But CPS did not allocate that position to the school over the summer, and the rehired staffer the district sent is not an interventionist, according to the school’s principal, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the press about this issue.

Instead, the school made class scheduling changes so that another staffer could take on the interventionist role. The rehired staffer — someone who is new to this school — acts as a substitute and fills in where necessary or provides some extra support in classrooms, but they’ve been absent more often than other teachers at the school, the principal said.

“If our enrollment is down — which most schools, it is — my class sizes are OK,” the principal said. “I’ve got enough teachers for all my classes.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 8b, the Loop, Brighton Park

2026-09-30T21:50:08+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Juan Ignacio González, a veteran Chicago Police Department detective and local coffee shop owner, is running against college student Alexander Angeles to represent District 8b, a long, narrow swath that stretches from the Loop all the way southwest to Chicago Lawn.

Angeles joined the race as a write-in candidate at the end of August. Earlier this summer, the Chicago election authority kicked incumbent and Mayor Brandon Johnson appointee Cydney Wallace off the ballot due to challenges to her petition signatures.

Gonzalez, a Back of the Yards resident, said he was motivated to run for school board after hearing from parents who were concerned about students being used as “political pawns” on May Day. The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools reached an agreement to keep schools open on May 1 while allowing civic actions after some back-and-forth over whether to call off school for demonstrations.

“Parents were speaking about some of the challenges and low academic standards we’re facing … and those are issues that I agree with,” he said. “I feel like in my community, there’s no voice for individuals that oftentimes cannot vote or aren’t part of the political system. I was asked to consider it, I looked at the layout, and felt I can help kids in the community.”

A recent CPS graduate and University of Illinois Chicago political science major, Angeles said he is running to be a voice for students, a trait he believes is lacking among board members.

Gonzalez has served on Chicago’s police force since 1999. In that time, members of the public have filed 25 allegations of misconduct against him, all of which were deemed unfounded, according to public records compiled by the Civic Police Data Project, or CPDP.

In 2013, then-21-year-old Hernan Barron accused Gonzalez of pinning him against the wall of a meat packing plant with his police SUV during an arrest. Barron suffered a small puncture wound to his leg and was taken to a hospital for medical treatment. An internal police investigation cleared Gonzalez of any wrongdoing based on video evidence, records show.

Later that year, Barron filed a federal lawsuit against Gonzalez and the city, seeking damages for his injury and emotional pain and suffering. The city later settled the suit for $98,000, according to the CPDP.

“For nearly 27 years with the Chicago Police Department, I have been part of thousands of investigations involving some of the most serious crimes affecting Chicago — from murders and shootings to sexual assaults and other violent crimes,” Gonzalez said in an emailed statement. “My record of public safety and community service is not something that can be fully understood through an internet database. It comes from nearly 27 years of serving Chicago and continuing to live, work, invest, and serve in the community I call home.”

“I live here. I walk these streets. I own and operate a business here,” Gonzalez said. “I know families, residents, and business owners here, and people know they can approach me when they need assistance or guidance.”

“The location of that incident is also important to understanding who I am,” he added. “It occurred approximately four blocks from where I live today and six blocks from my café. This is not simply an area where I was assigned to work. It is my community.”

In 2025, Gonzalez opened DreamCatcher Café, a Back of the Yards coffee shop on West 47th Street.

Besides the coffee shop, Gonzalez owns more than a dozen properties on the Southwest Side, according to public records. In a 2023 interview with a real estate podcast, Gonzalez said he had been involved in renovating buildings with his family from a young age, later buying and rehabbing buildings on his own.

“There are both physical and financial risks that come with serving and investing in a community that has experienced serious violence,” Gonzalez said in his statement. “I have chosen to take those risks because I believe in this community, and I will continue to do so.”

A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and son of immigrant parents from Mexico, Gonzalez attended the University of Illinois Chicago. He said he wants schools in the district to have high academic standards that challenge students, many of whom also have immigrant backgrounds.

“We wanna compete, we wanna be challenged,” he said. “As a first-generation American, I don’t wanna be thought less of just because I’m from a certain ZIP code.”

Gonzalez also wants to improve math and reading instruction, and believes schools could increase their career and technical education programs. Offering pathways to careers in construction could benefit new young immigrant students who have settled on the Southwest Side and “want to create things with their hands,” he said.

“We have an incredible creative mindset in our community — in the arts, in the way we fix properties,” he said.

Gonzalez also wants to look into how Chicago Public Schools uses its budget and how resources could be spent to better the quality of education.

“Why are we losing students and taxpayers to the suburbs?” he asked. “We’re a world-class city and we expect a world-class education.”

Gonzalez has received contributions from the pro-school choice, politically centrist organization The Urban Center and the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, which advocates for publicly funded, independently run charter schools. He is also supported by the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Read Gonzalez’ full questionnaire.

Angeles threw his hat in the ring as a write-in candidate after learning that Wallace, the incumbent, had been removed from the ballot.

Angeles attended Southwest Side high school John Hancock College Prep, where he was a student member of the Local School Council. During his time at Hancock, Angeles says he heard from students worried about the impact of district-wide budget cuts, the need for better school lunches and more support from teachers.

“If we want to make decisions for the next generation, then we need someone who’s part of that generation to lead that fight,” he said.

A son of immigrant parents, Angeles also works as a cashier at McDonald’s and as an auto parts specialist at O’Reilly Auto Parts to help support his family — an experience other students can relate to, he said. He lives in West Lawn, part of the district he is vying to represent.

While he understands voters may be skeptical about a recent high school graduate running for elected office, he said he knows the current issues affecting students and has the drive to solve them.

“I’m full of energy, he said. “That’s the pro of being young.”

Angeles says his platform aligns with that of the Chicago Teachers Union, which includes staunch opposition to school closures. But if elected, he says he plans to reach compromises with board members on divisive issues.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include write-in candidate Alexander Angeles.

Francia Garcia Hernandez covers Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards for Block Club Chicago. Contact Francia at francia@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The citywide race for president

2026-09-30T20:30:34+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Chicago’s first-ever citywide race for school board president has all the makings of a political drama: millions in campaign contributions, special-interest group endorsements, and two candidates bowing out midstream.

Voters across the city will finalize their pick among three candidates to lead the Chicago Board of Education on Nov. 3. Chicago’s school board president will be directly elected for the first time as more than 30 years of mayoral control ends. The person in this powerful, but unpaid position represents the board publicly, runs board meetings, and helps set the agenda. They will work with 20 other members to set a vision and goals for CPS for the next four years.

Former Chicago Teachers Union deputy political director Hilario Dominguez, who graduated from and worked in Chicago Public Schools, is running on a progressive platform that includes expanding preschool to all 3-year-olds and demanding more education money from the state, rather than cutting. The CTU is fueling Dominguez’s candidacy financially as it tries to hold on to control of the school board, which it seized after former union organizer Brandon Johnson became Chicago mayor in 2023.

Jessica Biggs, a former CPS principal and current school board member, wants to prioritize financial stability and high-quality education for every student. She’s backed by the progressive Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents mostly low-wage Black and Latino CPS workers and is in a bitter dispute with the CTU. She’s also solidified support from the business community and former government officials who worked under former mayor Rahm Emanuel, including former CPS CEO Janice Jackson and former deputy mayor for education Beth Swanson.

Attorney Victor Henderson, who serves on the board of Urban Prep Charter Academy, is centering his campaign on advancing student achievement and fiscal responsibility. He broke open contribution caps when he lent his campaign $500,000 and has secured support from two Black congress people, prominent lawyers and pastors of large Black South and West Side churches, including Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina and Byron Brazier of Apostolic Church of God.

Leadership consultant Sendhil Revuluri, who served on the school board under former mayor Lori Lightfoot, dropped out of the race on Sept. 30. His platform promised a focus on student learning and community engagement and advocated for a board that’s independent of the CTU, the powerful union that represents roughly 30,000 teachers and CPS staff and is known for its strong focus on social justice issues.

A fifth candidate, Jennifer Custer, a former educator now serving on the board, dropped out in late August.

All the candidates say they are running because they want CPS to better serve students and families. But they differ broadly in their approaches — Biggs wants to focus on a better-functioning board, Henderson on offering an outsider perspective to issues like the budget crisis and charter fundings, and Dominguez is proposing big initiatives, such as increasing access to youth jobs.

Only Dominguez is ruling out closing schools amid the district’s steady enrollment losses, though the others say they would work with communities and move with deliberate care in weighing campus mergers. Henderson would consider opening more privately run charter schools and wants to see them better supported, while the others would further scrutinize existing charters.

The hall leading into Henderson’s downtown office is covered in framed newspaper articles about clients he has represented as a well-known defense attorney: actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of allegedly faking a racist attack; Ald. William Beavers, who was convicted of tax evasion; the Jackie Robinson West Little League, which was stripped of its U.S. World Series championship title; and a CPS principal who sued after being ousted by her Local School Council.

Henderson is the only candidate in the race who doesn’t have experience as an educator. But the 65-year-old’s four grown children all attended CPS elementary schools in Beverly and selective enrollment high schools.

Henderson is not only a lawyer, but also a former certified public accountant. He says he can read contracts, understand budgets, and take on powerful interests.

“On that board, you need the right combination of people,” he said. “You have to have parents. You have to have principals. You have to have community members, but you also need to have lawyers and maybe doctors.”

Henderson became motivated to run for school board president after he got pulled onto what he calls the recovery board of Urban Prep Academies. At the time, in 2023, the school board was trying to close the charter school network after CPS’ inspector general found “dismal” financial practices, including unaccounted-for spending, taking high-interest loans, and needing cash advances. The founder and former CEO of Urban Prep was recently charged with embezzling more than $100,000 from the organization.

Henderson chalks up Urban Prep’s problems to a bad administration, but says the attempt to shut down the charter network, which serves almost exclusively Black male students, was wrongheaded. Urban Prep officials say they produce better academic outcomes than district-run schools for Black male students, who historically have lagged behind other student groups. “You don’t have those students and their families suffer.”

Henderson was part of a group of Black men who rallied on behalf of Urban Prep. The charter organization sued CPS and was allowed to keep two schools open.

Henderson says CPS needs to better support charter schools. He is sympathetic to the argument that charter school operators should receive a funding boost from CPS.

Henderson said he would commission a forensic audit. If it turns out that CPS needs additional revenue, he said he has the skill set to go to Springfield and make the case.

He said he wants to serve because he cares deeply about education.

“Men who are educated are more likely to get married, have families. You feel better about yourself,” he said. “The data shows that the more education you have, as a general rule, the more you make. Education is just transformational.”

Read Henderson’s full questionnaire.

School board member Jessica Biggs says her experience leading last year’s search for the district’s leader motivated her to run for president.

Biggs says she successfully secured buy-in from all board members on the job description for the superintendent after what she calls an “authentic” process of gathering community feedback.

“So that just showed me what was possible if there was leadership,” she said.

But the process fell apart after the candidates’ names became public and one dropped out. Biggs said she believes what happened was driven by political divisions on the board, leaving her demoralized to such an extent that she decided she didn’t want to run again as a board member.

“There were times when I very much wanted things to move forward, or be brought for a public vote, and was not able to do that,” Biggs said.

To have the impact she was seeking, Biggs realized, she needed to take a lead in setting the board agenda. The way to do that was to run for board president, Biggs said.

“If I was going to continue to spend my time on this board,” Biggs said. “it was important to me to be able to have that authority.”

Biggs grew up in Wheaton, now lives in Douglas, and has one daughter, who attends a fine arts magnet school.

Biggs was one of three members elected in 2024 without the backing of powerful interest groups, including the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. She won her race with about 45% of the vote despite being massively outspent. On election night, she said she felt like people wanted independent board members. “I feel really loved,” she said.

She works for the Southwest Organizing Project, a community organization on the Southwest Side on an initiative that connects school communities with a range of services.

Biggs was fired as principal of a South Side elementary school in 2018 after an inspector general report found that she instructed staff to mark students as tardy even if they missed much of the school day and had them pick children up in their cars without getting written permission from their parents.

She was put on CPS’ “Do Not Hire” list. But she was removed last year, after previous attempts to get off the list were denied. Biggs has contended that her firing was political.

In her two years on the board, she opposed some of the biggest measures pushed by mayor-appointed and CTU-aligned members. She held firm last year against the push to take a loan to avoid cuts. This summer, she voted against an amendment that reversed layoffs by assuming the state would provide more money for CPS.

Since she ran two years ago, she’s gone from a “no” on school closings to leaving the question blank on our CPS School Board questionnaire. She says she doesn’t think there is a yes-or-no answer.

“I think this is a false dichotomy,” Biggs said. “There are spaces in this district where kids’ needs are being met by small schools, and there are spaces in this district where kids’ needs are not being met by what we are offering in a school.”

Read Biggs’ full questionnaire.

After months of speculation about the candidate the CTU might champion for the board’s top job, the union settled on one of its own when it endorsed Dominguez, who left his job at the union before launching his campaign. Dominguez says he’s unapologetic about his yearslong role as a union stalwart. The only presidential contender who worked as a full-time CPS teacher, he is also the husband of an assistant principal in the district.

Dominguez says his education advocacy goes back to his time as a student at Whitney Young Magnet High School, when he organized a walkout to protest budget cuts in 2010.

A native of the Pilsen neighborhood, he worked as a special education teacher on the Southwest Side. He took two years off to focus on political campaigns, including his own failed City Council bid. He later helped organize an 11-day teacher strike in 2019, when he was arrested with other union members holding a sit-in protest at the offices of the failed Lincoln Yards megaproject. Trespassing charges against him and the others were later dropped.

After going to work for the CTU full-time in 2022, Dominguez also worked on Johnson’s breakout campaign and on the candidacies of CTU-backed school board members in 2024. The union handily outspent well-resourced pro-school-choice groups in those races. It helped secure wins in three of nine contested races.

Dominguez said he has made more than 100 lobbying trips to Springfield over the years, “more than all my opponents put together.” So far, though, the push to secure an influx of additional state revenue for schools has fallen flat. Dominguez says that as president, he would work to engage more families in lobbying and rally districts statewide.

He is proposing offering free, full-day preschool to all city 3-year-olds through a partnership with private childcare centers and home-based daycares. He says the shift would drive economic development, boost the district’s enrollment, and “do right by families” by easing childcare costs.

Dominguez’s other priorities are also closely aligned with the union’s. He said he will push for better cafeteria food and the continued expansion of the Sustainable Community Schools program.

He staunchly opposes any school closures, arguing that the district and city should instead use vacant space in “supposed underutilized schools” to expand services such as healthcare clinics and library branches.

“When we talk about underenrolled schools, we should be clear that we’re talking primarily about Black and brown students in Black and brown neighborhoods that deserve more investment and not punishment,” he said.

In 2021, Dominguez faced a complaint from a fellow teacher who claimed Dominguez made a Nazi salute, called him Hitler in front of students, and questioned that teacher’s sexual orientation. The complaint was later withdrawn. Dominguez called the complaint “baseless” and said he was standing up to a racist colleague who had disrespected a student.

Read Dominguez’s full questionnaire.

Editor’s note: This story was updated after school board president candidate Sendhil Revuluri dropped out on Sept. 30. You can still read his full questionnaire.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Contact Sarah at skarp@wbez.org.

15 West: Blaise or Hargrove? What to know about the District 5b school board race

2026-09-30T19:01:59+00:00

La Raza: Norma Ríos-Sierra, Distrito 3a

2026-09-30T17:32:09+00:00

https://laraza.com/2026/09/24/hacer-un-verdadero-trabajo-de-participacion-comunitaria-hacer-que-las-personas-sientan-que-son-escuchadas-norma-rios-sierra/

Sendhil Revuluri drops out of race for Chicago school board president

2026-09-30T15:21:09+00:00

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Sendhil Revuluri is dropping out of the race to become Chicago’s first elected school board president, narrowing the field to three candidates.

Revuluri, a former vice president of the Chicago Board of Education under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, said in a statement Wednesday that “the gusher of special-interest cash has crowded out the voices of real Chicagoans” — a nod to the well-funded special interests and labor unions who have funded and backed some of his opponents.

“This wasn’t an easy decision,” Revuluri said in the statement. “I ran my campaign the way I hope our schools are governed: realistically, honestly, and focused on our students’ success. But given what’s actually standing in the way, I can’t responsibly keep asking Chicagoans for their contributions, their time, or their votes.”

As of late September, Revuluri had raised more than $700,000 — the most of any candidate — though much of his campaign has been self-funded. Candidate Jessica Biggs, a current elected board member, is backed by SEIU, a labor union that represents school support workers in CPS. And the Chicago Teachers Union is backing candidate Hilario Dominguez, the CTU’s former political director.

Revuluri’s third opponent, defense attorney Victor Henderson, is not backed by major special interests and has also largely self-funded his campaign.

Jennifer Custer, a current elected board member, also dropped out of the board president’s race in August.

The school board president decides what appears on the agenda each month and, unlike the mayorally appointed president of the current partially elected board, will be able to vote on all matters.

Revuluri was the first person to declare his candidacy last October. He was endorsed by Chicago Democrats for Education but did not receive endorsements or funding from other major education groups or unions.

His campaign has focused on improving academic outcomes for students. He has criticized the current board for becoming too mired in politics, though he acknowledged that the board he served on had also been embroiled in the politics of school reopening during the pandemic.

Revuluri, a former teacher, said he’s pro-labor but has often been critical of the Chicago Teachers Union. He differed from his opponents on the issue of closing schools, which he said should be considered if doing so would improve the academic experience for students.

Revuluri’s name will still appear on the ballot.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 3b

2026-09-28T21:26:22+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Dos hombres que crecieron en Humboldt Park, se graduaron de escuelas secundarias públicas de Chicago de admisión selectiva y se convirtieron en maestros a través de Teach for America vuelven a enfrentarse en la contienda para representar a un distrito que se extiende desde West Town hasta Belmont Cragin.

Ambos candidatos se identifican como progresistas. El actual miembro de la junta, Carlos Rivas Jr., ganó en 2024 con el 54% de los votos, frente al 46% de Jason Dónes. Rivas ha adoptado un enfoque más conservador en materia fiscal respecto del presupuesto escolar que el de su contrincante.

Rivas cuenta con el apoyo del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa a miles de empleados de apoyo escolar de CPS y que, en los últimos años, ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros. También cuenta con el respaldo de defensores de las escuelas charter y de algunos funcionarios locales y del condado del noroeste de Chicago. Además, cuenta con el respaldo de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Dónes cuenta con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y de varios funcionarios electos del noroeste de la ciudad, entre ellos funcionarios locales y estatales y un miembro del Congreso. Ambos candidatos cuentan con el apoyo de donantes individuales.

Las escuelas del Distrito 3b enfrentan escasez de maestros y consejeros, impuestos a la propiedad más altos y una matrícula baja, en medio de una rápida gentrificación y cambios en los vecindarios. El distrito incluye una combinación de 32 escuelas bilingües de doble inmersión, charter y alternativas que atienden principalmente a estudiantes latinos.

Tanto Rivas como Dónes consideran importante proteger a los estudiantes inmigrantes de los agentes federales de inmigración, apoyar más viviendas asequibles y conseguir más recursos y alianzas comunitarias para las familias de CPS. Rivas dice que quiere menos interferencia del alcalde en la Junta y dejar de recurrir a préstamos que aumentarán el déficit presupuestario de CPS. En su lugar, quiere aprovechar alianzas con organizaciones de servicios sociales que puedan ofrecer recursos a los niños, como terapia o acceso a consejeros.

Dónes, quien es padre de estudiantes de CPS, busca aumentar la transparencia presupuestaria e impulsar soluciones creativas dentro del marco presupuestario existente. Además, dijo en nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS que no aceptará donaciones de corporaciones ni de “grupos de interés privados financiados por multimillonarios y millonarios”.

Para tratar de evitar que se repita su derrota de 2024, Dónes busca tener mayor presencia en las zonas del distrito que no votaron por él en 2024 y cuenta con más voluntarios gracias a sus vínculos con United Neighbors of the 26th Ward, grupo progresista del vecindario.

Dónes ha enseñado y capacitado a maestros en varias escuelas de CPS, trabajó en el Grupo de Trabajo sobre Equidad Educativa de CPS y ayudó a redactar el primer conjunto de estándares de enseñanza culturalmente receptiva de Illinois. Desde 2023, Dónes trabaja para Beyond 100K, organización nacional sin fines de lucro que busca abordar la escasez de maestros de STEM (Ciencia, Tecnología, Ingeniería y Matemáticas), con especial énfasis en atraer a más maestros de color.

Sus dos hijos asisten a la Escuela Primaria Moos, donde forma parte del Consejo Escolar Local desde 2020.

Dónes es copresidente de United Neighbors, donde ha abogado por más viviendas asequibles. Ha sido voluntario con el Northwest Side Rapid Response Team para ayudar a proteger a las familias de los agentes federales de inmigración y, desde el año pasado, ha participado en labores de organización con funcionarios electos del noroeste de Chicago que buscan la reelección.

Dónes enfrentó dos impugnaciones a su candidatura, pero la Junta de Comisionados Electorales de Chicago falló a su favor. Según registros judiciales del Condado de Cook, una de las personas que impugnó su candidatura presentó en julio una apelación contra la decisión de la Junta Electoral.

Dónes dijo que su experiencia como organizador comunitario, como padre de estudiantes de CPS y como integrante de un Consejo Escolar Local lo distingue de Rivas, al igual que los respaldos y las donaciones que ha recibido de vecinos y grupos comunitarios locales.

Si resulta elegido, Dónes dijo que trabajaría para aumentar los recursos presupuestarios destinados a las escuelas del distrito, impulsar una mayor transparencia presupuestaria y proteger los empleos de CPS que brindan apoyo a estudiantes inmigrantes que enfrentan amenazas de agentes de inmigración.

“Los lectores quieren entender cómo nuestros defensores están siendo radicales y creativos en la manera en que [buscamos] ingresos, al mismo tiempo que somos inteligentes y cuidadosos con los gastos”, dijo. “No hay que elegir entre responsabilidad fiscal y una defensa radical de nuestras causas; hay una manera de hacer ambas cosas”.

Lee las respuestas completas de Dónes al cuestionario.

De cara a su campaña de reelección, Rivas dijo que “no es lo ideal” volver a enfrentarse a Dónes. Dijo que su historial de votación demuestra que es una voz para las familias de clase trabajadora, especialmente para aquellas preocupadas por los aumentos de los impuestos a la propiedad en medio de la gentrificación y de los cambios en las escuelas.

Fue uno de los seis miembros de la Junta de Educación que votaron en contra del presupuesto modificado de CPS, que fue aprobado por un estrecho margen este verano y que contaba con ingresos estatales que no estaban garantizados. Rivas dijo que ese voto “incomodó a algunos” funcionarios electos de la zona.

Según nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS, entre sus prioridades están aumentar el apoyo a las escuelas de vecindario y mejorar el apoyo a los estudiantes de familias inmigrantes. También destaca la rendición de cuentas en materia presupuestaria.

“Creo que tenemos un déficit estructural tan grande en CPS que definitivamente no podemos seguir dependiendo de préstamos para salir de las dificultades en las que estamos”, destacó Rivas. “Tenemos que seguir pensando en el éxito del distrito a largo plazo, mientras continuamos abogando por más fondos de Springfield”.

Desde 2022, Rivas trabaja para la Oficina Civil de Responsabilidad Policial de la Ciudad, agencia de supervisión policial que investiga denuncias de mala conducta de agentes de policía, donde se desempeña como director de asuntos públicos. Ha enseñado en escuelas de CPS y en UIC College Prep, una escuela chárter; también ha trabajado como consejero de exalumnos, asistente de maestro y guardia de seguridad en CPS.

Rivas, quien es propietario de una vivienda y también arrendador, es además padre de crianza temporal de transición. Recibió a menores migrantes no acompañados que necesitan ser ubicados en hogares de habla hispana antes de ser entregados a un patrocinador adulto. Dijo que esa experiencia ha influido en su perspectiva sobre la importancia de los programas bilingües de doble inmersión en las escuelas, la necesidad de fortalecer las políticas para proteger a las familias inmigrantes y el apoyo a los directores escolares y consejeros para que puedan conseguir más recursos para los estudiantes.

También quiere mejorar el apoyo a los estudiantes de familias inmigrantes y fortalecer las políticas para protegerlos de los agentes federales.

“Tengo una amplia variedad de experiencias en todo nuestro distrito que me definen como alguien reflexivo y que considera todos los puntos de vista cuando pensamos en las decisiones que tenemos que tomar para los niños y las familias de nuestro distrito”, aseguró Rivas. “Soy independiente y no recibo órdenes de ningún grupo de interés especial, a diferencia de lo que hemos visto con los miembros nombrados por el [alcalde]”.

Lee las respuestas completas de Rivas al cuestionario.

Ariel Parrella-Aureli es una reportera que cubre Logan Square, Humboldt Park y Avondale para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Ariel en ariel@blockclubchi.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 3a

2026-09-28T21:25:56+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Un candidato nuevo que está formando una coalición de apoyo con donantes privados y defensores de las escuelas charter se enfrenta a una veterana activista comunitaria con vínculos con el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y con funcionarios electos del noroeste de la ciudad en la contienda por representar al Distrito 3a.

La actual miembro de la Junta, Norma Ríos Sierra, organizadora comunitaria de Logan Square nombrada a la Junta de Educación en 2024 por el alcalde Brandon Johnson, espera conservar su puesto frente a Peter Gonzáles, un abogado y tutor.

Las escuelas del Distrito 3a enfrentan una escasez de maestros, recortes en los programas de arte, cierres de escuelas chárter y dificultades para acceder a servicios de salud mental. El distrito del noroeste de Chicago cuenta con una combinación de 23 escuelas bilingües de doble inmersión, chárter y alternativas que atienden principalmente a estudiantes latinos.

Aunque ambos candidatos tienen posturas similares sobre aumentar los fondos para CPS y apoyar a las familias inmigrantes, cuentan con respaldos distintos. Ríos Sierra tiene el respaldo del CTU y del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa a miles de empleados de apoyo de CPS y que en los últimos años ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros. Es una de las cuatro candidatas que han recibido el respaldo de ambos sindicatos.

Gonzáles cuenta con el apoyo de Illinois Network of Charter Schools, otro grupo que promueve la elección de escuelas, y de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Gonzáles promueve salarios equitativos para los maestros que puedan contribuir a mejorar los resultados de los estudiantes en los exámenes y ampliar sus oportunidades, por ejemplo, fortaleciendo las vías hacia carreras en los oficios y ofreciendo más opciones para elegir escuelas. Ríos Sierra, por su parte, quiere que haya más recursos de salud mental para los estudiantes y más programas de arte y actividades extracurriculares en las escuelas de vecindario.

Ríos Sierra superó dos impugnaciones para permanecer en la boleta electoral este otoño. Formó parte de un grupo de trabajo encargado de seleccionar a Macquline King, la nueva directora ejecutiva de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago, y votó a favor del presupuesto más reciente de CPS, que dependía de recibir $150 millones adicionales en fondos estatales.

Ha votado a favor de proteger a los estudiantes inmigrantes de las autoridades federales y de apoyar la creación de un plan de transición sostenible para las familias afectadas por el cierre de escuelas charter, como las escuelas Aspira y Acero.

Nacida en la Ciudad de México y criada en Logan Square, Rios Sierra pasó años organizando a la comunidad a través de la organización sin fines de lucro Palenque LSNA. Trabajó con estudiantes, familias y maestros en programas de arte y eventos, luchó por viviendas asequibles y por reformas migratorias locales, y organizó talleres de bienestar para más de 200 padres mentores. Es integrante de Northwest Side Rapid Response Network; se graduó de CPS y anteriormente formó parte del Consejo Escolar Local de la Escuela Primaria Logan Square.

Como madre soltera de un adolescente que asiste a CPS, dijo que su compromiso con la comunidad y su trayectoria demuestran que está presente para representar a los estudiantes y a las familias del vecindario que quieren escuelas con financiamiento completo y más apoyo en salud mental para los jóvenes.

“Definitivamente quiero seguir defendiendo las necesidades de nuestras familias inmigrantes, y me preocupa genuinamente la salud mental y el bienestar de nuestros estudiantes”, dijo.

Destacó que está comprometida a establecer relaciones que generen ingresos adicionales para las escuelas, mejoren el acceso a servicios de salud mental y apoyen más programas de arte y actividades extracurriculares.

Lee las respuestas completas de Ríos Sierra al cuestionario.

Con experiencia en presupuestos, economía y derecho, Gonzales destacó que sus habilidades son distintas a las de su oponente y que demuestran que está “dispuesto a darlo todo” para defender a las familias inmigrantes y de clase trabajadora.

“Sé lo que significa enfrentar problemas presupuestarios realmente difíciles”, dijo. “Sé lo que significa lidiar con problemas legales complejos… cuando se trata de hacer frente a ICE y al [presidente] Donald Trump. Realmente sé lo que significa defender a las personas ante la corte”.

Originario de Aurora, Gonzales vive con su esposa y su hijo de 2 años, a quien planea inscribir en una escuela de CPS. Vive en Avondale desde 2019.

Gonzales, asesor legal sénior de la Secretaría de Estado de Illinois, fue el primero de su familia en asistir a la universidad. Ha trabajado como tutor voluntario con Reach Out Community Center en La Villita y con Midtown-Metro Achievement Centers en Little Italy. También forma parte de la junta del Institute of Latino Studies de la Universidad de Notre Dame, que ofrece a estudiantes universitarios latinos oportunidades de voluntariado en bufetes de abogados de Chicago enfocados en los derechos de los inmigrantes.

Gonzales quiere representar a la zona para lograr una distribución más equitativa del presupuesto del distrito entre las escuelas y promover salarios equitativos para el personal, fondos para programas después de clases y recursos para mejorar los resultados académicos de los estudiantes. También quiere lograr mayor transparencia y responsabilidad fiscal en CPS, promover más vías dentro de CPS que preparen a los estudiantes para carreras en los oficios y proteger a los estudiantes inmigrantes de los agentes federales de inmigración, tanto en las aulas como en los tribunales.

“Al final del día, se trata simplemente de asegurarnos de que cada niño reciba la mejor educación posible y de proteger a nuestra comunidad”, destacó González.

Lee las respuestas completas de Gonzáles al cuestionario.

Ariel Parrella-Aureli es una reportera que cubre Logan Square, Humboldt Park y Avondale para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Ariel en ariel@blockclubchi.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 2b

2026-09-28T21:25:35+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Una maestra jubilada de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago, nombrada para la Junta de Educación por el alcalde, se enfrenta a una exmaestra de educación especial preocupada por la carga de deuda del distrito escolar y a un científico de datos enfocado en conseguir más fondos de la legislatura de Illinois.

La actual miembro de la Junta, Debby Pope, cuenta con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU), Kyna Lenhof tiene el respaldo de Common Ground Collective, un grupo contrario al CTU, y Daniel Basco se ha presentado como “una voz firmemente independiente”.

El Distrito 2b es una de las zonas de mayor diversidad cultural de Chicago y alberga 19 escuelas públicas. Los tres candidatos que compiten para representar al distrito incluyeron entre sus principales prioridades garantizar que los salones de clase cuenten con fondos y recursos adecuados. Sin embargo, tienen opiniones distintas sobre cómo obtener ese financiamiento.

Pope dijo que apoya aumentar los fondos para las escuelas mediante impuestos a las personas de mayores ingresos, mientras que Basco dijo que quiere que CPS reciba más fondos del estado. Lenhof, por su parte, dijo que quiere reducir la dependencia del distrito de préstamos con altas tasas de interés.

Pope fue nombrada a la Junta por el alcalde Brandon Johnson en 2024 después de la renuncia masiva del primer grupo de miembros que había nombrado, en medio de tensiones con el exdirector ejecutivo de CPS Pedro Martínez.

Pope recibió el respaldo del poderoso sindicato de maestros, mientras que Lenhof recibió el respaldo de The Urban Center, una organización política centrista que apoya a las escuelas charter y promueve la elección de escuelas tanto públicas como privadas. Lenhof también recibió el respaldo de Common Ground Collective, que recibe gran parte de su financiamiento del multimillonario Michael Sacks y afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

A principios de este verano, Common Ground publicó un anuncio en contra de Pope por votar a favor de un plan presupuestario de CPS que supone que el distrito recibirá $150 millones más en fondos estatales de lo proyectado.

El día antes de la votación, Lenhof también publicó una declaración en la que criticó a Pope.

“Nuestra actual miembro de la Junta, nombrada por el alcalde Brandon Johnson, ha apoyado continuamente préstamos con altas tasas de interés que representan una carga para los contribuyentes y debilitan el futuro financiero de CPS”, escribió Lenhof.

Tanto Pope como Lenhof han destacado su experiencia trabajando en el salón de clases, mientras que Basco se ha presentado como un candidato independiente y ha resaltado su trabajo de investigación sobre políticas educativas.

Pope, quien creció en Nueva York, ha vivido en Chicago durante más de 50 años y en Andersonville durante casi 30.

Fue maestra de secundaria durante casi 20 de esos años, principalmente como maestra bilingüe de estudios sociales. Después de retirarse de la enseñanza, Pope trabajó en el CTU durante poco más de una década en distintos puestos.

Durante su primer periodo en la Junta de Educación, Pope defendió firmemente la educación bilingüe y de doble inmersión, una postura influida por sus experiencias en el aula. Cuando comenzó su carrera en Benito Juárez Community Academy High School, muchos de sus estudiantes eran inmigrantes recién llegados de México. En ese momento, Pope no hablaba español con fluidez, pero dijo que todas las noches, después del trabajo, leía un diccionario de español para mejorar su dominio del idioma.

“Veía la escuela como una oportunidad para ayudar a los niños que habían llegado como inmigrantes a encontrar su lugar en Estados Unidos”, dijo.

Las dos hijas de Pope también asistieron a escuelas de CPS y se graduaron de Whitney Young Magnet High School mientras ella enseñaba en Gage Park High School. Actualmente, su nieta asiste a Inter-American Magnet School, una escuela bilingüe de doble inmersión en Lakeview.

“Era doloroso ver a diario el contraste entre lo que estaba disponible para mis hijas y lo que estaba disponible para mis estudiantes”, dijo Pope. “Una de mis hijas tomó cuatro clases de arte diferentes, y la otra estaba en el coro de conciertos, y las dos formaban parte del equipo de natación. Gage Park no tenía esas cosas y yo quería que todos los niños tuvieran esas oportunidades”.

Pope dijo que es importante garantizar que los fondos se distribuyan de manera equitativa. Le gustaría que hubiera un impuesto estatal sobre la renta con tasas progresivas y que se eliminaran los vacíos fiscales para las corporaciones, de manera que las personas de mayores ingresos contribuyan más a la educación pública.

Hasta mediados de septiembre, el principal donante de Pope era el brazo político del CTU.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Pope.

Lenhof se mudó a Chicago hace 25 años para tomar clases de improvisación en The Second City. Mientras estaba allí, comenzó a trabajar en Easterseals Academy, escuela terapéutica diurna para estudiantes con autismo, y más tarde trabajó como maestra de educación especial en Scammon Elementary School, en Kilbourn Park.

“Me inspiré a postularme porque realmente creo que todos los niños deben tener acceso a una educación segura, equitativa y que les permita disfrutar el aprendizaje”, dijo Lenhof, quien vive en Bowmanville desde hace 13 años.

Actualmente trabaja para KMM Consulting, una firma de estrategia y recaudación de fondos políticos que ayuda a candidatos locales y organizaciones sin fines de lucro a organizar eventos y recaudar fondos. También se desempeña como tesorera de los Demócratas del Distrito 40. Además, continúa actuando y presenta un espectáculo de variedades en Andersonville.

Si resulta elegida, Lenhof dijo que le gustaría que CPS recibiera más fondos para educación especial, garantizar que todos los educadores cumplan con los programas de educación individualizados, conocidos como IEP, y brindar el apoyo adecuado a los maestros de educación especial.

“Mis prioridades realmente se reducen a esto: ¿Cómo hacemos lo correcto para nuestras poblaciones más vulnerables?”, dijo Lenhof.

También dijo que impulsaría un presupuesto que reduzca al máximo los préstamos del distrito y evite “más préstamos con altas tasas de interés en lugar de destinar ese dinero directamente al salón de clases”. Cualquier fondo disponible debe distribuirse de manera equitativa en todo el distrito, dijo.

Hasta mediados de septiembre, los dos mayores donantes de Lenhof entre los comités de acción política eran Common Ground Collective PAC e INCS Action PAC, un grupo estatal enfocado en promover escuelas charter financiadas con fondos públicos y administradas de manera independiente.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Lenhof.

Basco, originario de Texas, estudió análisis de políticas públicas en Northwestern University. Trabajó en ciencia de datos y obtuvo un doctorado en análisis de políticas públicas de RAND School of Public Policy en California antes de mudarse a Andersonville hace cinco años.

Durante la administración de Obama, Basco asesoró al Departamento de Educación de Estados Unidos sobre políticas relacionadas con el financiamiento de la educación científica y trabajó con colegios comunitarios en Texas para evaluar la eficacia de sus cursos.

En su puesto actual en Kindsight, empresa que proporciona herramientas de recaudación de fondos a organizaciones de los sectores educativo, sin fines de lucro y de atención médica, desarrolla tecnología para ayudar a organizaciones sin fines de lucro a encontrar donantes.

“Mi enfoque siempre es: ‘¿Cómo recopilamos la mayor cantidad de datos posible?, ¿Cómo analizamos el problema desde todos los ángulos?’”, dijo Basco.

Si resulta elegido, Basco dijo que abogaría por más fondos estatales e impulsaría presupuestos de CPS que abarquen varios años para dar mayor estabilidad a los estudiantes y sus familias.

“Lo que he escuchado de los padres es que la incertidumbre en torno al presupuesto significa incertidumbre sobre los programas, las actividades después de clases y los programas para aprender inglés”, dijo Basco.

Basco, quien trabaja profesionalmente con inteligencia artificial (IA), también dijo que CPS necesita reglas y protecciones más estrictas para el uso de la IA. Aunque la inteligencia artificial puede ser una herramienta para apoyar el aprendizaje, Basco dijo que el distrito debe garantizar la protección de los datos y la privacidad de los estudiantes.

“Este campo está evolucionando muy rápido, así que necesitamos personas que estén al día con lo que está pasando para ayudar a definir las políticas”, aseguró Basco.

Basco ha destacado su independencia. En su sitio web, dice que “no le debe lealtad a ninguna maquinaria política”.

Basco dijo que ser un candidato independiente significa tener “empatía con todos los sectores”.

“Voy a analizar los temas desde todos los niveles y escucharé a todos para tratar de encontrar posibles soluciones”, dijo Basco.

Hasta mediados de septiembre, Basco había donado $7,000 a su propia campaña y no había reportado ninguna otra donación.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Basco.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 1b

2026-09-28T21:24:17+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Las dos mujeres que compiten para representar al noroeste de Chicago no son ajenas a la política: una se postuló para la Junta de Educación en 2024 y la otra ha dirigido campañas o trabajado para otros funcionarios electos durante más de 15 años.

Michelle Pierre perdió por un estrecho margen en 2024, la primera vez que se postuló a un cargo público, tras pasar más de 25 años trabajando en educación como maestra, directora escolar, administradora de distrito y asesora de liderazgo. Claudia Peralta se presenta por primera vez como candidata, pero ha trabajado con varios políticos del noroeste de Chicago, entre ellos la representante federal Delia Ramírez.

El Distrito 1b alberga 20 escuelas públicas, una de las cifras más bajas entre todos los distritos electorales de la Junta de Educación. Las familias de esta zona eligen las escuelas primarias de sus vecindarios en mayor proporción que las familias de otras partes de la ciudad.

Esta contienda no se centra tanto en políticas específicas, sino en distintas estrategias sobre cómo ejercer el cargo de miembro de la Junta de Educación de Chicago.

Pierre se guía por las métricas y evalúa las decisiones financieras del distrito en función de los beneficios que las inversiones generan para mejorar los resultados académicos de los estudiantes. Peralta se apoya en su experiencia política y en sus relaciones dentro del gobierno para conseguir los recursos que las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago necesitan para que los estudiantes prosperen. En última instancia, los votantes del Distrito 1b decidirán cuál de estos estilos quieren que tenga prioridad.

La ganadora reemplazará a Jennifer Custer, quien ha ocupado el cargo durante los últimos dos años y se postuló para la presidencia de la Junta de Educación antes de retirarse de la contienda en agosto.

Peralta ha conocido el funcionamiento interno de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago desde varias perspectivas, incluida la de haber sido ella misma estudiante de CPS.

Peralta se mudó de Ecuador a Chicago cuando tenía 12 años. Pasó su adolescencia en Logan Square y se graduó de Prosser Career Academy en Belmont Cragin. En medio de la intensificación de las medidas de control migratorio de la administración de Trump, Peralta dijo que puede aportar a la Junta de Educación su experiencia de primera mano como estudiante inmigrante que estaba aprendiendo inglés.

“Estoy aprendiendo que el momento que vivimos exige que demos un paso al frente y enfrentemos nuestros miedos”, comentó. “Estoy lista para luchar y asegurar que nuestros niños reciban los recursos que merecen”.

Uno de esos temores era postularse a un cargo público. Durante casi una década, Peralta ha trabajado entre bambalinas en campañas y en la defensa de causas. Actualmente se desempeña como directora de distrito de la representante federal Delia Ramírez. Antes de eso, fue jefa de personal de la representante estatal Lindsey LaPointe y coordinó programas para la Coalición de Illinois por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes y Refugiados (ICIRR). Los distritos de Ramírez y LaPointe incluyen partes del noroeste de Chicago. Como madre, Peralta formó parte del Consejo Escolar Local de la Escuela Primaria Carl Von Linné.

Entre las habilidades que ha adquirido en esos cargos, Peralta dijo que saber cómo desenvolverse entre los distintos niveles de gobierno es una ventaja importante, especialmente cuando se trata de financiamiento.

Peralta sostiene firmemente que resolver el déficit presupuestario de CPS no debe hacerse a costa del sustento de los educadores, una causa defendida por el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y el Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois. Ambas organizaciones han respaldado a Peralta y, hasta mediados de septiembre, SEIU había contribuido a su campaña. También ha recibido contribuciones individuales mediante eventos como su recaudación de fondos durante la final de la Copa Mundial en julio, a la que asistieron unas 50 personas.

“La cantidad de apoyo demuestra que he formado parte de la comunidad durante muchos años”, dijo Peralta. “La gente sabe lo que valgo”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Peralta.

Si su estrecha derrota en las elecciones de la Junta de Educación de 2024 confirmó algo, dijo Pierre, fue que su plataforma de campaña tuvo eco entre una gran parte de los votantes. Esta vez, está tratando de aprovechar ese impulso para difundir su mensaje con mayor rapidez y obtener más apoyo de líderes locales.

“Pensé que no era una contienda política. Pensé que era simplemente la Junta de Educación de Chicago”, dijo Pierre sobre la primera vez que se postuló. “Después aprendí muy rápido que todo es muy político”.

Pierre se considera una candidata fuera de las divisiones partidistas. Sin embargo, su campaña también cuenta con el apoyo de tres grupos de interés. Uno es Illinois Network of Charter Schools, que aboga por las escuelas charter financiadas con fondos públicos pero administradas de manera independiente. Otro es The Urban Center, una organización política centrista que promueve la elección de escuelas, tanto públicas como privadas. El tercero es Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks, que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”. Pierre cuenta con el respaldo tanto de The Urban Center como de Common Ground Collective.

Esos objetivos forman parte de su mensaje general: los niños de Chicago merecen una educación de alta calidad, ya sea en escuelas de vecindario, escuelas chárter o programas magnet.

Pierre señala su amplia trayectoria en educación como prueba de que puede hacer el trabajo.

Trabajó como maestra y directora escolar durante varios años en Nueva York y Washington, D.C., antes de desempeñarse durante seis años como directora académica del Distrito Escolar Metropolitano de Cleveland. Desde que se mudó a Chicago hace casi una década, Pierre ha ocupado un puesto de liderazgo en LEARN Charter Network y actualmente ocupa un cargo de alto nivel en New Leaders, organización que ofrece desarrollo profesional para líderes del sector educativo.

Pero Pierre destacó que sus hijos son su principal motivación para postularse. Como madre de familia, formó parte del Consejo Escolar Local de la Escuela Primaria Ogden. Ahora, su hija menor se graduó recientemente de Chicago High School for the Arts.

“Luché por ella todos los días”, aseguró Pierre a sus simpatizantes durante el lanzamiento de su campaña en Portage Park. “Creo en los 300,000 niños y lucharé por ellos todos los días”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Pierre.

Makiya Seminera es una reportera que cubre cómo los gobiernos estatal y federal afectan la educación en Chicago y en todo Illinois. Puedes comunicarte con Makiya en mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 1a

2026-09-28T21:21:52+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

Una policía retirada de Chicago, aliada de dos concejales locales, busca desplazar a un veterano defensor del desarrollo comunitario, quien tiene la ventaja de ser titular, ya que el alcalde lo nombró para representar al extremo noroeste de la ciudad.

Ed Bannon espera superar el desafío de Margie Luczak con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU) y del Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios (SEIU), que representa al personal de apoyo escolar. Luczak, por su parte, ha conseguido el respaldo de grupos de interés que favorecen el proceso de opción escolar y las escuelas charter.

Aunque las elecciones de la Junta de Educación no son partidistas, hay corrientes políticas que influyen en las decisiones de los votantes sobre qué candidato se identifica más con sus valores. En el extremo noroeste de la ciudad, los votantes han sido más receptivos a candidatos conservadores que en gran parte de Chicago y podrían mostrarse más favorables a una plataforma “anti-establacimiento”. Sin embargo, esta contienda abarca un conjunto de temas mucho más limitado que una campaña para el Congreso o la presidencia, lo que podría revelar diferencias de opinión específicamente en torno a la educación.

El extremo noroeste de Chicago alberga 22 escuelas que tienen una proporción mayor de estudiantes blancos que las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS) en su conjunto, aunque son más diversas que la población que vota en la zona. Las familias de esta área eligen las escuelas públicas de sus vecindarios con mayor frecuencia que las de otras partes de la ciudad.

Es una de las pocas zonas de Chicago que se inclinaron a favor del presidente Donald Trump en las elecciones de 2024. Y en 2023, muchos votantes de esta zona eligieron al exdirector ejecutivo de CPS Paul Vallas por encima del alcalde Brandon Johnson.

Aunque Bannon fue nombrado por Johnson, no siempre ha coincidido con él. El ejemplo más notable ocurrió el año pasado, cuando votó a favor del plan presupuestario de CPS que otros miembros nombrados por Johnson intentaban bloquear. El historial de Bannon le ha valido el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois.

Los votantes que buscan un cambio de liderazgo podrían optar por Luczak, quien sirvió en el Departamento de Policía de Chicago por más de 25 años. En muchos sentidos, su campaña representa un contraste con la candidatura de Bannon, respaldada por sindicatos. Luczak dice con orgullo que no es un “títere del CTU” y cuenta con el apoyo de las contribuciones de Illinois Network of Charter Schools y The Urban Center, organización que promueve un liderazgo centrista y la elección de escuelas, incluidas las escuelas privadas. Sin embargo, tiene poca experiencia directa en el ámbito educativo.

Un martes por la noche, en el Copernicus Center de Jefferson Park, un pequeño grupo de personas —entre ellas algunos adolescentes, una maestra, una madre con su hijo y el senador estatal Robert Martwick— entró en silencio a un amplio salón. Era la noche anterior a que las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago presentaran su propuesta de presupuesto, y Ed Bannon organizaba una sesión informativa para explicar las finanzas del distrito y escuchar las inquietudes de los miembros de la comunidad. Hasta donde él sabía, era el único miembro de la Junta que estaba realizando una reunión de este tipo.

Esa participación comunitaria es fundamental por la manera en que Bannon concibe su papel como miembro de la Junta de Educación.

“No conozco otra manera de hacer campaña que no sea estar presente, hablar con la gente y tratar de demostrar que mi trayectoria es una que ayudará a mejorar CPS”, dijo Bannon.

La participación de Bannon en el noroeste de Chicago se remonta a varias décadas. Fue director ejecutivo de Six Corners Association, coordinó programas para atraer y retener negocios en el Distrito 45 y se postuló como concejal en 2023. El concejal titular Nick Sposato lo derrotó.

También formó parte durante una década del Consejo Escolar Local de la Escuela Primaria Dever, donde estudiaron sus hijos. Bannon dijo que su larga trayectoria de participación en CPS contribuyó a que Johnson lo nombrara miembro de la Junta.

“La gente va a decir lo que quiera sobre cómo el hecho de que me hayan nombrado influye en mí como miembro de la Junta”, dijo Bannon. “Lo único que puedo decir es que haría todas esas cosas independientemente de (haber) sido nombrado o elegido”.

Bannon dijo que conversar con sus electores es la única manera de aclarar cualquier idea preconcebida sobre sus lealtades. Cuando Lisa Reed, maestra de Steinmetz College Prep, expresó sus frustraciones con la Junta durante la sesión informativa sobre el presupuesto que Bannon realizó en julio, él no evadió sus preguntas. Al contrario, después de la reunión se apartó con ella para escuchar personalmente sus inquietudes.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Bannon.

Si no fuera por el grupo de asistentes que vestían camisetas de color amarillo brillante con el nombre de Margie Luczak, el evento de recaudación de fondos de la candidata en Tommy’s en la Higgins podría haber parecido una gran reunión de viejos amigos.

La parte trasera del bar de Norwood Park estaba llena de conversaciones mientras Luczak recorría el lugar saludando a los asistentes, entre ellos Reed, la maestra que había asistido a la sesión informativa sobre el presupuesto de Bannon la noche anterior. La asistencia —unas 40 personas— fue una grata sorpresa para Luczak, quien nunca antes se había postulado a un cargo público.

Luczak creció en West Lawn, en el suroeste de Chicago, y se graduó de Curie High School a finales de la década de 1980. Pasó casi 30 años como policía de Chicago y trabajó en varias unidades, entre ellas narcóticos y licencias.

Aunque Luczak no tiene hijos, dijo que conoce el sistema escolar a través de las experiencias de amigos cuyos hijos asisten a CPS y desde su propia perspectiva como contribuyente. Durante el último año, Luczak dijo que asistió a reuniones organizadas por The Urban Center y aprendió más sobre el funcionamiento del distrito.

“No creo que CPS necesite que simplemente le den más dinero”, dijo Luczak. “Creo que primero tienen que solucionar los problemas que ya existen”.

Cuando Luczak se jubiló del Departamento de Policía de Chicago en enero, decidió que era momento de servir a su comunidad de una manera diferente. Entre sus prioridades están reducir los impuestos a la propiedad y devolver a las escuelas a los oficiales de recursos escolares, una iniciativa que, según ella, permitiría que los estudiantes tuvieran experiencias positivas con los agentes de policía.

Luczak reconoce que no tiene mucha experiencia directa en educación, pero considera que su extensa carrera policial le ha dado el “sentido común” necesario para ser miembro de la Junta de Educación.

“Apagué muchos incendios, así que aprendí a escuchar”, destacó Luczak. “Como miembro de la Junta de Educación de Chicago, escucharé a mi comunidad y cuáles son sus necesidades”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Luczak.

Makiya Seminera es una reportera que cubre cómo los gobiernos estatal y federal afectan la educación en Chicago y en todo Illinois. Puedes comunicarte con Makiya en mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 4a

2026-09-28T21:18:46+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Este reportaje se elaboró y publicó en colaboración con WBEZ, el Chicago Sun-Times y Block Club Chicago, redacción sin fines de lucro que cubre los diversos vecindarios de Chicago. Mantente informado a través del boletín de Chalkbeat Chicago, el boletín sobre educación de WBEZ y el Sun-Times, y los boletines de Block Club Chicago.

En la contienda de este distrito del norte de Chicago, una educadora jubilada nombrada a la actual Junta de Educación se enfrenta a dos contrincantes que dicen que los miembros de la Junta han fallado en materia de responsabilidad fiscal y en establecer metas ambiciosas para las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago.

Karen Zaccor, una veterana maestra y defensora comunitaria de Uptown que fue nombrada a la Junta de Educación por el alcalde en 2024, después de quedar en segundo lugar entre seis candidatos, se enfrentará a Ellen Sherratt, experta en reclutamiento y retención de maestros, y a Ángel Álvarez, investigador de células madre.

La zona a lo largo de la orilla norte del lago alberga 15 escuelas, menos que en casi cualquier otro distrito de la Junta de Educación. Entre ellas hay escuelas de vecindario con alto rendimiento académico, escuelas magnet populares y una escuela secundaria alternativa chárter.

Alrededor del 57% de los estudiantes asiste a la escuela primaria de su vecindario, pero ese porcentaje es mucho menor en la secundaria. Las escuelas del distrito atraen a una población estudiantil diversa: de sus 8,400 estudiantes de CPS el ciclo escolar pasado, alrededor del 37% eran latinos, casi el 26% blancos, el 23% negros y cerca del 8% asiáticos.

En las elecciones de la Junta de Educación de 2024, lo que ahora es el Distrito 4a formaba parte de un Distrito 4 más grande. La miembro de la Junta Ellen Rosenfeld superó a cinco contrincantes, más que en cualquier otra contienda de ese año. Este año, Rosenfeld se postula sin oposición en el vecino Distrito 4b.

Zaccor ha votado de manera constante junto a un bloque mayoritario de miembros de la Junta nombrados por el alcalde Brandon Johnson o elegidos con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago, el antiguo empleador y aliado cercano de Johnson. Sus prioridades también coinciden con las del sindicato, que ha respaldado a Zaccor. Entre ellas están impulsar un impuesto a los multimillonarios u otras nuevas fuentes progresivas de ingresos estatales para aumentar los fondos destinados a las escuelas y ampliar el programa de Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables, una colaboración entre CPS y el CTU en la que escuelas con grandes necesidades reciben $500,000 adicionales cada año para asociarse con organizaciones locales sin fines de lucro y ampliar sus servicios.

Sus contrincantes, Sherratt y Álvarez, sostienen que el distrito debe hacer más para enfrentar el creciente déficit que solo presionar al estado para obtener más fondos, entre otras cosas, elaborar el presupuesto de manera más cuidadosa y eliminar gastos innecesarios.

Sherratt ha recibido respaldos y apoyo financiero del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa al personal de apoyo y que en los últimos años ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros, así como de otros grupos que se oponen al CTU. Entre ellos se encuentra Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”. Además, dos grupos que promueven la elección de escuelas y las escuelas charter apoyan su campaña.

Sherratt dijo que aportaría a la Junta su experiencia en la calidad de los maestros e impulsaría el establecimiento de metas ambiciosas para el desempeño académico de los estudiantes.

Álvarez, quien dirige un consejo asesor de familias para la Oficina para Estudiantes con Discapacidades del distrito, dijo que defendería servicios de educación especial que respondan mejor a las necesidades de los estudiantes y protegería a las familias de aumentos en los impuestos a la propiedad.

Sherratt, quien lleva años estudiando el reclutamiento y la retención de maestros, dice que la Junta de Educación necesita más expertos que entiendan las tendencias educativas a nivel nacional. Dijo que sería una voz independiente, sin compromisos con el CTU ni con otros grupos de interés.

“Aporto una amplia y profunda experiencia de distintas partes del país”, comentó.

Sherratt dijo que ha dedicado su carrera a investigar cómo las escuelas pueden contratar y retener a excelentes maestros y a asesorar a distritos escolares, estados y al gobierno federal. Ha trabajado en una iniciativa nacional para aumentar los salarios de los maestros y en esfuerzos en Illinois para abordar la escasez de educadores. Actualmente dirige Common Cents Education, una firma de consultoría sobre la calidad de los maestros que fundó para trabajar con los distritos en asuntos relacionados con su personal. La hija de Sherratt asiste a una escuela privada, algo que ella describió como una “decisión personal que tomamos para nuestra familia”, al tiempo que señaló su trayectoria de apoyo a las escuelas públicas.

Sherratt dijo que quiere que la ciudad y el distrito establezcan una serie de “metas muy ambiciosas” para alcanzar antes del bicentenario de Chicago en 2037, como mejorar significativamente el desempeño en matemáticas. Dijo que buscaría una amplia participación para definir esas metas, incluida la de los estudiantes, para quienes organizaría horarios especiales de atención después de clases.

“Deberíamos ser más ambiciosos y lograr que tanto el proceso como las metas sean algo de lo que la ciudad de Chicago realmente pueda sentirse orgullosa”, dijo Sherratt.

También dijo que la Junta debería abogar por más fondos estatales, pero rechazó lo que describió como tácticas de presión excesiva, como aprobar el presupuesto reciente con “dinero fantasma” que la Junta está presionando al estado para que apruebe.

“Me imagino que para muchos en Springfield se siente como si los estuvieran presionando”, comentó.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Sherratt.

Zaccor representa uno de los distritos más prósperos de la ciudad, donde se encuentran algunas de las escuelas magnet más destacadas. Sin embargo, como miembro de la Junta, se ha enfocado en fortalecer las escuelas de vecindario con altos niveles de pobreza y abordar las desigualdades que persisten.

Zaccor dijo que no ve ninguna contradicción. En su vecindario de Uptown hay escuelas con grandes necesidades, como Uplift Community High School, donde enseñó durante años. Formó parte de un grupo de padres y defensores comunitarios que fundaron Uplift en 2005. Además, Zaccor dijo que familias y estudiantes de toda la ciudad le han expresado muchas de las mismas preocupaciones, entre ellas la disponibilidad de programas después de clases, la cantidad de tiempo frente a las pantallas en las escuelas y la calidad de la comida en las cafeterías.

“Nunca voy a creer que exigir un sistema verdaderamente equitativo sea algo incorrecto”, dijo.

Zaccor ha defendido durante muchos años una Junta de Educación electa y anteriormente, formó parte de un Consejo Escolar Local. Su hija se graduó de Whitney Young Magnet High School, una escuela de admisión selectiva de CPS. Aseguró que se siente orgullosa de su trabajo en la Junta hasta ahora, en particular de sus esfuerzos por establecer un proceso más riguroso para renovar y supervisar las escuelas charter.

Zaccor apoya firmemente la continuación de la expansión del programa de Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables, que recientemente ha enfrentado cuestionamientos sobre dificultades en su implementación y la limitada evidencia de mejoras en los resultados de los estudiantes. El programa es “un trabajo en proceso”, dijo, pero el distrito ha aprendido lecciones que puede aplicar a las escuelas que lo incorporaron recientemente.

Entre sus otras prioridades están seguir presionando al estado para obtener más fondos, impulsar escuelas más ecológicas y mejorar la comida de las cafeterías. Se opone al cierre de escuelas y sostiene que, en lugar de cerrarlas, el distrito debería invertir más para revitalizar las escuelas con baja matrícula.

“Primero tenemos que invertir y ver qué diferencia puede hacer”, dijo.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Zaccor.

Álvarez conoce de primera mano cómo las decisiones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago pueden afectar la vida de las personas. Hace cuatro años, su hija, quien tiene una discapacidad visual, perdió todo el primer semestre de tercer grado en Decatur Elementary School porque no contaba con transporte. Álvarez pasó largas horas presionando a los funcionarios del distrito encargados de las rutas de los autobuses escolares y hablando ante la Junta de Educación, que tiene la autoridad para aprobar los contratos con las empresas de transporte. Incluso presentó una queja ante el estado y compartió la experiencia de su familia con medios de comunicación nacionales.

Actualmente dirige un consejo asesor de familias para la Oficina para Estudiantes con Discapacidades de CPS, donde ayuda a las familias a resolver problemas relacionados con el transporte, el personal de educación especial y otros servicios.

“En CPS existe una enorme desconexión entre la teoría y la práctica, entre lo que está escrito y lo que las familias realmente viven”, comentó Álvarez, quien anteriormente formó parte de un Consejo Escolar Local. Sobre su experiencia tratando de resolver el problema del transporte, agregó: “Tengo un doctorado y aun así fue un proceso complicado para mí”.

Álvarez es científico y profesor asistente en Northwestern University, además de director del Stem Cell Core. También ha promovido la educación de estudiantes con altas capacidades y ha enseñado ciencias a estudiantes de secundaria a través de Hispanic Math and Science Education Initiative.

Si resulta electo, impulsaría que la ciudad evalúe a todos los niños para detectar discapacidades de aprendizaje y de otro tipo antes de que comiencen la escuela, y que conecte a las familias con los recursos que ya existen.

Álvarez destacó que ha hablado con miembros de la Junta de Educación sobre temas que van desde la disciplina escolar hasta los problemas financieros del distrito. Su principal prioridad es limitar los aumentos de los impuestos a la propiedad de CPS. Considera que el distrito puede hacer más con los fondos que recibe actualmente. Sí cree que debe seguir buscando más ingresos del estado, pero también dijo que CPS debería reducir gastos innecesarios y gastar de manera más eficiente, incluso dando a los Consejos Escolares Locales mayor influencia sobre los presupuestos de sus escuelas.

“Es fácil decir: ‘Le pediré más dinero al estado’”, comentó. “El estado no tiene el dinero”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Álvarez.

Mila Koumpilova es reportera sénior de Chalkbeat Chicago y cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Mila en mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 4b

2026-09-28T21:17:23+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Ellen Rosenfeld, exmaestra de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago y exespecialista de participación comunitaria del distrito, se postula sin oposición para conservar el puesto del norte de Chicago que ganó cómodamente en 2024 frente a otros cinco aspirantes a la Junta de Educación, en la contienda con más candidatos de la ciudad.

Grupos que promueven la elección de escuelas gastaron grandes sumas para respaldarla y oponerse a un candidato apoyado por el sindicato de maestros, aunque ella se distanció de esos gastos. Durante los últimos dos años, después de dejar su puesto en el área de Participación Familiar y Comunitaria de CPS, Rosenfeld se ha dedicado a tiempo completo a su labor en la Junta. Forma parte de un bloque de siete miembros electos que se han opuesto a los miembros nombrados por el alcalde y a sus aliados electos en la Junta de Educación, que conforman la mayoría.

La expresidenta de un Consejo Escolar Local y madre de cuatro graduados de CPS sostiene que la Junta actual ha estado demasiado enfrascada en la política y ha sido demasiado susceptible a presiones externas. Sin embargo, considera que la próxima Junta, integrada en su totalidad por miembros electos, podría encabezar un resurgimiento académico, desde un aumento del dominio de la lectura hasta una reducción del ausentismo crónico, una de sus principales preocupaciones. Dijo que la próxima Junta debe unirse en torno a una serie de objetivos para mejorar el distrito.

“Sin una visión compartida, es casi imposible lograr las cosas buenas”, dijo Rosenfeld. “Ni siquiera sabemos hacia dónde intenta ir el barco”.

El Distrito 4b alberga 18 escuelas, entre ellas varias escuelas de vecindario con alto rendimiento académico,escuelas magnet y una popular escuela secundaria de admisión selectiva, Lane Tech College Prep. Las familias de esta zona eligen las escuelas de sus vecindarios en mayor proporción que las familias de muchos otros distritos, especialmente en el nivel de primaria. Algunas escuelas atraen a una población estudiantil diversa, tanto del distrito como de otras partes de la ciudad, pero, en general, esta es más blanca y de mayores ingresos que la de CPS en su conjunto.

Rosenfeld dijo que ha establecido relaciones con el personal de las escuelas y del distrito, las familias y los estudiantes gracias a sus horarios regulares de atención al público y a sus visitas a unas 60 escuelas, incluidas algunas fuera de su distrito. Defiende cada uno de sus votos, incluidos dos relacionados con el presupuesto: uno para aprobar un plan de gastos para 2025-26 sin recurrir a préstamos de alto costo y otro en contra del presupuesto de este año, al que se opuso porque dependía de fondos que el estado aún no ha enviado a CPS para evitar despidos de personal.

Rosenfeld provocó el enojo del CTU y de algunas familias de las escuelas chárter de Acero cuando estuvo entre una pequeña minoría de miembros de la Junta que votaron en contra de incorporar cinco escuelas de esa red al distrito. Ha argumentado que, dados sus propios desafíos financieros y de matrícula, el distrito no debería acudir al rescate de escuelas públicas administradas por entidades privadas que atraviesan dificultades. Desde entonces, algunos operadores de escuelas chárter y por contrato han señalado ese voto para argumentar que CPS podría rescatar también a sus escuelas.

Rosenfeld podría volver a enfrentarse al sindicato por el cierre de escuelas, una medida a la que este se opone firmemente. Sostiene que la Junta debe hacer frente a una década de pérdida de matrícula, una tendencia que, según las proyecciones, se acelerará debido a una fuerte caída de la tasa de natalidad. Destacó que los miembros de la Junta de Educación no deberían simplemente ignorar el creciente número de escuelas con una matrícula muy por debajo de su capacidad, en las que, según ella, los estudiantes reciben una experiencia educativa de menor calidad. El distrito debe aprender de los “terribles” cierres masivos de escuelas de 2013 y comenzar con una participación comunitaria genuina, quizás mediante la creación de un grupo de trabajo que reúna a una muestra representativa de los habitantes de Chicago, dijo.

“Lo que estamos haciendo no está funcionando”, destacó. “Es una locura y un desperdicio”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Rosenfeld.

Mila Koumpilova es reportera sénior de Chalkbeat Chicago y cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Mila en mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 5a

2026-09-28T21:16:51+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Una agente de bienes raíces respaldada por defensores de la elección de escuelas busca desplazar a un veterano activista educativo con vínculos con el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago en la contienda para representar al Distrito 5a en el oeste de la ciudad. También participa una maestra de educación especial jubilada que se postula como candidata por escrito. Después de décadas de falta de inversión, muchas escuelas de la zona enfrentan dificultades para estabilizar la matrícula y lograr que los estudiantes alcancen el nivel académico correspondiente a su grado.

El actual miembro de la Junta Aaron “Jitu” Brown, veterano organizador comunitario, quiere asegurar más fondos estatales y reducir los gastos administrativos de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Su contrincante, LaPamela Williams, originaria de Austin y exalumna de Lane Tech College Prep, quiere aumentar la responsabilidad financiera y recortar gastos que no benefician a los estudiantes. Kernetha Jones, quien fue retirada de la boleta electoral, quiere ver mejoras en los resultados de los exámenes antes de destinar más dinero a lo que ella llama un “sistema fallido”.

El distrito se extiende desde Austin, un vecindario de mayoría negra al oeste, a través de los sectores de Garfield Park y Humboldt Park y llega hasta Ukrainian Village al este. Esta amplia franja del oeste de la ciudad abarca 39 escuelas que sirven principalmente a estudiantes negros y latinos.

Los estudiantes que viven en el Distrito 5a tienen menos probabilidades de asistir a la escuela de su vecindario que los estudiantes de la mayoría de las otras zonas de la ciudad, particularmente en la secundaria. Menos del 7% de los estudiantes de secundaria de esta zona eligieron la escuela de su vecindario, según datos de CPS. Una escuela secundaria, Frederick Douglass Academy en Austin, tuvo apenas 27 estudiantes el año pasado y se ha convertido en un punto central del debate sobre cómo CPS debería abordar la disminución de la matrícula.

Los tres candidatos viven en Austin. Sus opiniones difieren respecto de las escuelas chárter públicas administradas de manera independiente: Brown y Jones se oponen a su expansión, mientras que Williams apoya la apertura de más escuelas chárter si cuentan con el respaldo de la comunidad.

Williams decidió postularse por su amor al aprendizaje y a su comunidad. Nació y creció, y sigue viviendo en Austin.

“La educación es para toda la vida, y los niños de mi distrito realmente están sufriendo, especialmente en lo académico”, dijo Williams, citando los altos índices de ausentismo y a los estudiantes que se gradúan sin las habilidades necesarias para tener éxito después de la secundaria.

Williams es relativamente nueva en el activismo educativo y la organización. Sin embargo, comentó que sus años de experiencia en puestos de atención al cliente, incluido su trabajo como auxiliar en un hogar de ancianos, la han preparado.

“Todo en mi trabajo tiene que ver con la satisfacción del cliente”, dijo Williams. “Explicar la información de manera que la gente pueda entenderla (...). Escuchar de verdad lo que las personas dicen y convertirlo en acciones”.

Williams está respaldada por Illinois Network of Charter Schools, que aboga por las escuelas chárter y cuenta con un brazo político con amplio financiamiento, así como por The Urban Center, organización política centrista que apoya las escuelas chárter y promueve la elección de escuelas tanto públicas como privadas. También recibe el apoyo de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política favorable a los intereses empresariales y contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks, que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Sus opiniones sobre las escuelas chárter difieren de las de Brown y Jones.

Brown considera que CPS puede hacerse cargo de la administración de escuelas chárter existentes para prevenir cualquier daño a los estudiantes. Jones apoya ayudar a las escuelas charter existentes si tienen un buen desempeño. Sin embargo, ninguno de los dos considera que haya necesidad de abrir nuevas escuelas chárter.

Williams apoya la apertura de nuevas escuelas chárter en lugares donde exista una necesidad en la comunidad, y únicamente por parte de grupos que cuenten con financiamiento sostenible y un plan claro para mejorar el aprendizaje. Williams también dijo que CPS debería hacer más para apoyar a las escuelas charter existentes si están dando resultados y “cumpliendo con los criterios que deberían cumplir”.

Si es elegida, Williams dijo que examinaría el presupuesto a fondo.

“La solución siempre es más impuestos, más dinero”, dijo Williams. “Pero tenemos que ser más responsables con el presupuesto y su supervisión, y asegurarnos de que cuando paguemos, las personas cumplan con su parte”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Williams.

Brown, quien creció en el extremo sur de Chicago, desempeñó un papel prominente en las luchas que duraron años contra el cierre de escuelas en Chicago y a favor de una Junta de Educación completamente electa. En particular, participó en una huelga de hambre que ayudó a reabrir Dyett High School en Washington Park. Desde el 2012, dirige una organización sin fines de lucro que lucha contra la expansión de las escuelas chárter y trabaja para apoyar a las escuelas de vecindario.

Brown se postuló sin oposición para su puesto en 2024. Recibió el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y lidera el Comité para el Logro Académico de los Estudiantes Negros, que trabaja para reducir las disparidades raciales y mejorar las experiencias de los estudiantes negros en las aulas.

“Mi preocupación no es únicamente por los estudiantes negros, pero los estudiantes negros son la población que está en crisis”, dijo Brown.

El trabajo de Brown en el ámbito educativo se remonta a la década de los 90, cuando su grupo de rap visitó una escuela primaria del sur de Chicago. Brown recuerda a un joven sentado y encorvado en su silla que le dijo: “Oye, eres genial, pero no vas a volver”.

“Eso se me quedó grabado”, comentó Brown.

Después de eso, Brown comenzó a trabajar como voluntario con niños a través de la Kenwood Oakland Community Organization. Notó la desigualdad en los recursos mientras trabajaba en diferentes escuelas y comunidades.

“Estos niños de la calle 39 tienen una sola computadora en su aula, y eso es todo”, destacó Brown. “A estos jóvenes no les enseñan historia afroamericana. Me di cuenta de que había un problema de equidad, y eso comenzó mi camino”.

Brown ha sido una de las voces principales que presionan por un aumento en la financiación estatal para abordar la brecha del presupuesto del distrito. Quiere que los legisladores estatales aumenten los impuestos a los ricos y que eliminen los vacíos fiscales que benefician a las corporaciones.

“La voluntad política existe”, dijo Brown, “no solo para ponerle un torniquete” al problema, sino también para “sanar la herida”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Brown.

Jones creció en el oeste de Chicago y se graduó de la Farragut High School.

Según su currículum, enseñó a estudiantes con discapacidades de aprendizaje y de comportamiento en CPS durante más de cuatro años escolares entre los años 80 y 90.

Jones no respondió a las solicitudes de entrevista, pero en nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS expresó su apoyo a la elección de escuelas y a proporcionar cupones a los padres, los cuales normalmente se usan para ayudar a cubrir el costo de la matrícula en escuelas privadas.

Jones se opone al programa integral de educación sexual del distrito, y afirmó, sin presentar pruebas, que CPS utiliza lecciones que sexualizan a los niños y que contienen material pornográfico. Hace dos años, cuando Jones hizo afirmaciones similares como candidata por escrito para el Distrito 5, Chalkbeat no encontró pruebas de que el currículo de CPS incluyera contenido de esa naturaleza.

En el 2024, una reportera de Chalkbeat le preguntó a Jones, quien utilizó con frecuencia un lenguaje antitransgénero en su cuestionario para la candidata del 2026, cómo pensaba representar a estudiantes con distintas identidades de género y orientaciones sexuales. En ese momento, Jones dijo que no estaba en contra de los estudiantes que no se identifican como heterosexuales, pero que se oponía a “adoctrinarlos en la escuela sin el conocimiento de los padres. Estoy en contra de que les cambien el nombre a los niños sin el permiso de los padres”.

La política de CPS establece que las escuelas no deben divulgar la identidad de género de un estudiante sin el consentimiento del estudiante o la autorización del departamento legal del distrito. Bajo esa política, los estudiantes también tienen derecho a ser llamados por el nombre y los pronombres que elijan en la escuela.

Jones también quiere limitar el uso de inteligencia artificial en las aulas debido al potencial de sesgo racial y quiere que CPS contrate a más maestros negros para que los estudiantes negros tengan más educadores que se parezcan a ellos. Investigaciones han encontrado que esta estrategia puede fomentar un sentido de pertenencia y contribuir a tasas más bajas de suspensiones y tasas de graduación más altas entre los estudiantes negros. El año pasado, el 34% de los estudiantes de CPS se identificaban como negros, en comparación con el 21% de los maestros.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Jones.

Lisa Kurian Philip es reportera de educación superior para WBEZ Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Lisa en lphilip@wbez.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 5b

2026-09-28T21:16:06+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Los dos candidatos que compiten por representar una amplia zona del oeste de Chicago están intentando conseguir un puesto en la Junta de Educación. La miembro titular de la Junta de Educación Michilla, “Kyla” Blaise, inició una campaña en 2024, pero se retiró a último momento, mientras que su contrincante, Anthony Hargrove, no apareció en la boleta electoral hace dos años.

Blaise, una asesora política que fue nombrada para la Junta de Educación por el alcalde Brandon Johnson en 2024, cuenta con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago. Hargrove, quien dirige programas para ayudar a jóvenes que abandonaron sus estudios a regresar a la escuela, cuenta con el apoyo de defensores de los intereses empresariales y de las escuelas charter.

El Distrito 5b es uno de los distritos de la Junta de Educación con la mayor diversidad económica, extendiéndose desde el próspero West Loop hasta vecindarios que han sufrido falta de inversión, como North Lawndale y Garfield Park. Incluye varias escuelas secundarias del vecindario que enfrentan una disminución de la matrícula, pero también algunas de las escuelas magnet de CPS con mayor demanda. Los estudiantes que asisten a las escuelas de esta zona son en su mayoría negros y latinos.

Los candidatos se han enfocado en temas diferentes. Blaise dice que sus prioridades son aumentar los fondos para CPS, abordar la disminución de la matrícula y mejorar la salud mental de los estudiantes, mientras que Hargrove se centró en mejorar el dominio de la lectura y las matemáticas, fortalecer la educación especial y ampliar la educación vocacional y la preparación para carreras profesionales.

Los dos candidatos coinciden en algunos temas. Ambos apoyan restricciones más estrictas al uso de la inteligencia artificial y de los teléfonos celulares en las aulas, y ambos se oponen al cierre de escuelas por cualquier motivo.

Blaise se enorgullece de ser “chicagoense de toda la vida”. Dice que su familia ha vivido en el oeste de Chicago durante cuatro generaciones.

Sus hijos asistieron a LaSalle Language Academy Elementary School y a la Kenwood Academy High School, lo cual le mostró el valor de las escuelas magnet. Quiere que los padres tengan opciones además de la escuela de su vecindario.

Pero como miembro de la Junta de Educación, dijo que apoya a las escuelas del vecindario y quiere encontrar maneras de revitalizarlas, tomando como ejemplo la Marshall Metropolitan High School en East Garfield Park. La escuela tuvo alrededor de 200 estudiantes inscritos el año pasado. En la década de los 60, cuando la escuela estaba sobrepoblada y el padre de Blaise estudiaba allí, Marshall tenía unos 5,000 estudiantes, comentó.

La escuela cuenta con recursos como una piscina de tamaño olímpico, una cocina comercial y equipos deportivos competitivos. Pero Blaise dijo que la Junta de Educación debería ayudarla a alcanzar todo su potencial, considerando la posibilidad de convertirla en una escuela magnet enfocada en deportes o agregar grados de escuela intermedia.

Blaise suele votar junto con un bloque de la Junta de Educación alineado con el CTU y recibió el respaldo del sindicato. Este año, tuvo un papel destacado al encabezar los esfuerzos para modificar el presupuesto de CPS con el objetivo de revertir algunos recortes previstos y contar con fondos estatales adicionales que podrían no llegar.

“Quiero ser una verdadera defensora para asegurarme de que la gente entienda lo terriblemente insuficiente que es el financiamiento de nuestras escuelas, y también asegurarme de que la gente entienda que existe una oportunidad para realmente cambiar la conversación”, aseguró Blaise.

Blaise dijo que su experiencia viviendo en una variedad de vecindarios —East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park y Wicker Park— la ayuda a comprender las distintas necesidades de la ciudad y de su distrito.

“Tengo amigos y familiares de verdad en toda la ciudad que asisten a CPS. Creo que sé lo que está pasando”, dijo. “Espero que todos podamos simplemente conversar sobre los temas que nos afectan”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Blaise.

Hargrove, quien nació y creció en el oeste de Chicago, destaca por sus numerosos vínculos con CPS. Asistió a escuelas del distrito durante su infancia y se graduó de Orr Academy High School. Dos de sus hijos actualmente estudian en una escuela de CPS y otros dos ya se graduaron. También trabajó para el distrito en varios puestos, incluyendo guardia de seguridad, asistente de trabajador social y trabajador de apoyo para padres en escuelas como Marshall, Phillips Academy High School y Orr Academy High School.

Actualmente dirige programas “que ayudan a los jóvenes a reconectarse con la escuela y a prepararlos para tener éxito más allá de las aulas”, según el sitio web de su campaña.

Hargrove está respaldado por el Common Ground Collective, comité de acción política anti CTU que está financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”. También cuenta con el respaldo de The Urban Center, organización política centrista que apoya a las escuelas chárter y promueve la elección entre escuelas públicas y privadas.

Hargrove, quien no estuvo disponible para una entrevista, dijo en nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS que su experiencia previa dentro del distrito lo ha preparado de manera única para formar parte de la Junta.

“Me postulo por cada padre y madre de mi distrito que sintió que su voz no fue escuchada, por cada estudiante que sintió que nadie lo veía y por cada familia que simplemente quiere lo mejor para su hijo”, escribió. “Aportaré una voz centrada en la comunidad enfocada en la rendición de cuentas, las oportunidades y en poner a los estudiantes primero”.

Hargrove quiere que CPS considere más alianzas comunitarias para usar los edificios escolares que no se utilizan a toda capacidad.

“La Junta debe tomar decisiones transparentes y basadas en datos que pongan a los estudiantes en primer lugar, fortalecer las escuelas de vecindario y asegurarse que los recursos se utilicen de manera responsable”, escribió al explicar cómo le gustaría que CPS abordara la disminución de la matrícula.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Hargrove.

Mary Norkol es reportera del Chicago Sun-Times. Puedes comunicarte con Mary en mnorkol@suntimes.com.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 6a

2026-09-28T21:15:31+00:00

Leer en inglés.

La carrera para representar al centro de Chicago en la Junta de Educación enfrenta a una ex lobbista que dirige una organización estatal de defensa con la ventaja de ser la miembro actual de la Junta, contra dos contrincantes, un asistente de educación especial respaldado por grupos que promueven la elección entre escuelas y une investigadore y consultore educative cuya campaña opera de manera más independiente.

Anusha Thotakura fue nombrada por el alcalde en 2024 después de quedar en segundo lugar entre tres candidatos en las primeras elecciones de la Junta de Educación y espera conservar su puesto con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y del Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios (SEIU), la cual representa a trabajadores de apoyo escolar.

Isaiah White, un trabajador de apoyo escolar, se postula con miles de dólares de parte de The Urban Center, organización política centrista que promueve la elección entre escuelas tanto públicas como privadas, y del brazo político de Illinois Network of Charter Schools. También cuenta con el respaldo de un comité de acción política que favorece a las empresas, anti CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que dice tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Brenda Lee Anderson, docente de Northwestern University con licencia, no cuenta con el respaldo de mayores grupos de interés.

Debido a que se encuentra en el centro comercial y empresarial de la ciudad, el Distrito 6a tiene apenas 14 escuelas públicas, la menor cantidad de todos los distritos electorales de la Junta de Educación, y ninguna es una escuela secundaria de vecindario. Los estudiantes que asisten a las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago en esta zona son diversos, pero las escuelas tienen una mayor proporción de estudiantes blancos y asiático-americanos que CPS en su conjunto.

Las principales prioridades de Thotakura y White son mejorar los resultados de lectura y matemáticas. La principal meta de Anderson es resolver la persistente crisis presupuestaria de CPS.

Durante sus casi dos años en la Junta de Educación, Thotakura dijo que uno de sus mayores logros fue patrocinar la resolución Healthy Green Schools, que pidió a CPS invertir en más proyectos de energía limpia y utilizar los ahorros en energía para mejorar los edificios escolares, como la eliminación de moho.

La resolución se presentó después de que el distrito llegara a un nuevo acuerdo laboral con el CTU el año pasado para construir escuelas más ecológicas cuando haya fondos disponibles. Hasta agosto, el distrito estaba trabajando en seis proyectos piloto para instalar paneles solares o electrificar los sistemas en las escuelas como respuesta a la resolución, según los memorandos del distrito proporcionados por Thotakura.

La principal prioridad de Thotakura para otro periodo en la Junta es mejorar los resultados académicos de los estudiantes impulsando a CPS a cumplir las metas establecidas en su plan estratégico de cinco años. Dijo que quiere que el distrito publique con mayor frecuencia datos sobre el progreso académico de los estudiantes para que la Junta pueda hacer que los líderes se hagan responsables. También quiere encontrar maneras de hacer que todas las escuelas de su vecindario sean más atractivas para las familias, que con frecuencia le dicen que envían a sus hijos a otras escuelas. Dijo que parte de ese esfuerzo incluye ampliar el acceso al nivel preescolar, diciendo que las familias tienen que esperar a que haya cupo con frecuencia.

El año pasado, Thotakura se separó de uno de sus principales aliados, el CTU, al votar a favor del presupuesto propuesto por CPS, el cual no incluía préstamos de alto costo. Este año, fue una de los 11 miembros de la Junta que votaron junto al sindicato para modificar el presupuesto propuesto por el distrito, bajo el supuesto de que CPS recibirá $150 millones más en fondos estatales de lo previsto. Si ese dinero no llega, las escuelas podrían tener que despedir personal a mitad del año escolar. Thotakura defendió su decisión, en parte porque cree que la ciudad podría aportar más fondos provenientes de zonas fiscales especiales conocidas como distritos de Financiamiento por Incremento de Impuestos, o TIF por siglas en inglés.

“Creo que vale la pena movilizarnos, aprovechar este impulso e ir a Springfield”, destacó Thotakura.

Thotakura ha votado con frecuencia de acuerdo con el sindicato de maestros, pero señaló su voto sobre el presupuesto del año pasado como un ejemplo de su manera independiente de pensar.

“Si ves mi historial de votación, muestra que soy una persona con criterio independiente que, al final, toma en cuenta la información de todas las partes interesadas, pero actúa en base a los mejores intereses para los estudiantes”, enfatizó Thotakura.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Thotakura.

Para cuando White comenzó a asistir a Brooklyn Tech, una de las escuelas secundarias públicas más selectivas del país, su madre había fallecido y su padre había abandonado recientemente el hogar, dijo. Después de pasar varias semanas sin vivienda, se fue a vivir con la familia de un amigo en Brooklyn.

Un consejero escolar se mantenía al pendiente de él y se aseguraba de que pudiera pagar las cuotas de los exámenes AP y recibir almuerzo gratuito, dijo White. Esa experiencia influyó en su decisión de postularse para la Junta de Educación.

“Soy un ejemplo de lo que puede suceder cuando las escuelas hacen un muy, muy buen trabajo al apoyar a un niño que es consciente de lo poco que tiene y ayudarle a crecer y entrar al mundo como una persona capaz de vivir una vida bonita y feliz y contribuir al resto de la sociedad”, dijo White. “Quiero que eso esté disponible para la próxima generación”.

White se mudó a Chicago hace tres años con su pareja y comenzó a trabajar como maestro sustituto en CPS en 2024. También trabajó en la campaña de 2024 de Jessica Biggs, una de las representante del Distrito 6a en la Junta Educativa, quien ahora se está postulando para la presidencia de la Junta. El año pasado, White se postuló sin éxito para comisionado del Condado de Cook.

White ha modificado sus referencias en el sitio web de su campaña con algunas de sus experiencias anteriores. Su sitio web decía anteriormente que había sido presidente de servicios para familias de la Asociación de Residentes de River North, pero el presidente de la asociación dijo a Chalkbeat que White era un coordinador voluntario que trabajó en dos eventos, incluyendo una celebración de regreso a clases. White dijo que consideraba que sus responsabilidades se parecían a las de un presidente, pero después de que el presidente de la asociación le informara cuál era su título correcto, dijo que había sido “simplemente un descuido” y corrigió su sitio web. Para mediados de septiembre, la referencia a la asociación ya no aparecía.

El sitio web también había indicado que White dirigió varias campañas, incluida la de Biggs. Biggs le dijo a Chalkbeat que White supervisó las operaciones de campo y de voluntarios. La referencia a la campaña de Biggs fue eliminada para mediados de agosto, pero White sostuvo que sí dirigió su campaña y dijo que no tenía la intención de eliminar esa referencia de su sitio web. Al momento de la publicación, la referencia a Biggs seguía sin aparecer.

Si resulta elegido para la Junta de Educación, la principal prioridad de White sería mejorar los resultados de lectura y matemáticas, en parte aumentando el salario de los asistentes de maestros y buscando maneras de contratar a líderes escolares más eficaces.

La campaña de White ha recibido fondos de comités políticos de The Urban Center, Illinois Network of Charter Schools y Common Ground Collective, grupos que generalmente se oponen a las posturas políticas del CTU.

White dijo que no ha hablado con estas organizaciones sobre sus prioridades, pero considera que “reconocen correctamente que el CTU no está actuando en beneficio de los niños”.

“Pero voy a hacer lo que sea mejor para mi comunidad y… si eso significa que no me apoyan para la reelección, está bien”, dijo White.

Lee el cuestionario completo de White.

Anderson quiere usar su experiencia como investigadore de políticas educativas y sociales para abordar las desigualdades y aumentar los fondos de las escuelas.

Las escuelas fueron algunos de los “espacios seguros” para Anderson durante su infancia en Ohio y Tennessee mientras entraba y salía del sistema de cuidado de crianza temporal y su madre enfrentaba problemas de adicción. Anderson dijo que esa experiencia le enseñó la importancia de contar con entornos escolares estables y vecinos que brinden apoyo, y lo que finalmente le llevó a obtener un doctorado.

Anderson se mudó a Chicago hace unos años. La página de LinkedIn de Anderson y nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS indican que dan clases en la Escuela de Educación y Políticas Sociales en Northwestern University, pero un portavoz de la universidad dijo que su empleo terminó a mediados de julio. Anderson dijo que planea regresar durante los trimestres de invierno y primavera de la universidad, después de las elecciones, y que mientras tanto está realizando otros trabajos de consultoría relacionados con la educación.

La principal prioridad de Anderson es resolver el problema presupuestario de CPS buscando fondos federales adicionales que aún no se han aprovechado, los cuales representan alrededor del 9% del presupuesto del distrito, e impulsando un aumento de los fondos estatales.

Si resulta elegide, Anderson dijo que recurriría a políticas respaldadas por evidencia, en lugar de intereses especiales, para orientar sus decisiones. También dijo que trabajaría para establecer relaciones y formar coaliciones integradas por personas con distintas perspectivas políticas, desde otros funcionarios electos locales y personas de clase trabajadora y bajos ingresos hasta multimillonarios.

“Cuando todos estos activistas y organizadores pensaban en una Junta de Educación, creo que tenían en mente a alguien como yo: una persona que quiere poner a los estudiantes en el centro, que quiere mantener la educación pública lo más pública posible y que está dispuesta a hablar con todos”, dijo Anderson. “La primera regla de la organización es que hay que organizar a personas que no siempre están de acuerdo contigo, ¿verdad?”

A diferencia de sus contrincantes, Anderson no ha recibido el respaldo de sindicatos importantes ni de grandes grupos de interés.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Anderson.

Reema Amin es reportera que cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Reema en ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 6b

2026-09-28T21:14:34+00:00

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Michael Neal, originario del sur de Chicago y pastor de muchos años, se enfrenta a Brittany Kimble, abogada y madre de una estudiante de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago, para representar al Distrito 6b, el cual se extiende desde el próspero vecindario de Lakeshore East en el centro de la ciudad, hasta el South Loop y Greater Grand Crossing.

Los dos candidatos, que se postulan por primera vez, compiten en una de las dos contiendas de la Junta de Educación en las que ningún candidato ha recibido el respaldo de los principales sindicatos del distrito: el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago o el Sindicato Internacional de Empleados de Servicios (SEIU), que representan al personal de apoyo escolar.

Jessica Biggs, quien actualmente representa a este distrito, se postula a la presidencia de la Junta de Educación.

El Distrito 6b incluye 37 escuelas, muchas de las cuales sirven principalmente a estudiantes negros y han experimentado algunas de las mayores disminuciones de matrícula de la ciudad, mientras que otras más cercanas al centro han aumentado su matrícula durante la última década. Según los candidatos, las preocupaciones de las familias van desde querer escuelas públicas de calidad y con suficientes recursos en todos los vecindarios hasta sentirse bienvenidas en las escuelas de sus hijos.

Neal nació y creció en el sur de Chicago, se graduó de CPS y actualmente dirige una organización sin fines de lucro. Kimble creció en distintas ciudades de Illinois y actualmente su hija asiste a Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary Academy.

Las dos principales prioridades de Kimble son mejorar el dominio de la lectura y las matemáticas y resolver los problemas presupuestarios de CPS. Neal quiere mejorar la educación de la primera infancia.

Los candidatos cuentan con respaldo o han recibido apoyo financiero de grupos que con frecuencia difieren del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y de la oficina del alcalde.

Neal recibió el respaldo de Common Ground Collective, un nuevo comité de acción política anti-CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”. La campaña de Kimble cuenta con el respaldo de The Urban Center, una organización política centrista que promueve la elección entre escuelas públicas y privadas, y ha recibido algunas contribuciones de ese grupo, aunque Kimble insiste en que la organización no le ha pedido nada a cambio.

Neal, pastor de Glorious Light Church en el vecindario de Oakland, dijo que siempre ha querido ayudar a su comunidad más allá de los sermones dominicales. Hace más de una docena de años, comenzó a leerles a niños en una escuela primaria local y después empezó a reclutar a más hombres negros para hacer lo mismo a través de una organización sin fines de lucro que fundó.

Su interés en la educación creció y comenzó a servir en el Greater Bronzeville Community Action Council, que se enfoca en elaborar un plan para mejorarla.

Postularse para la Junta de Educación, “simplemente me pareció algo muy natural porque esto es lo que he hecho prácticamente toda mi vida adulta, especialmente desde que me convertí en padre”, dijo Neal, cuyas hijas, ahora adultas, asistieron a escuelas de CPS.

La organización sin fines de lucro de Neal, Timothy Community Corporation, operaba en una escuela de CPS que había estado cerrada hasta hace unos meses, dijo. La organización se enfoca en ampliar el acceso a servicios de salud y bienestar, así como en la alfabetización y el desarrollo de habilidades de liderazgo.

Neal dijo que su programa voluntario de lectura ahora dona libros a las escuelas. Ese trabajo despertó su interés en mejorar la educación de la primera infancia, la cual sería su principal prioridad si resulta elegido. Dijo que quiere que haya más programas de lectura en voz alta en las escuelas de toda la ciudad y reclutar a más organizaciones filantrópicas y empresas para que proporcionen voluntarios y otros tipos de apoyo.

Neal dijo que su campaña “no tiene mucho dinero”, pero que algunas personas han contribuido con ayuda similar o se han ofrecido como voluntarias, por ejemplo, recolectando firmas para que pudiera aparecer en la boleta electoral. Se describió como un “novato en campañas” y señaló que su esposa creó su sitio web, que una de sus hijas le da consejos de vez en cuando y que un amigo lo está ayudando a dirigir la campaña.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Neal.

Kimble dijo que ha intentado repetidamente, sin éxito, conseguir apoyo adicional en la escuela para su hija, tanto para dificultades del habla como para enfrentar el acoso escolar. Esa experiencia la llevó, en un momento dado, a educar a su hija en casa. Ahora también está impulsando a Kimble, quien es madre soltera, a postularse para la Junta de Educación.

Aunque ha buscado apoyo adicional para su hija fuera de la escuela, Kimble dijo que no “todos los padres deberían tener que hacer eso”.

Kimble dijo que creció y asistió a escuelas públicas en varios suburbios de Chicago y en Carbondale antes de estudiar derecho.

Kimble dirigió su propio despacho de abogados durante casi una década antes de declararse en bancarrota en febrero. Enfatizó que sus problemas financieros surgieron tras años de dificultades para mantener su negocio a flote después de la pandemia. Al momento de presentar la solicitud de bancarrota, Kimble debía $825,210 en distintas deudas, incluidas tarjetas de crédito, préstamos estudiantiles y deudas con la Administración de Pequeñas Empresas de Estados Unidos, mientras que solo tenía $227,873 en bienes personales y propiedades, incluida su vivienda, según documentos judiciales.

“He aprendido de mi situación… pude salir adelante al declararme en bancarrota”, dijo Kimble. “CPS no puede declararse en bancarrota, pero tampoco puede seguir gastando de la misma manera sin que entren más fondos”.

Sigue con licencia para ejercer como abogada y espera algún día volver a abrir un despacho. Por ahora, dijo, se ha vuelto “contraria a las deudas” y ha reducido sus gastos, como, por ejemplo, deshaciéndose de su automóvil y llevando a su hija a la escuela en un autobús de la Autoridad de Tránsito de Chicago (CTA).

Como miembro de la Junta, Kimble dijo que primero abordaría el persistente déficit estructural del distrito, en parte mediante la exploración de recortes fuera del salón de clases o la reducción de las obligaciones de deuda. Su otra prioridad sería mejorar el dominio de las matemáticas y la lectura.

“Para mí, los niveles de matemáticas y alfabetización de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago son vergonzosos, pero no creo que podamos mejorarlos hasta que resolvamos todo lo demás”, dijo Kimble sobre el presupuesto.

La campaña de Kimble recibió miles de dólares en servicios de consultoría y de recolección de firmas de The Urban Center, que se opone al Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago. En su cuestionario, Kimble dijo que “rechazaría dinero que pudiera comprometer mi independencia”. Dijo a Chalkbeat que los fondos de The Urban Center la ayudaron a aparecer en la boleta electoral y que el grupo “no le ha pedido nada” a ella.

Kimble considera que el grupo la apoya porque educó a su hija en casa, pero enfatizó que es “una defensora de las escuelas públicas por naturaleza”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Kimble.

Reema Amin es reportera que cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Reema en ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 7a

2026-09-28T21:12:57+00:00

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En este distrito de mayoría latina, una pastora y activista de muchos años que luchó contra la sobrepoblación en las escuelas de Pilsen y fue nombrada para la Junta de Educación por el alcalde en 2024 se enfrenta a un joven candidato y graduado de CPS que trabajó durante los últimos seis años en un programa extracurricular de una organización sin fines de lucro.

La miembro actual de la Junta Emma Lozano está respaldada por el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU), mientras que Jesús Ayala Jr. tiene el apoyo de defensores de las escuelas charter, grupos a favor de las empresas y el Consejo Estatal de Empleados Internacionales de Servicios en Illinois, el cual representa a miles de empleados de apoyo de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago y que en los últimos años ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros. Ayala intentó postularse en 2024, pero su nombre fue retirado de la boleta electoral tras una exitosa impugnación de sus documentos de nominación.

Este distrito del suroeste de Chicago alberga 48 escuelas públicas. El año pasado, alrededor del 64% recibió la segunda mejor clasificación del estado, “encomiable”, mientras que el 4.5% fueron calificadas con “apoyo intensivo”, lo que indica que se encuentran entre el 5% inferior de las escuelas de bajos ingresos o que tienen una tasa de graduación del 67% o menos.

Los estudiantes que asisten a las escuelas del Distrito 7a son principalmente latinos y la mayoría proviene de familias de bajos ingresos. Casi la mitad de los estudiantes están aprendiendo inglés.

Tanto Lozano como Ayala Jr. señalaron que proteger a las comunidades de inmigrantes y conseguir nuevas fuentes progresivas de ingresos están entre sus prioridades, pero quieren tomar caminos diferentes para lograrlo.

Por ejemplo, Lozano votó a favor de aprobar un presupuesto de CPS que contemplaba ingresos adicionales del estado. Ayala dice que depender de fondos que no están garantizados es un error. Estas diferencias han ocasionado un duelo de apoyo en la carrera de parte de los sindicatos que antes eran aliados, pero ahora compiten por tener influencia en la Junta de Educación.

Emma Lozano es conocida desde hace mucho tiempo como activista y defensora de los derechos de los inmigrantes. Ha apoyado esfuerzos para garantizar que los estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés tengan acceso a la misma educación que los estudiantes cuyo primer idioma es el inglés y respaldo políticas que limitan la cooperación de CPS con las autoridades federales de inmigración.

Lozano es pastora de la Iglesia Lincoln United Methodist en Pilsen. En 2006, la iglesia de Humboldt Park donde era pastora en ese momento dio refugio a una mujer indocumentada que enfrentaba la deportación, convirtiéndola en un símbolo de un movimiento nacional de iglesias que ofrecen santuario a inmigrantes.

Lozano estudió en escuelas de CPS, al igual que sus hijos, quienes asistieron o se graduaron de distintas escuelas, entre ellas las secundarias Juárez y Wells Community Academy, y Lozano Bilingual Elementary, una escuela que lleva el nombre del hermano de Lozano.

Lozano, una miembro actual de la Junta por nombramiento y apoyada por el CTU, dijo que quiere conservar su puesto porque es una de las pocas integrantes que entiende lo que significa vivir como inmigrante en la ciudad. Esa perspectiva es importante, dijo, mientras la administración de Trump siga con sus medidas agresivas de control migratorio.

Una de sus prioridades es mejorar el apoyo para los estudiantes de familias inmigrantes. Cuando los operativos migratorios alcanzaron su punto máximo en la ciudad el otoño pasado, Lozano instó a CPS a considerar ofrecer clases virtuales a los estudiantes que tenían miedo de ir a la escuela.

“Si yo no estoy ahí, entonces sí me preocupa mucho porque no tienen voz”, comentó Lozano.

También quiere trabajar para conseguir más fondos estatales mediante la promoción de políticas como aumentar los impuestos a los ricos. Fue uno de los 11 miembros de la Junta que votaron a principios de este año a favor de incluir en un presupuesto modificado de CPS la expectativa de que el estado aportaría más fondos.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Lozano.

Jesús Ayala Jr. trabajó en MetroSquash desde 2020 hasta agosto, cuando dejó el puesto para concentrarse en su campaña para la Junta de Educación. La organización sin fines de lucro enseña squash competitivo y brinda apoyo académico a estudiantes del sur de Chicago y de Evanston.

Ayala creció en Bucktown y asistió a escuelas de las CPS durante su infancia. Dijo que una escuela de CPS ayudó a su padre a adaptarse a la vida en Estados Unidos. Esa experiencia influyó en la convicción de Ayala de que las escuelas deben ser pilares de sus comunidades.

“Me encanta que mi papá haya encontrado apoyo en una escuela de vecindario mientras aprendía inglés y se adaptaba a un nuevo país”, comentó Ayala.

Ayala destacó que su trabajo voluntario con organizaciones que trabajan con estudiantes de CPS, como Mikva Challenge, lo motivó a buscar un puesto en la Junta. Destacó que observó una “desconexión entre aquello en lo que se enfocaba la Junta y lo que nuestros estudiantes necesitan”. Considera que la Junta dedica demasiado tiempo a discutir asuntos que afectan a una sola escuela y que debería concentrarse en problemas a nivel del distrito.

Ayala quiere enfocarse en mejorar los resultados académicos de los estudiantes y en evaluar la eficacia de los materiales educativos, como el currículo Skyline del distrito, que incluye un conjunto de lecciones de matemáticas, lectura, ciencias, estudios sociales y otras materias.

“¿Los estudiantes están logrando los avances que queremos y cuando no es así, podemos averiguar por qué?”, dijo Ayala.

Ayala también quiere abordar los altos índices de ausentismo y cree que mejorar la experiencia de los estudiantes puede ayudar. Por ejemplo, quiere prestar más atención a combatir el acoso escolar.

La mayor parte de los fondos de Ayala proviene de un comité de acción política afiliado a SEIU y de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política anti CTU que está financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Ayala Jr.

Emmanuel Camarillo es reportero de educación del Chicago Sun-Times. Puedes comunicarte con Emmanuel en ecamarillo@suntimes.com.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 7b

2026-09-28T21:12:26+00:00

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Dos latinas con experiencia en el servicio público compiten por representar una parte del suroeste de Chicago que tiene uno de los porcentajes más altos de escuelas con las dos mejores clasificaciones de desempeño del estado.

La miembro titular de la Junta Yesenia López fue elegida en 2024 con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago y del entonces representante federal Jesús “Chuy” García. Esta vez, sin el apoyo poderoso del CTU, se enfrenta a un desafío de parte de Erika Díaz Chávez, gerente de proyectos del Distrito de Parques de Chicago, quien asistió a escuelas privadas durante su infancia. Díaz Chávez cuenta con el apoyo del brazo político de Illinois Network of Charter Schools y de The Urban Center, organización política centrista que promueve las escuelas chárter y la elección entre escuelas tanto públicas como privadas.

López cuenta con el respaldo del Consejo Estatal de Empleados Internacionales de Servicios en Illinois, que representa a miles de empleados de apoyo de CPS y que, en los últimos años, ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros.

Hay 34 escuelas en el Distrito 7b, y el 13% se encuentra entre el 10% de las escuelas con mejor desempeño en Illinois.

Las escuelas del Distrito 7b sirven al porcentaje más alto de estudiantes latinos en CPS, pero algunas escuelas también atienden principalmente a estudiantes asiático-americanos. Alrededor del 84% de los estudiantes provienen de familias de bajos ingresos y cerca de la mitad son estudiantes que están aprendiendo inglés.

Ambas candidatas dicen que quieren ofrecer más recursos de educación especial a los estudiantes en respuesta a las preocupaciones de los padres. También quieren asegurarse de que CPS esté haciendo lo suficiente para proteger a las familias inmigrantes ante el aumento de las medidas de control migratorio en la ciudad.

Sin embargo, tienen opiniones diferentes sobre las Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables, un programa favorecido por el CTU que proporciona fondos adicionales a decenas de escuelas para colaborar con organizaciones comunitarias y ofrecer más servicios a las familias. El CTU representa a unos 30,000 maestros y otros empleados de CPS y es conocido por su fuerte enfoque en temas de justicia social.

Díaz Chávez no está segura de que el modelo, el cual ahora está plasmado en el contrato del CTU, esté dando resultados y quiere evaluar el programa antes de gastar más dinero en él. López considera que el modelo beneficia a las familias y lo apoya, aunque coincide en que el distrito debe dar seguimiento a sus resultados.

Yesenia López se graduó de la Juárez Community Academy High School en Pilsen. Ha trabajado y ha sido voluntaria en varias escuelas del suroeste de Chicago. También se desempeñó como directora de alcance comunitario latino para la campaña de JB Pritzker para gobernador en el 2022. Más recientemente, fue subdirectora de campaña de Patty García, quien se postula para ocupar el antiguo escaño de Jesús “Chuy” García en el 4.º Distrito del Congreso.

Las prioridades de López incluyen proteger a las familias inmigrantes y aumentar los servicios de apoyo de salud mental de los estudiantes. Recientemente pidió a la oficina del alcalde que avance con la creación de un panel asesor de la Junta de Educación enfocado en las necesidades de estudiantes y familias que no son ciudadanos estadounidenses, ya que es requerido por la ley estatal.

SEIU, que ha respaldado a López, es uno de los principales contribuyentes a su campaña, al igual que en 2024.

Pero esta vez no cuenta con el apoyo del CTU. Ganó con el respaldo del sindicato hace dos años, pero en ocasiones sus votos se han apartado de los de los miembros de la Junta alineados con el CTU.

López dijo que le sorprendió no contar con su apoyo esta vez porque, según ella: “Soy la candidata que apoya la educación pública; yo misma asistí a escuelas públicas y he expresado claramente mi apoyo a nuestras escuelas de vecindario”.

Más recientemente, López se abstuvo de votar sobre una modificación al presupuesto de CPS impulsada por miembros respaldados por el sindicato.

“He demostrado que soy verdaderamente independiente”, dijo López.

López no respondió a nuestro cuestionario.

Erika Díaz Chávez, quien ha trabajado para el Distrito de Parques de Chicago durante más de 20 años, supervisa el sendero The 606 en una zona cercana al noroeste de la ciudad y administra datos para el departamento de cultura y recursos naturales de la agencia.

Decidió entrar en la carrera porque considera que la Junta debería hacer más para mejorar los resultados de los estudiantes.

“Creo que, de cierta manera, les estamos fallando a nuestros niños”, dijo Díaz Chávez. “Ese tiene que ser nuestro enfoque, al 100%. ¿Cómo podemos hacer todo lo posible para que a estos niños les vaya bien académicamente?”.

Díaz Chávez creció en la zona de Pilsen y asistió a escuelas católicas en Chicago y en el suburbio de Oak Park.

Cuenta con el respaldo de The Urban Center, grupo político que promueve la elección entre escuelas y que también ha apoyado económicamente su campaña. Díaz Chávez asegura que sería una voz independiente en la Junta.

“Quiero asegurarme de que podamos trabajar con todos, no solamente con las personas que piensan igual que yo o que forman parte de una lista de candidatos”, comentó.

Díaz Chávez dijo que sería más fácil tomar decisiones que sean las mejores para el distrito a largo plazo si hubiera más voces independientes. Eso incluye analizar qué hacer cuando la moratoria sobre el cierre de escuelas venza el próximo verano.

“Nadie quiere ver que cierren escuelas”, dijo. Pero luego agregó: “Tenemos que tener una conversación muy honesta sobre cómo podemos ser sostenibles para las futuras generaciones”.

La campaña de Díaz Chávez no ha recaudado mucho dinero, pero ha recibido contribuciones de Illinois Network of Charter Schools y The Urban Center, dos organizaciones que apoyan a las escuelas chárter.

Díaz-Chávez no respondió a nuestro cuestionario.

Emmanuel Camarillo es reportero de educación del Chicago Sun-Times. Puedes comunicarte con Emmanuel en ecamarillo@suntimes.com.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 8a

2026-09-28T21:11:23+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Con una campaña bien financiada y el respaldo de grupos con grandes recursos económicos que apoyan la elección entre escuelas, el miembro actual de la Junta de Educación, Ángel Gutiérrez, tiene asegurado conservar su puesto después de que nadie presentara los documentos para competir contra él.

Gutiérrez, líder de una organización sin fines de lucro y residente de Garfield Ridge, se postula sin oposición para representar al Distrito 8a en el suroeste de Chicago, donde el 60% de la población es latina, aproximadamente el doble del porcentaje de residentes latinos en toda la ciudad.

Esta zona se ha inclinado más hacia candidatos conservadores que otras partes de la ciudad y tiene más hogares con familias que hogares de una sola persona. En 2023, los votantes de esta zona favorecieron ampliamente al candidato a la alcaldía Paul Vallas, exdirector ejecutivo de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago, sobre el alcalde Brandon Johnson, exorganizador del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago. En 2024, la mayoría de los distritos favorecieron a Donald Trump para presidente.

Gutiérrez quiere mejorar la educación especial, aumentar las oportunidades para aprender oficios especializados y garantizar el acceso a transporte confiable, incluidos los autobuses escolares. Las propuestas beneficiarían a los estudiantes que asisten a las escuelas de sus vecindarios. Muchas familias de este distrito eligen la escuela primaria de su vecindario, pero optan por otras escuelas para la secundaria.

Gutiérrez apoya que CPS continúe con su estrategia de permitir que las familias elijan entre una variedad de escuelas fuera de su vecindario. También es el único miembro de la Junta que le ha pedido al estado participar en el programa federal de becas con crédito fiscal de la administración Trump, que ofrece un crédito fiscal por donaciones a organizaciones que otorgan becas para que los estudiantes asistan a escuelas privadas o para cubrir otras necesidades educativas. Illinois no ha aceptado participar.

Los hijos de Gutiérrez asisten a una escuela católica.

Gutiérrez tendrá un mandato de cuatro años después de ganar un mandato de dos años para representar al Distrito 8, el cual está dividido en 8a y 8b en el 2024. En esa elección derrotó a Félix Ponce, candidato respaldado por el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago, con el 63% de los votos. Su amplia victoria y el apoyo financiero de donantes con grandes recursos, como el multimillonario Michael Sacks, podrían haber disuadido a otros candidatos.

Gutiérrez se presenta como un defensor de la responsabilidad fiscal, buscando que el distrito se recupere y tenga una situación financiera sólida mientras que mejora la calidad de la educación.

En 2024, Gutiérrez dijo que se postulaba para lograr un presupuesto de CPS más equilibrado. Dos años después, considera que también puede mejorar la manera en que funciona la Junta de Educación.

“Si prestas atención y observas algunas de las ridiculeces que hacen algunos miembros de la Junta, yo aporto la experiencia de saber cómo comportarme con decoro, con respeto por la institución y con respeto por los estudiantes, los padres y los contribuyentes”, dijo.

A principios de este año, se unió a otros miembros electos de la Junta de Educación para rechazar el presupuesto propuesto de $10 mil millones de CPS. El presupuesto, el cual asume que el distrito recibirá $150 millones más en fondos estatales de lo proyectado, fue aprobado por un margen estrecho.

Las finanzas del distrito siguen siendo una prioridad, dijo. Las familias “están sintiendo la presión de los impuestos por todos lados”, ya sean impuestos a la propiedad o impuestos sobre las ventas, dijo. Agregó que planea encabezar conversaciones sobre cómo ajustar el distrito.

“Estamos enseñando para el mundo de hoy y no para el de mañana, así que creo que tenemos que reimaginar cómo se ve nuestro impacto”, destacó.

CPS ha perdido 45,000 estudiantes en los últimos siete años, pero ha contratado a 10,000 empleados adicionales.

Para equilibrar el presupuesto, Gutiérrez dijo que la Junta necesita analizar cuántas escuelas están siendo utilizadas por debajo de su capacidad, cuántos estudiantes se han perdido y cuántos empleados fueron contratados con fondos de la época de la pandemia que ya no están disponibles.

“Tenemos recursos limitados”, destacó.

Cuenta con el respaldo del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa a miles de empleados de apoyo de CPS y que en los últimos años ha tenido diferencias políticas con el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago. También recibe apoyo financiero del brazo político de Illinois Network of Charter Schools y cuenta con el respaldo de otros dos grupos cuyas posturas también suelen estar en contra del sindicato de maestros.

Gutiérrez dirige la estrategia de recaudación de fondos y comunicaciones de Enlace Chicago, una organización sin fines de lucro de La Villita. Anteriormente dirigió actividades de recaudación de fondos y desarrolló programas para Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago y la Chicago Hope Academy, una escuela secundaria cristiana. Forma parte del consejo asesor de Puerto Rican Arts Alliance y del comité directivo de Nuestro Futuro, un fondo dedicado a la filantropía latina, además de colaborar con otras organizaciones locales sin fines de lucro.

Dijo que sus décadas de experiencia como líder de organizaciones sin fines de lucro y consultor de servicio público lo ponen en una posición para tomar “decisiones reales” sobre el liderazgo, las contrataciones, el personal y el tamaño de CPS.

“Como líder ejecutivo, soy alguien que ya ha estado en esa posición, ha tomado decisiones difíciles, ha tenido que hacer despidos y ha contratado a personas para puestos de alto rango”, dijo.

Hasta mediados de septiembre, entre los contribuyentes a su campaña se encontraban donantes con grandes recursos económicos, como el multimillonario local Michael Sacks y Jim Frank, el presidente ejecutivo de la junta directiva de Wheels Inc. Estos donantes han canalizado decenas de miles de dólares para apoyar a candidatos que favorecen la elección de escuelas.

También ha recibido donaciones de comités vinculados a funcionarios del suroeste de Chicago, entre ellos la concejal Silvana Tabares (Distrito 23) y el concejal Marty Quinn (Distrito 13). Gracias a contribuciones de miles de dólares de algunos de estos donantes, el fondo de campaña de Gutiérrez creció considerablemente durante el último año.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Gutiérrez.

Francia García Hernández cubre Pilsen, La Villita y Back of the Yards para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Francia en francia@blockclubchi.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 9a

2026-09-28T21:10:23+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Los votantes de este distrito del sur de Chicago tendrán una nueva representante —con un apellido conocido— en la Junta de Educación de Chicago, porque el actual miembro, nombrado por el alcalde, fue retirado de la boleta electoral en julio.

Brittany Bailey Preston, esposa del senador estatal Willie Preston, cuyo distrito abarca parte de la misma zona del sur de Chicago, tiene prácticamente asegurado el puesto porque es la única candidata en la contienda.

Ángel Vélez, nombrado por el alcalde Brandon Johnson para representar al Distrito 9a, presentó su candidatura para las elecciones, pero fue retirado de la boleta después de que se impugnara e invalidara un gran porcentaje de las firmas que había presentado.

El distrito, de mayoría negra, incluye una combinación de 47 escuelas de vecindario, chárter y magnet que atienden principalmente a estudiantes negros y latinos. El distrito también tiene uno de los porcentajes más bajos de escuelas de la ciudad que reciben las clasificaciones estatales de ejemplar o elogiable. Varias escuelas del distrito han experimentado una disminución de la matrícula en los últimos 15 años.

Therese Boyle ganó las elecciones de 2024 para representar al Distrito 9. Posteriormente, el distrito se dividió en dos subdistritos.

Boyle representó al Distrito 9b y Johnson nombró a Frank Thomas para representar al 9a. Thomas fue nombrado inicialmente después de que la primera Junta designada por el alcalde renunciara en masa durante una disputa entre Johnson y el entonces director ejecutivo de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS), Pedro Martínez.

Thomas renunció en junio de 2025 y posteriormente fue reemplazado por Vélez. Después de ser retirado de la boleta electoral, Vélez declaró a Block Club que no postularía como candidato por escrito.

Preston no respondió al cuestionario para candidatos ni aceptó una entrevista.

Preston, residente de Auburn Gresham, anteriormente dirigía una empresa de construcción junto con su esposo. Willie Preston fue elegido al Senado de Illinois en 2022 para representar al Distrito 16.

Después de que Vélez fuera retirado de la boleta electoral, Preston publicó en redes sociales una declaración en la que celebró lo que parecía ser su triunfo.

“Estoy profundamente agradecida de haber conseguido un lugar en la boleta y me siento honrada de postularme sin oposición”, comentó Preston.

En la misma publicación, Preston destacó que se enfocaría en tres prioridades: mejorar la alfabetización, ampliar las vías hacia carreras profesionales y oficios, y convertir a CPS en “el distrito escolar más favorable para las familias de Estados Unidos”.

“Como madre negra de seis hijos, la educación siempre ha sido mi máxima prioridad”, escribió Preston. “Los niños y las familias de Chicago merecen una mamá osa comprometida con su éxito y que luche todos los días para garantizar que cada niño tenga la oportunidad de prosperar”.

En 2014, los Preston demandaron a Chicago State University ante una corte federal, alegando que los dirigentes de la universidad habían tomado represalias contra ellos al interferir en las elecciones del gobierno estudiantil y al expulsar a Willie Preston después de que la pareja se convirtiera en activista en el campus y criticara al presidente de la universidad y a otros administradores. La universidad negó las acusaciones y un juez federal desestimó la demanda al año siguiente.

Preston también se postuló para la Junta de Educación en 2024, pero fue retirada de la boleta antes de las elecciones. El Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa al personal de apoyo de las escuelas de Chicago, ha respaldado a Preston. También cuenta con el respaldo de The Urban Center, organización política centrista que promueve la elección de escuelas tanto públicas como privadas, y de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU), financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

Según la base de datos Illinois Sunshine, hasta mediados de septiembre Preston no había recaudado dinero para su comité de campaña.

Preston no respondió a nuestro cuestionario.

Jim Lynch cubre Beverly, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood y Washington Heights para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Jim en jim@blockclubchi.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 9b

2026-09-28T21:10:08+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Dos candidatas — una psicóloga jubilada de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS) que actualmente forma parte de la Junta de Educación y una exmadre de CPS y patóloga del habla y del lenguaje — compiten para representar al extremo sur de Chicago, zona con 46 escuelas públicas. La mayoría son escuelas de vecindario, con pocas escuelas cháárter administradas por entidades privadas y escuelas magnet a las que se ingresa mediante sorteo.

La actual miembro de la Junta Therese Boyle trabajó para el distrito durante 35 años, mientras que su contrincante Katherine Dunneback es actualmente profesora clínica adjunta en Saint Xavier University.

La matrícula es un problema en gran parte del distrito, donde solo un pequeño porcentaje de estudiantes elige asistir a las escuelas secundarias públicas asignadas a sus vecindarios.

Tanto Dunneback como Boyle tuvieron hijos que asistieron durante un tiempo a las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago. Los hijos de Dunneback asistieron a una escuela primaria pública de vecindario en Morgan Park antes de ir a escuelas secundarias privadas. Boyle dijo que una de sus hijas asistió al preescolar en una escuela pública de Beverly. Sus dos hijas asistieron a escuelas privadas de primaria y secundariaprivadas de primaria y secundaria.

Boyle dijo que los residentes están enfocados en asegurarse de que el distrito esté “gastando el dinero de manera responsable”, mientras que Dunneback dijo que sus vecinos están preocupados por la sobrepoblación y el cierre de escuelas.

Las dos candidatas coinciden en algunos temas académicos, entre ellos, imponer límites estrictos al uso de la inteligencia artificial y de los dispositivos electrónicos, pero tienen posturas diferentes sobre las escuelas chárter y el cierre de escuelas.Las dos candidatas coinciden en algunos temas académicos, entre ellos, en imponer límites estrictos al uso de la inteligencia artificial y de los dispositivos electrónicos, pero tienen posturas diferentes sobre las escuelas chárter y el cierre de escuelas. Boyle apoya las escuelas cháárter y la consolidación de escuelas cuando sea equitativa y rentable. Dunneback se opone a las escuelas cháárter y ha hablado de ampliar la iniciativa de Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables como alternativa a los cierres.

El programa, impulsado por el distrito junto con el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU) (CTU), convierte las escuelas de vecindario en centros comunitarios. Las escuelas con grandes necesidades y las organizaciones sin fines de lucro reciben $500,000 al año para ampliar el alcance a las familias, los servicios integrales de apoyo y los programas después de clases. El programa también ha enfrentado recientemente cuestionamientos por dificultades en su implementación y por la limitada evidencia de mejoras en los resultados de los estudiantes.El programa también ha enfrentado recientemente cuestionamientos por dificultades en su implementación y por la limitada evidencia de mejoras en los resultados de los estudiantes.

Según nuestro cuestionario para la Junta de Educación de CPS, ninguna de las candidatas quiere aumentar los impuestos a la propiedad hasta el máximo permitido para financiar las escuelas. Sin embargo, Dunneback sostienesostiene que los miembros de la Junta deberían trabajar con otros funcionarios electos para financiar las escuelas mediante otras políticas fiscales, mientras que Boyle sostiene que CPS no está gastando sus recursos de manera responsable.

La actual miembro de la Junta de Educación, Therese Boyle, trabajó en varias escuelas del Distrito 9b durante sus 35 años como psicóloga escolar y maestra.

En 2024, la residente de Mount Greenwood ganó con el 33% de los votos, superando a otros tres candidatos. El 51% de los votos que recibió provinieron de su Distrito 19, que ahora forma parte del 9b.

Boyle comparó su puesto con un trabajo de tiempo completo, lo que la ha llevado de regreso al salón de clases.

“A pesar del profundo conocimiento que tenía sobre el funcionamiento de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago, no conocía con la misma profundidad todos los engranajes que hacen funcionar la educación en Chicago”, comentó Boyle.

La campaña de Boyle para 2026 cuenta con el respaldo del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa al personal de apoyo escolar de CPS y que, en los últimos años, ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros. También cuenta con el apoyo de donantes vinculados a grupos que promueven las escuelas públicas chárter y la elección de escuelas, así como de grupos que se oponen al CTU.

Boyle dijo que está enfocada en la estabilidad financiera a largo plazo del distrito. Una de las principales preocupaciones que escucha de los residentes es los altos impuestos a la propiedad y la necesidad de asegurarse de que CPS administre su presupuesto de manera responsable. El distrito tiene tasas de propiedad de vivienda más altas que en gran parte de la ciudad.

El año pasado, la Junta de Educación rechazó la propuesta presupuestaria preferida por el alcalde Brandon Johnson, que habría incluido un préstamo con una alta tasa de interés para cubrir gastos. La medida habría cubierto gastos a corto plazo, pero habría aumentado la deuda del distrito.

“No queremos cargar al distrito con más deuda porque la deuda que ya tenemos está consumiendo dinero que podría utilizarse para apoyar a los niños en el salón de clases”, dijo Boyle.

Boyle dijo que su primer periodo estuvo lleno de tareas importantes, en particular, la búsqueda de un nuevo superintendente tras el despido del anterior por parte de la Junta previa. Macquline King fue nombrada superintendente y directora ejecutiva en marzo. Boyle dijo que ahora está lista para enfocarse en los resultados de los estudiantes, así como en la seguridad y la protección en las escuelas.

“Quiero asegurarme de que tengamos buenos planes para enfrentar no solo las grandes crisis… sino también las cosas del día a día”, enfatizó Boyle.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Boyle.

Katherine Dunneback, residente de Morgan Park, ha trabajado durante los últimos tres años en Saint Xavier University como profesora clínica adjunta. Sin embargo, fueron los años que pasó trabajando en escuelas con altos porcentajes de estudiantes de familias de bajos ingresos y su experiencia como madre de estudiantes de CPS los que influyeron en su decisión de postularse a la Junta de Educación.

“He visto el impacto de la distribución desigual de los recursos en los niños de familias de bajos ingresos”, dijo.

Los hijos de Dunneback se graduaron de Clissold Elementary School en Morgan Park en 2022. Decidió postularse tras hablar con vecinos y residentes sobre lo que esperan de la Junta de Educación.

“Me di cuenta de que hacía falta alguien en la Junta de Educación que… alzara la voz para defender a nuestros padres, nuestras familias y nuestras comunidades, y que apoyara a los maestros y la idea de las Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables”, dijo Dunneback.

Estas últimas prioridades también coinciden con las del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago, que ha respaldado a Dunneback y está apoyando económicamente su campaña, según la base de datos Illinois Sunshine.

Si resulta electa, dijo que se enfocaría en reducir el uso de tecnología en las aulas, ampliar el acceso a la educación de la primera infancia y reducir el tamaño de las clases. Según Dunneback, las clases numerosas contribuyen a que los padres sientan una menor conexión con los maestros y se pregunten si sus hijos podrían estar quedando rezagados académicamente.

“Me gustaría reducir la proporción de estudiantes por maestro, porque la ciencia nos dice que esa es la mejor manera de apoyar a nuestros niños”, agregó Dunneback.

Dunneback participa activamente en la política. Ha recorrido vecindarios y participado en campañas telefónicas para candidatos políticos, más recientemente para la campaña presidencial de Kamala Harris, y participa en Politics and Coffee, un grupo comunitario de participación cívica en Beverly y Morgan Park.

Como miembro de la Junta de Educación, planea apoyarse en su experiencia en la comunidad y en el activismo. Espera trabajar con legisladores estatales y funcionarios locales para financiar las escuelas mediante políticas fiscales progresivas.

“Quiero que los funcionarios del distrito trabajen con los legisladores estatales para financiar nuestras escuelas lo más rápido posible de acuerdo con la fórmula estatal”, aseguró Dunneback. “Esta necesidad debe tener prioridad sobre el financiamiento de estadios u otras opciones que no sean esenciales”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Dunneback.

Jim Lynch cubre Beverly, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood y Washington Heights para Block Club Chicago. Puedes comunicarte con Jim en jim@blockclubchi.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 10a

2026-09-28T21:09:17+00:00

Leer en inglés.

Cuando Che “Rhymefest” Smith ganó hace dos años un asiento en la Junta de Educación, se identificó con orgullo como independiente tras imponerse a candidatos respaldados por el Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU) y por el brazo político de Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

“Les diré que mis conexiones con la comunidad me trajeron hasta aquí; mi trabajo me trajo hasta aquí”, dijo el artista de hip-hop ganador de un Grammy, quien se convirtió en activista y político. “El dinero no me trajo hasta aquí”.

Esta vez es diferente. Smith será el único nombre que aparecerá en la boleta para representar al Distrito 10a. El distrito, que se extiende desde Bronzeville hasta South Shore, incluye algunas de las escuelas más solicitadas del sur de Chicago, entre ellas Kenwood Academy High School y Murray Language Academy Elementary School, así como varias escuelas de vecindario consideradas de bajo rendimiento y que han perdido matrícula en los últimos años.

A diferencia de 2024, Smith ahora es una figura conocida que se ha convertido en un voto firme en contra de las posturas del CTU en la Junta y, por ello, ha recibido el respaldo y las donaciones de grupos que se oponen al sindicato.

Su única contrincante, Tameka Walton, líder de una organización sin fines de lucro, se postula como candidata por escrito después de que su nombre fue retirado de la boleta electoral.

Walton, exintegrante de un Consejo Escolar Local y madre de estudiantes de las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS), dijo que reunió más de 500 firmas requeridas, pero estas fueron impugnadas. Walton dijo que intentó preguntar a quienes impugnaron sus firmas por qué la habían señalado a ella.

“Literalmente les decía: ‘Que alguien hable conmigo, conózcanme’”, comentó. “No supongan que soy la candidata de alguien ni que represento los intereses de alguien. Primero que nada, soy mamá y esa es mi brújula moral”.

Walton recibió el respaldo del CTU, pero hasta mediados de septiembre ni el sindicato ni ninguna otra persona u organización habían contribuido a su campaña.

Fuera de Chicago, Smith es más conocido por su trabajo como compositor para la película “Selma” y por haber ganado un Grammy. Pero en la ciudad, el expadre de familia de CPS suele destacar lo que considera sus logros en la Junta de Educación.

Smith dice con orgullo que ha visitado todas las escuelas de su distrito y que ha organizado eventos comunitarios mensuales para padres sobre temas como el ausentismo y el Plan para el Éxito de los Estudiantes Negros.

Señala como el mayor logro de su primer año una resolución que redactó y que exige que la persona que dirija CPS tenga las credenciales necesarias para ser superintendente. Dijo que durante su segundo año se ha enfocado en “organizar y ser transparente con la información”.

Smith se ha convertido en un crítico abierto de las Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables, programa en el que cada escuela recibe $500,000 para incorporar organizaciones que ofrecen servicios de salud mental, bancos de alimentos y clases para estudiantes y familias. El contrato del CTU con CPS contempla el programa, que se ha convertido en blanco de críticas por parte de grupos conservadores que regularmente se oponen al sindicato.

Smith destacó que su frustración con el programa se debe a que es costoso y nadie está dando seguimiento a sus resultados.

“Dejemos de hacer que las Escuelas Comunitarias Sustentables parezcan una farsa. No son una farsa, pero las están convirtiendo en una”, aseguró. “Porque lo que yo veo es algo que podría ser maravilloso para los estudiantes, la comunidad y los resultados académicos. Pero cada vez que uno pide datos sobre su eficacia, no recibe nada”.

Smith cuenta con el respaldo del Consejo Estatal de SEIU en Illinois, que representa a miles de empleados de apoyo de CPS y que en los últimos años ha tenido diferencias políticas con el sindicato de maestros, y de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”. El brazo político de Illinois Network of Charter Schools también apoya económicamente su campaña. SEIU ha incluido a Smith entre sus candidatos respaldados para las elecciones de 2026.

Smith defiende su decisión de aceptar este dinero.

“Nunca me pidieron que votara de cierta manera”, dijo. “Nunca me dieron una política y me dijeron que la impulsara”.

Smith no respondió nuestro cuestionario.

Walton dijo que representa a dos grupos importantes que Smith no representa. Primero, es una madre que tuvo que abogar para que sus hijos pudieran ingresar a escuelas de CPS donde tuvieran la oportunidad de prosperar. También es directora ejecutiva y fundadora de una organización sin fines de lucro que trabaja con niños que han vivido experiencias traumáticas en el ámbito escolar.

“Estoy viendo más allá de lo difícil que fue para mí navegar [el sistema de CPS], pero también estoy pensando, como madre, en lo que quiero que se haga”, aseguró. “La escuela debe ser un espacio seguro y acogedor tanto para los estudiantes como para los padres”.

Los hijos de Walton asistieron o actualmente asisten a escuelas secundarias privadas, principalmente porque juegan fútbol y porque pocas escuelas de CPS cuentan con programas de fútbol de calidad, dijo. Pero cuando una de esas escuelas privadas no resultó adecuada, tuvo dificultades para encontrar una escuela para su hijo, quien, según ella, presentaba algunos problemas. Terminó educándolo en casa durante un tiempo antes de que finalmente asistiera a una escuela pública y se graduara.

“Eso exigió que yo estuviera presente en la escuela, al frente de todo, y que aprendiera las políticas que existen para apoyar a estudiantes como él en las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago”, dijo.

Ahora quiere que haya una mejor conexión entre CPS y la comunidad de familias que educan a sus hijos en casa.

Walton dijo que se alegró de recibir el respaldo del CTU, especialmente después de que su nombre fuera retirado de la boleta. Dijo que coincide con el sindicato en que se debe evitar el cierre de escuelas y los despidos de maestros como forma de cubrir los déficits presupuestarios. Y dijo que “son luchadores”, como ella.

“Estoy luchando por mi lugar. Estoy luchando para que mi voz sea escuchada”, aseguró Walton. “Quieren ver las mismas cosas que yo quiero ver, primero como madre y después como candidata”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Walton.

Sarah Karp cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago para WBEZ y el Chicago Sun-Times. Puede comunicarse con Sarah en skarp@wbez.org.

Elecciones de la Junta de Educación de Chicago 2026: La carrera en el Distrito 10b

2026-09-28T21:09:06+00:00

Leer en inglés.

A primera vista, los candidatos que compiten por representar al sureste de Chicago parecen ser simplemente dos mamás y un papá con hijos adultos que estudiaron en las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago (CPS) y que ahora quieren mejorar el sistema para la próxima generación.

Pero detrás de esta contienda hay disputas políticas más amplias entre el alcalde y uno de sus adversarios.

Connie Anderson, asistente legal y madre de gemelas que asistieron a CPS, obtuvo una ventaja cuando, en julio, el alcalde Brandon Johnson la nombró para ocupar el puesto vacante, después de que ella presentara en junio los documentos para postularse.

Patrick Watson trabaja como principal asistente legislativo en la oficina del concejal del Distrito 9, Anthony Beale, uno de los críticos más duros de Johnson.

También está Rosita Chatonda, candidata por escrito y exmaestra que pasó años impugnando su despido de CPS, lo que la colocó en la lista del distrito de personas que “no se deben contratar”.

El Distrito 10b incluye zonas del extremo sur de Chicago que han mantenido una relación larga y complicada con la industria. Las acerías que alguna vez operaron allí proporcionaban empleos, pero también contaminaban la zona y, cuando cerraron, dejaron a muchos residentes sin trabajo.

Este distrito electoral de la Junta de Educación tiene la segunda mayor cantidad de escuelas públicas y de estudiantes. Dos tercios de sus estudiantes son negros y el 31% son latinos.

Watson dijo que el reciente nombramiento de Anderson es “una muestra de los juegos políticos que se están llevando a cabo”. Cuenta con el respaldo del Sindicato de Maestros de Chicago (CTU), estrechamente alineado con el alcalde. Watson cuenta con el respaldo de Common Ground Collective, un comité de acción política contrario al CTU, financiado en gran medida por el multimillonario Michael Sacks y que afirma tener como objetivo involucrar a los votantes en torno a “políticas progresistas eficaces”.

“Simplemente no creo que la política tenga lugar en la educación”, comentó Watson. “Creo que la educación debe centrarse en la educación”.

Los tres candidatos de esta contienda tienen opiniones diferentes sobre el Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park, el enorme centro de investigación y tecnología que se está construyendo en su distrito. Anderson duda de que tenga un impacto positivo en las escuelas y señala como motivo las críticas en torno a un acuerdo contractual.

Chatonda, en cambio, ve posibilidades y Watson dijo que representa “una excelente oportunidad para CPS”.

“Esta es la ola del futuro, así que es el momento perfecto para involucrarnos desde el principio y asociarnos con ellos para ver cómo podemos incorporarlo al currículo de nuestros estudiantes”, aseguró.

Si resulta electa, la primera prioridad de Anderson sería garantizar que la educación especial cuente con financiamiento completo y que los estudiantes con discapacidades reciban el apoyo que necesitan para prosperar.

Es madre de gemelas, una de las cuales necesitó servicios de educación especial. Dijo que tuvo que luchar para asegurarse de que su hija aprendiera junto a sus compañeros de la escuela primaria tanto como fuera posible, como establece la ley federal, en lugar de estar en clases separadas.

Anderson recuerda haberle dicho a la escuela que sentía que su hija, al igual que muchos otros estudiantes, estaba “siendo dejada de lado”. Después de que Anderson obtuvo una evaluación externa, la escuela primaria le asignó una asistente a su hija y la mantuvo en clases regulares. Ahora tiene 28 años y cursa una maestría en arquitectura.

Otra experiencia decisiva para Anderson ocurrió cuando sus hijas asistieron a Ogden International para la secundaria.

En ese momento, la escuela primaria de Ogden, ubicada en una de las zonas más prósperas de la ciudad, en el norte, se fusionó con Jenner Academy, que atendía principalmente a niños negros de bajos ingresos, muchos de los cuales vivían en viviendas subsidiadas cercanas.

Anderson ayudó a recaudar fondos con Friends of Ogden y luchó para que parte de esos recursos se destinara a los antiguos estudiantes de Jenner y a los estudiantes de secundaria, dos tercios de los cuales eran de bajos ingresos y de negros o latinos.

Vio cómo esos recursos adicionales permitieron ofrecer programas, como uno de robótica, que encaminaron a muchos estudiantes hacia carreras de ingeniería. Quiere que más niños tengan esas oportunidades.

“Se abrió todo un mundo de posibilidades para esos niños que no creían que fuera posible”, comentó Anderson.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Anderson.

Watson vive en Pullman, no muy lejos de la casa de Roseland donde creció. Asistió a la escuela primaria de su vecindario, donde “todos vivían cerca unos de otros” y “había un sentido de compañerismo”, y después estudió en la Chicago Vocational Career Academy.

Cuando llegó el momento de elegir escuelas para su hijo, Watson dijo que él y su esposa decidieron enviarlo primero a un centro regional para estudiantes con altas capacidades y, después, a Jones College Prep, una escuela secundaria de admisión selectiva.

Comentó que una de las razones por las que se postula es que no le gusta que algunas escuelas carezcan de los recursos y las instalaciones que tienen otras.

“Eso realmente es una lástima porque creo que cualquier niño debe poder recibir una educación de calidad, sin importar en qué código postal viva ni qué aspecto tenga”,aseguró. “Una de las primeras cosas que quisiera analizar es: ¿Cómo podemos distribuir los recursos de manera equitativa?”.

Pero Watson destacó que su primera tarea sería equilibrar el presupuesto. Le molesta que el distrito enfrente un déficit cada año.

“Antes de salir a pedir más dinero, tenemos que mirar hacia adentro y decir: ‘Bueno, ¿qué no estamos haciendo bien? (...). ¿Qué podemos hacer para apretarnos el cinturón?’”, analizó Watson, quien trabajó como contador durante 25 años antes de convertirse en asistente legislativo. “En este momento es como un agujero negro”.

Anderson y Chatonda se oponen al cierre de escuelas, pero Watson destacó que no está “completamente en contra” de los cierres si estos ayudan a reducir el déficit presupuestario.

“No quiero cerrar escuelas simplemente por cerrarlas”, dijo, “sino cerrarlas si eso nos permite aprovechar mejor nuestros recursos”.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Watson.

Chatonda cuenta con una variedad de experiencias que podría aprovechar si resulta elegida. Se graduó de Senn High School y sus cuatro hijos se graduaron de Kenwood Academy después de asistir a una combinación de escuelas de CPS y privadas.

Chatonda dio clases en una escuela que cerró debido a los bajos resultados en los exámenes, algo que dijo que nunca volvería a suceder. Dijo que trabajó “hasta el cansancio” desarrollando estrategias para enseñar a leer y escribir a estudiantes cuyo desempeño estaba por debajo del nivel correspondiente a su grado. Escribió un libro titulado “The Literacy Gap” sobre lo que aprendió”.

“Promuevo la alfabetización para los niños que son descendientes de personas esclavizadas y, en realidad, para todos los niños estadounidenses”, aseguró.

Chatonda comentó que ha vivido de primera mano los cierres y las reestructuraciones de escuelas. Las reestructuraciones son una estrategia controvertida de reforma escolar que implica despedir y reemplazar a todo el personal de una escuela con bajo rendimiento. La última reestructuración de este tipo en CPS se anunció en 2014.

Más adelante, tras ser contratada nuevamente después de una reestructuración, Chatonda dijo que fue despedida tras ser acusada de “pellizcar a un estudiante” y de decirle una grosería a otro. Niega ambas acusaciones.

En 2022, presentó una demanda federal contra CPS, en la que alegó que había sido despedida injustamente y colocada en la lista del distrito de personas que “no se deben contratar”, lo que le impide volver a trabajar para CPS. El caso fue desestimado.

“Ha sido un camino horrible”, compartió. Pero agregó que esa experiencia la llevó a convertirse en defensora de los maestros negros, de lo cual se siente orgullosa.

Chatonda dijo que está decepcionada de que el CTU no la haya respaldado, pero que, si resulta elegida, defenderá a los maestros negros y tratará de hacer que los procesos de contratación y despido sean más justos.

Lee el cuestionario completo de Chatonda.

Sarah Karp cubre las Escuelas Públicas de Chicago para WBEZ y el Chicago Sun-Times. Puedes comunicarte con Sarah en skarp@wbez.org.

How Chicago school board incumbents voted on key issues

2026-09-28T11:00:01+00:00

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One-third of the candidates running for Chicago’s school board elections this fall have an advantage over their competitors: They’re already in the seat they want to keep.

Sixteen of those incumbents have spent more than 20 months getting to know the mechanics of Chicago Public Schools and the people who run it.

They also have a documented history of how they voted on issues that impact students and staff, including the board’s major responsibilities of adopting a budget, hiring a leader, and setting policy for the city’s some 600 public schools. The 17th incumbent, District 10b candidate Connie Anderson, was appointed in August and has not cast the votes covered here.

There aren’t clear findings that voters consider an incumbent’s past votes when choosing a candidate, typically because they aren’t aware of specific votes unless it received a lot of media attention or was highlighted during election campaigning, said Vladimir Kogan, professor of political science at Ohio State University who has studied education policy.

However, financial issues, such as the board’s divided budget vote this summer, can lead voters to punish or reward an incumbent, Kogan said.

The board voted on a lot more than just the budget since being seated in January 2025. Chalkbeat is revisiting how the incumbents voted, including whether they abstained or were absent, on 17 key issues.

For each item, we’ve linked to our past coverage so you can read more about why board members voted the way they did.

Board members are required to abstain from voting if they have a conflict of interest or an economic stake, such as an investment in an education technology platform. Board members have also abstained for other reasons, often without explaining their decisions in public.

We have excluded new board member Anderson from this analysis since she has not voted on the issues highlighted.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools enrollment drops by 11,500 students

2026-09-24T19:31:29+00:00

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Enrollment at Chicago Public Schools continued to decline rapidly this fall, dipping by more than 11,500 students compared with last year.

The district is serving about 304,000 students on the heels of losing roughly 76,000 pupils over the past decade. Despite the drop, CPS officials said the district has reclaimed its spot as the country’s third largest from Miami-Dade, as other large urban districts across the country also are grappling with enrollment declines. “It’s like winning because somebody tripped,” CPS Superintendent Macquline King said.

The district’s small West and South Side high schools were once again some of the hardest hit by enrollment losses, according to preliminary, unofficial school-level data Chalkbeat reviewed. A handful lost more than a fifth of their enrollments compared with last year, and two of them, Spry and Douglass, are serving fewer than 40 students each.

Against that backdrop, the Chicago Teachers Union and several community nonprofits held a press conference calling for the board to extend a school closure moratorium that expires at the end of 2026-27. They argued that closing schools destabilizes neighborhoods and disproportionately affects Black students, and they pointed to recent research showing gun violence spiked in the vicinity of vacant Chicago school buildings.

Following the disruptive shuttering of 50 schools under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel in 2013 — the largest mass school closures in the country — the issue of mergers has been toxic in Chicago politics and studiously avoided by district and city leaders.

But some candidates in this fall’s historic race to elect all 21 members of the school board have spoken about a need to address declining enrollment, with input from communities and with closures on the table. Some have argued that students in many of the district’s small schools get a subpar academic and social experience at a relatively high per-pupil price tag.

CPS saw enrollment stabilize for a couple of years after the arrival of thousands of migrant families in 2022, but it started declining again last year. The student losses have resulted in a growing number of severely underenrolled schools, many of them housed in large, aging buildings — an issue that’s slated to come to a head in the coming year as the school board-imposed moratorium on closing schools expires.

Chicago’s plummeting birth rates, slowing immigration, and a massive outmigration from the city have been key drivers in CPS’s enrollment declines. The city’s falling births — which decreased by 37% between 2010 and 2023 — are poised to continue putting pressure on CPS enrollment in the coming years.

“The district is left with 135,000 plus seats with no children to put in them,” said Annise Lewis, CPS’s deputy chief education officer.

A report by the advocacy group Kids First Chicago earlier this year also found the district has lost some “market share” since the pandemic started — the portion of school-aged children whose families choose the district rather than private schools or homeschooling. That share had remained stable for years even as overall enrollment numbers slipped.

The district said its racial makeup remains largely unchanged this fall, with Latino students representing about 46% of the student body. The number of students with disabilities continued to increase, now making up more than 18% of the district’s enrollment. The portion of low-income students dipped just below 70%, though the district said decreases in low-income, homeless, and English learner students could shrink as schools are working to update demographic data.

The Lower West Side lost more than half of its student enrollment. South Lawndale, Avondale, Brighton Park, Gage Park, and McKinley Park were also hard hit. O’Hare, the Loop, and Lincoln Park saw the largest increases in enrollment.

Based on preliminary school-based data, also especially hard hit were former Acero schools and Chicago Arts High School — formerly privately run public schools that the district absorbed to avert their closure. All but one Acero school lost significant enrollment, with Cisneros losing almost a third of its students.

A principal at a high-needs neighborhood high school said the campus welcomed its smallest freshman class ever this fall, significantly below what it had projected. The principal, who spoke anonymously because CPS hadn’t authorized an interview, said the school has pushed hard to get the word out about recent academic growth and persuade nearby elementary campuses to stop steering their students away.

“At some point, you just don’t have enough kids to provide a full, well-rounded education and a joyful environment,” the principal said. “More money is not the answer.”

That school leader said district leaders should consider policy changes such as limiting the number of students neighborhood high schools can poach from each other.

At the press conference, union and nonprofit leaders said they are circulating a pledge for school board candidates that if signed, means they would oppose any school closings. Hilario Dominguez, the union-backed candidate for school board president, tried to get his opponents to sign the document during a Wednesday evening debate hosted by FOX32.

Speakers at the Thursday event argued that very small schools can offer a robust, personalized learning experience and can grow their enrollments if the district invests more money. They pointed to Dyett High School, which reopened in 2016 after community leaders went on a hunger strike and has since grown its student numbers, adding another roughly 30 students this fall.

Board member Karen Zaccor, who is running to keep her North Side seat, said she bristles when she hears school board candidates say they won’t close school before engaging local communities — what she called “closings lite.”

“You’re still out there to tell them, ‘Well, we’re going to close your schools. We’ll just talk to you first,’” she said.

Vicki Kurzydlo, the CTU’s recording secretary, told the board historical disinvestment has driven enrollment losses. One solution is continuing to expand the Sustainable Community Schools program, a partnership with the teachers union in which schools, including Dyett, receive an added $500,000 a year each to team up with community nonprofits and expand support services.

Overall, the 20 schools that piloted the program starting in 2018 have seen a steeper drop in enrollment than the district overall, losing almost a fifth of their combined enrollment as of last school year.

King told the board the shrinking district must “evolve,” without going into more detail.

“We have to listen to the students,” she said. “We have to deal with that’s before us, and we have to make decisions.”

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Illinois Answers Project: Track who’s donating to whom in the 2026 Chicago School Board elections

2026-09-24T15:45:42+00:00

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Interactive Map: 2026 Chicago School Board Districts

2026-09-24T11:50:04+00:00

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Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 10b, South Side

2026-09-24T10:20:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

At first glance, the candidates vying to represent Chicago’s Southeast Side seem like two moms and a dad with grown children who went through Chicago Public Schools and now want to make it better for the next generation.

But under the surface are bigger political fights between the mayor and an adversary.

Connie Anderson, a paralegal and mom of twins who attended CPS, got a leg up when Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed her to fill the vacant seat in July after she filed her paperwork to run in May.

Patrick Watson works as the lead legislative aide in the office of 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale, one of Johnson’s harshest critics.

Then there’s write-in candidate Rosita Chatonda, a former teacher who spent years challenging her CPS firing that landed her on the district’s “do not hire” list.

District 10b includes Far South Side areas with a long, uneasy relationship with industry. The steel mills that once operated there provided jobs but also polluted the area and, once gone, left many residents without work.

This school board electoral district has the second-most public schools and students. Two-thirds of its students are Black and 31% are Latino.

Watson said Anderson’s recent appointment is “indicative of the games being played.” She has the endorsement of the Chicago Teachers Union, which is closely aligned with the mayor. He is endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

“I just don’t think politics belongs in education,” Watson said. “I think education belongs in education.”

The three candidates in this race disagree on the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park, the massive research and technology facility being built in their district. Anderson doubts it will have a positive impact on schools, citing pushback over a contractual agreement.

But Chatonda sees possibilities and Watson said it is “an excellent opportunity for CPS.”

“This is the wave of the future, so it’s the perfect time to get in on the ground floor and partner with them to see how we can incorporate this into the curriculum for our students,” he said.

If elected, Anderson’s first priority would be to make sure that special education is fully funded and that students with disabilities get the support they need to thrive.

She’s the mother of twins, one of whom needed special education services. She said she had to battle to make sure her daughter learned alongside her elementary school peers as much as possible, as federal law calls for, instead of in separate classes.

Anderson remembers telling the school it felt like her child, like many others, was “being thrown to the wayside.” After Anderson got an outside evaluation, the elementary school gave her daughter an aide and kept her in traditional classes. She’s now 28 and in a master’s program in architecture.

Another pivotal experience for Anderson was when her daughters went to Ogden International for high school.

At the time, Ogden’s elementary school, located in one of the city’s wealthiest areas on the Near North Side, merged with Jenner Academy, which served mostly low-income Black children, many of whom lived in nearby subsidized housing.

Anderson helped fundraise with Friends of Ogden and fought for funds to go to former Jenner students and high schoolers, two-thirds of whom were low-income and Black or Latino.

She saw how those extra resources allowed for things like a robotics program that put many students on an engineering path. She wants more kids to have those opportunities.

“The ceiling opened for those kids that did not think it was possible,” Anderson said.

Read Anderson’s full questionnaire.

Watson lives in Pullman, not far from the Roseland home where he grew up. He went to the neighborhood elementary school, where “everyone lived close to each other” and “there was camaraderie,” and then attended Chicago Vocational Career Academy for high school.

When it came to his son, Watson said he and his wife decided to send him to a regional gifted center and Jones College Prep, a selective enrollment high school.

He said he’s running partly because he doesn’t like that some schools lack the resources and facilities that others have.

“That’s really a shame because I believe that any kid should be able to get a quality education, no matter what ZIP code you live in, or what you look like,” he said. “One of my first things I would want to look at is: How can we equally allocate resources?”

But Watson said his first order of business would be to balance the budget. It annoys him that every year the district faces a deficit.

“Before we go out asking for more money, we need to look internally and say, ‘OK, what are we not doing right? ... What can we do to tighten up our belts?’” said Watson, who spent 25 years as an accountant before becoming a legislative aide. “Right now it’s just like a black hole.”

Anderson and Chatonda both oppose closing schools, but Watson said he’s not “dead set against them” if closures would help shore up the budget deficit.

“I don’t want to close schools just to close them,” he said, “but close them just so we can better use our resources.”

Read Watson’s full questionnaire.

Chatonda has a variety of experiences to draw on if elected. She graduated from Senn High School, and her four children graduated from Kenwood Academy after attending a mix of CPS and private schools.

Chatonda taught at a school that closed because of low test scores, something she said she would never let happen again. She said she worked her “fingers to the bone” developing strategies to teach reading and writing to students who were performing below grade level. She wrote a book about what she learned called “The Literacy Gap.”

“I promote the literacy piece for children who are descendants of slavery, and really for all American children,” she said.

Chatonda said she’s experienced school closings and turnarounds firsthand. Turnarounds are a controversial school reform strategy that lays off and replaces all the staff of a low-performing school. The last CPS turnaround was announced in 2014.

Later, after getting rehired following a turnaround, Chatonda said she was fired after being accused of “pinching a student” and cursing at another student. She denies both allegations.

She filed a federal lawsuit against CPS in 2022 alleging she was wrongfully fired and put on the district’s “do not hire” list, which bars her from CPS employment. The case was dismissed.

“It’s been a horrible journey,” she said. But she said it has led to her becoming an advocate for Black teachers, which she is proud of.

Chatonda said she’s disappointed the CTU didn’t endorse her, but if elected, she said she will stand up for Black teachers and try to make the hiring and firing process more fair.

Read Chatonda’s full questionnaire.

Sarah Karp covers Chicago Public Schools for WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Sarah at skarp@wbez.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 10a, South Side

2026-09-24T10:19:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

When Che “Rhymefest” Smith won a seat on the school board two years ago, he proudly wore the moniker of an independent after triumphing over candidates with support from the Chicago Teachers Union and the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

“I will tell you that my connections in the community got me here, my work got me here,” said the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist turned activist and politician. “Money didn’t get me here.”

This time is different. Smith will be the lone name on the ballot to represent District 10a. Stretching from Bronzeville to South Shore, the district includes some of the South Side’s most sought-after schools, including Kenwood Academy High School and Murray Language Academy Elementary School, as well as several neighborhood schools that are considered low-performing and have lost enrollment in recent years.

Unlike in 2024, Smith is now a known entity who has consistently voted against items pushed by the CTU and, for that, has received endorsements and donations from groups that oppose the union. Still, Smith says he would welcome the union’s support and counsel.

His only opponent, nonprofit leader Tameka Walton, is running as a write-in candidate after her name was booted off the ballot.

The former Local School Council member and CPS parent said she collected more than the required 500 signatures, but they were challenged. Walton said she tried to ask the challengers why they targeted her.

“I literally was just like, ‘Someone have a conversation with me, get to know me,’” she said. “Don’t assume that I’m anybody’s candidate or that I’m anybody’s anything. I am a mom first, and that’s my moral compass.”

Walton picked up the CTU’s endorsement, but neither the union nor anyone else had donated to her campaign as of mid-September.

Smith is best known outside Chicago for his songwriting work on the film “Selma” and his Grammy win. But in the city, the former CPS parent is more likely to list what he sees as his accomplishments on the school board.

Smith proudly says that he has visited every school in his district, and that he has held monthly community events for parents about issues such as absenteeism and the Black Student Success Plan.

He points to a resolution he wrote that requires the leader of CPS to have superintendent credentials as the biggest achievement of his first year. His second year, he said, has focused on “organizing and being transparent about information.”

Smith has become a vocal critic of Sustainable Community Schools, a program in which schools get $500,000 each to bring in organizations that provide mental health services, food banks, and classes for students and families. The CTU’s contract with CPS calls for the program, which has become a target of conservative groups that regularly criticize the union.

Smith said his frustration with the program is that it is expensive and no one is tracking how it is doing.

“Let’s stop making a sham of Sustainable Community Schools. It’s not a sham, but it’s being made to be one,” he said. “Because what I see is something that could be so wonderful for students, community, and student outcomes. But every time you ask for data on its effectiveness, you get nothing.”

Smith is endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years, and the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” The political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools also backs him financially.

Smith defends taking this money.

“They never asked me to vote a certain way,” he said. “They never gave me a policy and said push that through.”

Smith did not respond to our questionnaire.

Walton said she represents two important constituencies that Smith doesn’t. One, she’s a mom who had to advocate to get her children into CPS schools where they could thrive. She is also the executive director and founder of a nonprofit that works in schools with children who have experienced trauma.

“I’m looking beyond how much trouble it was for me to navigate (CPS), but I’m also looking at, as a parent, the things that I want to see done,” she said. “The school should be a safe and welcoming space for both the students and the parents.”

Walton’s children attended or are enrolled in private high schools, primarily because they play soccer and few CPS schools have quality soccer programs, she said. But when one of those private schools didn’t work out, she struggled to find a place for her son, who she said was having some challenges. She wound up homeschooling him for a time before he eventually attended and graduated from a public school.

“It required for me to be at the school front and center, and it required me to learn the policies in place to support students like him within Chicago Public Schools,” she said.

Now she wants to see better connections between CPS and the homeschool community.

Walton was glad to get the endorsement of the CTU, especially after being kicked off the ballot. She said she’s aligned with the union on wanting to ward off school closures and teacher layoffs to plug budget holes. And “they’re fighters,” like her, she said.

“I’m fighting for my place. I’m fighting for my voice,” Walton said. “They want to see the things that I want to see, first as a parent, and then secondly as a candidate.”

Read Walton’s full questionnaire.

Sarah Karp covers Chicago Public Schools for WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Sarah at skarp@wbez.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 9b, South Side

2026-09-24T10:18:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Two candidates — a retired Chicago Public Schools psychologist currently on the school board and a former CPS mom and speech-language pathologist — are running to represent the far South Side, an area with 46 public schools, most of which are neighborhood schools, with few privately run charters and lottery-based magnets.

Incumbent Therese Boyle spent 35 years working for the district, while challenger Katherine Dunneback is currently an adjunct clinical professor at Saint Xavier University.

Enrollment is an issue across much of the district, with just a small percentage of students choosing to attend zoned public high schools.

Both Dunneback and Boyle had children attend CPS for a time. Dunneback’s children attended a Morgan Park neighborhood public elementary school before attending private high school. Boyle said one of her daughters attended a Beverly public school for preschool. Both of her daughters attended private elementary and high schools.

Boyle said residents are focused on making sure the district is “spending money wisely,” while Dunneback said her neighbors are concerned about school overcrowding and closures.

The two candidates agree on academics, including imposing strict limits on AI and electronic devices, but disagree on charter schools and school closures. Boyle favors charter schools and school consolidation when equitable and cost-effective. Dunneback opposes charter schools and spoke of expanding the Sustainable Community Schools initiative as an alternative to closures.

The program, spearheaded by the district with the Chicago Teachers Union, turns neighborhood schools into community hubs. High-needs campuses and nonprofits receive $500,000 a year to expand family outreach, wraparound services, and after-school programs. The program has also faced recent questions about implementation hurdles and thin evidence of improved student outcomes.

Neither candidate wants to raise property taxes to the maximum to fund schools, according to our CPS School Board questionnaire, but Dunneback says board members should work with other elected officials to fund schools through other tax policies, whereas Boyle says CPS is not spending wisely.

Incumbent school board member Therese Boyle served at several schools across District 9b during her 35 years as a school psychologist and teacher.

In 2024, the Mount Greenwood resident won with 33% of the vote, beating three other candidates. She received 51% of her votes from her home 19th Ward, which is now part of 9b.

Boyle compared the position to a full-time job — one that has brought her back to the classroom.

“As deep a knowledge as I had about the workings of Chicago Public Schools, I did not have as deep a knowledge about all of the cogs in the wheels that make education work in Chicago,” Boyle said.

Boyle’s 2026 campaign is backed by Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents CPS school support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years, as well as donors linked to pro-charter public schools and school choice groups and anti-CTU groups.

Boyle said she is focused on the district’s long-term financial stability. A top concern she hears from residents is high property taxes and making sure CPS budgets wisely. The district has higher homeownership rates compared to much of the city.

Last year the school board voted down Mayor Brandon Johnson’s preferred budget proposal that would have included a high interest loan to cover expenses. The decision would have covered short-term spending while putting the district in deeper debt.

“We do not want to saddle the district with any more debt because the debt that we currently have is eating away at the money that could be used to support the kids in the classroom,” Boyle said.

Boyle said her first term was filled with heavy lifts, in particular, a search for a new superintendent after the former was fired by the previous board. Macquline King was appointed in March as Superintendent and CEO; Boyle said she is now ready to focus on student outcomes as well as school security and safety.

“I want to make sure that we have good plans in place for addressing not only the major crises … but the day-to-day things,” Boyle said.

Read Boyle’s full questionnaire.

Dunneback, a Morgan Park resident, has spent the past three years at Saint Xavier University as an adjunct clinical professor. But it’s the years she spent working in schools with high percentages of students from low-income families and her time as a CPS parent that shaped her decision to run for school board.

“I have seen the impact of inequitable distribution of resources on lower-income kids,” she said.

Dunneback’s children graduated from Clissold Elementary School in Morgan Park in 2022. She decided to run after talking with neighbors and residents about their hopes for the school board.

“I realized that there was a need for someone on the school board who … would be vocal about standing up for our parents and our families and our communities, and would support teachers and the idea of Sustainable Community Schools,” Dunneback said.

The latter priorities are also those of the CTU, which has endorsed Dunneback and is backing her financially, according to the Illinois Sunshine Database.

If elected, she said she would focus on less technology in the classroom, expanding access to early childhood education, and reducing large class sizes, which she said contributes to parents feeling a lack of connection with teachers and questioning if their children may be falling behind academically.

“I would like to reduce the student-to-teacher ratios, because science tells us that’s the best way to support our kids,” Dunneback said.

Dunneback is politically active, having canvassed and worked phone banks for politicians, most recently with the Kamala Harris campaign for president, and is involved in Politics and Coffee, the grassroots civic engagement group in Beverly and Morgan Park.

She plans to lean on her background in the community and activism as a school board member. She hopes to work with legislators on the state and local level to fund schools through progressive tax policies.

“I want district officials to work with state legislators to fund our schools as quickly as possible according to the state’s formula,” Dunneback said. “This need should be prioritized over funding for stadiums or other optional choices.”

Read Dunneback’s full questionnaire.

Jim Lynch covers Beverly, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood, and Washington Heights for Block Club Chicago. Contact Jim at jim@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 9a, Auburn Gresham, Englewood

2026-09-24T10:17:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Voters in this South Side district will have a new representative — with a familiar last name — on Chicago’s school board because the current member, who was appointed by the mayor, was removed from the ballot in July.

Brittany Bailey Preston, the wife of state Sen. Willie Preston, whose district covers part of the same South Side territory, is effectively guaranteed the seat because she is the sole candidate in the race.

Angel Velez, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointee to District 9a, filed to run for election, but was removed from the ballot after a large percentage of his signatures were challenged and invalidated.

The majority-Black district includes a mix of 47 neighborhood, charter, and magnet schools serving mostly Black and Hispanic students. The district also has one of the lowest percentages of schools earning either exemplary or commendable designations from the state across the city. A number of schools in the district have struggled with declining enrollment over the past 15 years.

Therese Boyle won the 2024 election to represent District 9. The district was later split into two subdistricts.

Boyle represented District 9b, and Johnson appointed Frank Thomas to represent 9a. Thomas was initially appointed after the mayor’s first-appointed board resigned en masse during a dispute between Johnson and then-CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

Thomas resigned in June 2025 and was later replaced by Velez. After being removed from the ballot, Velez told Block Club he would not pursue a write-in candidacy.

Preston did not return a candidate questionnaire or agree to an interview.

A resident of Auburn Gresham, Preston previously ran a construction company with her husband. Willie Preston was elected to the Illinois Senate in 2022, representing the 16th District.

After Velez was removed from the ballot, Preston took to social media with a statement celebrating her apparent success.

“I am deeply grateful to have earned a place on the ballot and humbled to be running unopposed,” Preston said.

In the same post, Preston said she would focus on three priorities: improving literacy, expanding trade and career pathways, and making CPS “the most family-friendly school district in America.”

“As a Black mother of six, education has always been my highest priority,” Preston wrote. “Chicago’s children and families deserve a Momma Bear who is committed to their success and will fight every day to ensure every child has the opportunity to thrive.”

In 2014, the Prestons sued Chicago State University in federal court, alleging university leaders had retaliated against them by interfering in student government elections and expelling Willie Preston after the couple became campus activists critical of the university president and other administrators. The university denied the allegations, and a federal judge dismissed the suit the following year.

Preston also ran for the school board in 2024, but was removed from the ballot before the election. The Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents Chicago school support staff, has endorsed Preston. She is also endorsed by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools, and the Common Ground Collective, an anti-Chicago Teachers Union political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

According to the Illinois Sunshine Database, Preston has not raised any money for her campaign committee as of mid-September.

Preston did not respond to our questionnaire.

Jim Lynch covers Beverly, Morgan Park, Mount Greenwood and Washington Heights for Block Club Chicago. Contact Jim at jim@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 8a, Southwest Side

2026-09-24T10:15:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

With full campaign coffers and support from deep-pocketed school choice groups, incumbent school board member Angel Gutierrez is guaranteed to keep his seat after nobody filed paperwork to run against him.

Gutierrez, a nonprofit leader and Garfield Ridge resident, is running unopposed to represent District 8a on the Southwest Side, where 60% of the population is Hispanic — roughly double the city’s overall percentage of Hispanic residents.

The area has leaned more conservative than other parts of the city and is home to more families than single-person households. In 2023, voters here heavily favored mayoral candidate Paul Vallas, a former Chicago Public Schools CEO, over Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer. In 2024, most precincts favored Donald Trump for president.

Gutierrez wants to improve special education, increase opportunities to learn skilled trades, and ensure access to reliable transportation, including school buses — proposals he said would benefit students attending their neighborhood schools. Many families in this district choose their neighborhood elementary schools but make other choices for high school.

Gutierrez supports continuing CPS’ strategy of allowing families to choose from a range of schools outside their neighborhood. He is also the only board member calling for the state to opt into the Trump administration’s federal tax-credit scholarship program, which offers a tax credit for donations made to organizations that grant scholarships for students to attend private schools or to pay for other education needs. Illinois has not agreed to participate.

Gutierrez sends his children to a Catholic school.

Gutierrez will serve a four-year term after he won a two-year term in 2024 to represent District 8, which is now split into 8a and 8b. He previously beat Chicago Teachers Union-endorsed candidate Felix Ponce with 63% of the vote. The sweeping victory and financial support from deep-pocketed donors such as billionaire Michael Sacks could have deterred other candidates.

Gutierrez is a champion of fiscal responsibility, pushing to get the district back on solid financial footing while improving the quality of education, he said.

In 2024, Gutierrez said he was running to create a more balanced CPS budget. Two years later, he believes he can also improve school board governance.

“If you pay attention and watch some of the ridiculousness that some of the board members bring, I bring that experience of knowing how to act with decorum, with respect to the institution, respect for the students, parents, and taxpayers,” he said.

Earlier this year, he sided with other elected school board members to reject CPS’ proposed $10 billion budget. The budget, which assumes the district will receive $150 million more in state funding than projected, narrowly passed.

The district’s finances remain a priority, he said. Families “are getting pinched with taxes everywhere you look,” whether it’s property taxes or sales taxes, he said, adding he plans to lead conversations about how to rightsize the district.

“We’re teaching in a world of now and not tomorrow, so I think we have to reimagine what our footprint looks like,” he said.

CPS has lost 45,000 students in the last seven years but has hired 10,000 more staffers.

To balance the budget, Gutierrez said the board needs to look at how many schools are underutilized, how many students have been lost, and how many employees were hired with pandemic-era funds that are no longer available.

“We have finite money,” he said.

He is endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the Chicago Teachers Union in recent years. He is also backed financially by the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and endorsed by two other groups whose policies also generally oppose the teachers union.

Gutierrez leads fundraising and communications strategy for Enlace Chicago, a Little Village nonprofit. He previously led fundraising activities and developed programs for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Chicago Hope Academy, a Christian high school. He serves on the advisory board of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance and as a member of the steering committee for Nuestro Futuro, a fund dedicated to Latino philanthropy, among other local nonprofits.

He said his decades of experience as a nonprofit leader and public service consultant put him in a position to make “real decisions” about CPS’ leadership, hiring, staffing, and size.

“As an executive leader, I’m someone who’s been there, made hard decisions, has had to do layoffs, has hired in a C-suite,” he said.

His campaign contributors as of mid-September include big-pocketed donors such as local billionaire Michael Sacks and Jim Frank, executive chairman of the board of Wheels Inc. They have funneled tens of thousands of dollars to support candidates who support school choice.

He has also received donations from committees for Southwest Side officials including Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) and Ald. Marty Quinn (13th). Thanks to thousand-dollar contributions from some of these donors, Gutierrez’s campaign fund grew exponentially over the past year.

Read Gutierrez’ full questionnaire.

Francia Garcia Hernandez covers Pilsen, Little Village and Back of the Yards for Block Club Chicago. Contact Francia at francia@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 7b, Southwest Side

2026-09-24T10:14:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Two Latinas with backgrounds in public service are vying to represent a slice of the Southwest Side that has one of the highest shares of schools with the state’s top two performance designations.

Incumbent Yesenia Lopez was elected to the school board in 2024 with the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union and then-U.S. Rep Jesus “Chuy” Garcia. Without the CTU’s backing this time, she faces a challenge from Erika Diaz-Chavez, a project manager at the Chicago Park District who attended private schools growing up. She is supported by the Illinois Network of Charter Schools’ political arm and The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for charter schools and school choice across public and private schools.

Lopez is endorsed by the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years.

There are 34 schools in District 7b, 13% of which rank among the top 10% in Illinois.

District 7b schools serve the highest percentage of Hispanic students in CPS, but a few schools also serve predominantly Asian American students. About 84% of students come from families with low incomes, and around half are English learners.

Both candidates say they want to provide more special education resources for students in response to parents’ concerns that their children aren’t getting the help they need. They also want to ensure CPS is doing enough to protect immigrant families amid increased immigration enforcement in the city.

But their views diverge on Sustainable Community Schools, a program favored by the CTU that gives dozens of schools additional funds to partner with community organizations and provide extra services for families. The CTU represents roughly 30,000 teachers and other CPS staff and is known for its strong focus on social justice issues.

Diaz-Chavez isn’t sure the model, which is now enshrined in CTU’s contract, is delivering results and wants to evaluate the program before spending more money on it. Lopez sees the model as a boon to families and supports it, though she agrees the district should track its progress.

Lopez is a graduate of Juárez Community Academy High School in Pilsen. She’s worked and volunteered with several Southwest Side schools. She also served as the Latino outreach director for JB Pritzker’s gubernatorial campaign in 2022. Most recently, she was deputy campaign manager for Patty Garcia, who is running for Garcia’s old seat in the 4th Congressional District.

Lopez’s priorities include protecting immigrant families and increasing services to support student mental health. She recently called on the mayor’s office to move forward with creating a school board advisory panel focused on the needs of noncitizen students and families, as required by state law.

SEIU, which endorsed Lopez, is a top contributor to her campaign, as it was in 2024.

This time, however, she is not supported by the CTU. She won with their support two years ago, but her votes have sometimes veered away from those of CTU-aligned board members.

Lopez said she was surprised not to have the CTU’s support this time: “I’m the candidate that is pro-public education, have attended public schools myself, and have been very vocal in supporting our neighborhood schools.”

Most recently, Lopez abstained from voting on an amendment to the CPS budget championed by union-backed members.

“I’ve shown that I’m truly independent,” Lopez said.

Lopez did not respond to our questionnaire.

A Chicago Park District employee for more than 20 years, Diaz-Chavez oversees The 606 trail on the city’s near Northwest Side and manages data for the agency’s culture and natural resources department.

She decided to enter the race because she thinks the board should be doing more to improve student outcomes.

“I think we are kind of failing our kids,” Diaz-Chavez said. “That needs to be our focus, 100%. How do we do the best we can for these kids academically?”

Diaz-Chavez grew up in the Pilsen area and attended Catholic schools in Chicago and suburban Oak Park. She is a parent but does not send her children to CPS.

She is endorsed and financially backed by The Urban Center, the pro-school choice political group. Diaz-Chavez says she would be an independent voice on the board.

“I want to make sure that we can work with everybody, not just people who align the same way I do or are part of a slate,” she said.

Diaz-Chavez said it would be easier to make decisions that are best for the district in the long term if there were more independent voices. That includes analyzing what to do when a school closure moratorium expires next summer.

“Nobody wants to see schools close,” she said. But, she added, “we have to have a very honest conversation about how we can be sustainable for future generations.”

Diaz-Chavez’s campaign has raised little money so far but has received contributions from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and The Urban Center, both of which support charter schools.

Diaz-Chavez did not respond to our questionnaire.

Emmanuel Camarillo is an education reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Emmanuel at ecamarillo@suntimes.com.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 7a, Southwest Side

2026-09-24T10:13:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

In this majority Latino district, a longtime pastor and activist who fought against overcrowded schools in Pilsen and was appointed to the school board by the mayor in 2024 is facing a younger challenger and Chicago Public Schools graduate who worked for a nonprofit after-school program for the past six years.

Incumbent board member Emma Lozano is endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, while Jesus Ayala Jr. has the backing of charter school advocates, pro-business groups, and the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of support staff in CPS and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years. Ayala tried to run in 2024, but his name was removed from the ballot after a successful challenge to the signatures on his nomination paperwork.

This Southwest Side district is home to 48 public schools. Last year, 64% received the state’s second-highest designation, “commendable,” while 4.5% received an “intensive” designation, indicating they are among the bottom 5% of low-income schools in the state or have a graduation rate of 67% or below.

The students who attend District 7a schools are primarily Latino, and most come from families with low incomes. Nearly half are English learners.

Both Lozano and Ayala identified protecting immigrant communities and securing progressive revenue among their priorities, but they want to take different paths to get there.

For example, Lozano voted to pass a CPS budget that assumed additional revenue from the state. Ayala said relying on unsecured funds is a mistake. These differences have led to dueling endorsements in the race from the CTU and SEIU, labor unions that were once close allies, but are now fighting for influence on the school board.

Lozano has long been known as an activist and advocate for immigrant rights. She’s supported efforts to ensure English learners have access to the same education as native speakers and backed policies limiting CPS cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

She is also the pastor at Lincoln United Methodist Church in Pilsen. In 2006, a Humboldt Park church where Lozano served as pastor famously sheltered an undocumented woman facing deportation, becoming a symbol for a national movement of churches offering immigrants sanctuary.

Lozano and her children attended or graduated from various CPS schools, including Juárez and Wells Community Academy high schools and Lozano Bilingual Elementary, a school named for Lozano’s brother.

As a current appointed board member endorsed by the CTU, Lozano said she wants to keep her seat because she’s one of the few members who understands what it’s like to live as an immigrant in the city. That perspective is important, she said, as the Trump administration continues its aggressive immigration enforcement.

One of her priorities is improving support for students from immigrant families. When enforcement operations peaked in the city last fall, Lozano urged CPS to consider offering remote learning to students who feared going to school.

“If I’m not there, then I’m really worried because they have no voice,” Lozano said.

She also wants to secure more state funding by advocating for policies such as increasing taxes on the wealthy. She was one of 11 board members who voted earlier this year for an amended CPS budget that assumed the district would receive an additional $150 million in state funding that had not been committed.

Read Lozano’s full questionnaire.

Ayala worked at MetroSquash from 2020 until August, when he left to focus on running for the school board. The nonprofit teaches competitive squash and provides academic support to students on the South Side and in Evanston.

Ayala grew up in Bucktown and attended CPS as a child. He credited a CPS school with helping his dad acclimate to the U.S. That experience shaped Ayala’s belief that schools should be community anchors, he said.

“I love that my dad found support at a neighborhood school while learning English and navigating a new country,” Ayala said.

Ayala said volunteering with organizations that work with CPS students, such as Mikva Challenge, motivated him to seek a board seat. He saw a “disconnect between what the board was focused on and what our students need,” Ayala said. He thinks the board spends too much time discussing matters that involve a single school and should be tackling districtwide issues.

Ayala wants to focus on improving students’ academic outcomes and evaluating the effectiveness of learning materials, such as the district’s Skyline curriculum, a set of lessons in math, reading, science, social studies, and other subjects.

“Are students making the gains we want them to make and when they’re not, can we figure out why?” Ayala said.

Ayala also wants to address high rates of absenteeism and thinks improving the student experience can help. For example, he wants the district to pay more attention to addressing bullying.

The bulk of Ayala’s fundraising has come from a PAC affiliated with SEIU and the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Read Ayala Jr.’s full questionnaire.

Emmanuel Camarillo is an education reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Emmanuel at ecamarillo@suntimes.com.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 6b, South Side

2026-09-24T10:12:00+00:00

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Michael Neal, a South Side native and longtime pastor, is facing off against Brittany Kimble, a lawyer and Chicago Public Schools mom, to represent District 6b, which stretches from the wealthy Lakeshore East neighborhood downtown through the South Loop and Greater Grand Crossing.

The two newcomer candidates are running in one of two school board races where no candidate has been endorsed by the district’s major labor unions, Chicago Teachers Union or the Service Employees International Union, which represents school support staff.

Jessica Biggs, who currently represents this district, is running for school board president.

District 6b includes 37 schools, many of which serve mostly Black students and have experienced some of the city’s biggest enrollment declines, while others closer to downtown have enrolled more students over the past decade. Families’ concerns range from wanting quality, well-resourced public schools in all neighborhoods to feeling welcome on their children’s campuses, according to the candidates.

Neal was born and raised on the South Side and graduated from CPS and now runs a nonprofit. Kimble grew up in towns throughout Illinois and now sends her daughter to a CPS school.

Improving reading and math proficiency and fixing CPS’ budget are Kimble’s dual top priorities. Neal wants to improve early childhood education.

The candidates are either endorsed by or have received financial support from groups that are often at odds with the Chicago Teachers Union and the mayor’s office.

Neal was endorsed by Common Ground Collective, a new anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” Kimble’s campaign is endorsed by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools, and has received some contributions, though she insists the group has asked nothing of her.

Neal, a pastor at Glorious Light Church in the Oakland neighborhood, said he’s always wanted to help his community beyond Sunday sermons. More than a dozen years ago, he began reading to children at a local elementary school, then started recruiting more Black men to do the same through a nonprofit he founded.

His interest in education grew and he began serving on the Greater Bronzeville Community Action Council, which focuses on creating a plan to improve education.

Running for school board “just seemed like it was just so natural because this is what I’ve been doing pretty much all of my adult life, especially since I became a father,” said Neal, whose grown daughters attended CPS schools.

Neal’s nonprofit, Timothy Community Corporation, operated inside a closed CPS school until a few months ago, he said. It focuses on increasing access to health and wellness, literacy, and leadership skills, he said.

Neal’s volunteer reading program now donates books to schools, Neal said. That work got him interested in improving early childhood education, which would be his main focus if elected. He said he wants to see more read-aloud programs at schools citywide and recruit more philanthropic organizations and corporations to provide volunteers and other support.

Neal said his campaign is “not heavy on cash,” but people have provided in-kind help or volunteered, such as gathering signatures to get on the ballot. He called himself a “campaign novice,” noting that his wife created his website, one of his daughters offers advice occasionally, and a friend is helping to run the campaign.

Read Neal’s full questionnaire.

Kimble said she has tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to secure extra support in school for her daughter, including for speech-related issues and to combat bullying. The experience pushed her to homeschool her daughter at one point. Now, it’s pushing Kimble, a single mother, to run for school board.

While she has tried to find extra support for her daughter outside of school, Kimble said not “every parent should have to do that.”

Kimble said she grew up and attended public schools in several Chicago suburbs and Carbondale before pursuing law school.

Kimble ran her own law practice for more than a decade before filing for bankruptcy in February. Kimble said her financial problems followed years of struggling to keep her business afloat after the pandemic. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, Kimble owed $825,210 in various debts including for credit cards, student loans, and to the U.S. Small Business Administration, but she owned just $227,873 in personal property and real estate, including her home, according to court filings.

“I have learned from my situation … I was able to come out of it with being able to file bankruptcy,” Kimble said. “CPS cannot file for bankruptcy, but CPS also cannot continue to spend the same way without more money coming in.”

She remains a licensed attorney and hopes to one day reopen a law firm. For now, she said, she has become “anti-debt” and has cut expenses, such as getting rid of her car and taking her daughter to school on a CTA bus.

As a board member, Kimble said she would first tackle the district’s persistent structural deficit in part by exploring cuts outside the classroom or reducing debt obligations. Her other priority would be improving math and reading proficiency.

“To me, the math and the literacy rates of Chicago Public Schools (are) embarrassing, but I don’t think we can fix them until we fix everything else,” Kimble said of the budget.

Kimble’s campaign received thousands of dollars in consulting and signature-gathering services from The Urban Center, which opposes the Chicago Teachers Union. In her questionnaire, Kimble said she’d “refuse money that would compromise my independence.” She told Chalkbeat The Urban Center funds helped her get on the ballot and that the group has “not asked anything” of her.

She believes the group supports her because she homeschooled her child, but she emphasized that she is “inherently pro-public school.”

Read Kimble’s full questionnaire.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 6a, downtown Chicago

2026-09-24T10:11:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

The race to represent downtown Chicago on the school board pits a former lobbyist who leads a statewide advocacy organization with an incumbent advantage against two challengers — a special education classroom assistant backed by pro-school choice groups and another who is an education researcher and consultant whose campaign is operating more independently.

Anusha Thotakura was appointed by the mayor in 2024 after coming in second among three candidates in the first school board election and is hoping to keep her seat with support from the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union, which represents school support workers.

Isaiah White, a school support worker, is running with thousands of dollars from The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools, and the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. He also is endorsed by an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Brenda Lee Anderson, a Northwestern University lecturer on leave, is not backed by major special interest groups.

Given its location as part of the commercial and business epicenter of the city, District 6a has just 14 public schools — the fewest of any school board electoral districts — and none are neighborhood high schools. The students who attend Chicago Public Schools here are diverse, but the schools have more white and Asian American students than CPS as a whole.

Thotakura’s and White’s main priorities are to boost reading and math scores. Anderson’s main goal is to fix CPS’ chronic budget crisis.

In her nearly two years on the school board, Thotakura said one of her biggest accomplishments was sponsoring the Healthy Green Schools resolution that called on CPS to invest in more clean energy projects and use energy savings toward building improvements, such as mold remediation.

The resolution came after the district’s new labor agreement last year with the CTU to build more environmentally friendly schools when funding is available. As of August, the district was working on six pilot projects to add solar panels or electrify HVAC systems at schools in response to the resolution, according to district memos Thotakura provided.

Thotakura’s top priority for another board term is to boost academic outcomes for students by pushing CPS to meet goals outlined in its five-year strategic plan. She said she wants the district to publicly share data more often about students’ academic progress so the board can hold leadership accountable. She also wants to find ways to make all of her district’s neighborhood schools more enticing for families, who often tell her that they’re sending their kids elsewhere. She said part of that effort includes expanding access to pre-K seats, saying families are often waiting for spots to open.

Thotakura broke with one of her biggest backers, the CTU, last year by voting for CPS’ proposed budget, which did not include high-cost borrowing. This year, she was one of 11 board members who voted in line with the union to amend the district’s proposed budget based on the assumption that CPS will get $150 million more in state funding than anticipated. If that money doesn’t come through, schools may need to lay off staff midyear. Thotakura defended her decision in part because she believes more funding from the city could come through in the form of dollars from special taxing areas, known as Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, districts.

“I think it is worth it for us to mobilize, to use this momentum, to go down to Springfield,” Thotakura said.

Thotakura has often voted in alignment with the teachers union, but she pointed to her budget vote last year as an example of thinking independently.

“If you look at my vote record, it shows that I am an independent minded person that ultimately takes some information from all stakeholders but acts on behalf of the best interests of students,” Thotakura said.

Read Thotakura’s full questionnaire.

By the time White began attending Brooklyn Tech, one of the nation’s most selective public high schools, his mother had died and his father had recently left home, he said. After a weekslong period of homelessness, he moved in with his friend’s family in Brooklyn, he said.

A guidance counselor checked in on him and made sure he could pay AP exam fees and get free lunch, White said. That experience informed his run for school board, he said.

“I am a case of what can happen when the schools really do a very, very good job taking a child, who is humbled with what they have, and helping him or her or them grow and enter the world as an individual able to live a lovely, happy life and contribute to the rest of society,” White said. “I want that to be available to the next generation.”

White moved to Chicago three years ago with his spouse and began substitute teaching at CPS in 2024. He also worked on the 2024 campaign of the current school board representative for District 6a Jessica Biggs, who is now running for board president. Last year, White unsuccessfully ran for Cook County commissioner.

White has amended his campaign website’s references to some past experiences. His website previously stated that he was the chair of family services for the River North Residents Association, but the association’s president told Chalkbeat that White was a volunteer coordinator who worked on two events, including a back-to-school bash. White said his role felt like that of a chair, but after the association president brought the correct title to his attention, he said it was “fairly an oversight” and corrected his website. The reference to the association was gone as of mid-September.

The website had also said White managed multiple campaigns, including Biggs’. Biggs told Chalkbeat that White oversaw field and volunteer operations. The reference to Biggs’ campaign was removed as of mid-August, but White maintained that he managed her campaign and said he didn’t mean to remove the reference on his website. As of publication, the Biggs reference is still gone.

If elected to the school board, White’s main priority would be improving reading and math scores, in part by boosting pay for teaching assistants and finding ways to hire more effective school leaders.

White’s campaign has received funding from political committees for The Urban Center, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, and the Common Ground Collective, all groups that generally oppose CTU’s policy directions.

White said he hasn’t spoken to these organizations about their priorities, but he believes they “properly recognize that CTU is not acting in the best interest of children.”

“But I’m going to do what is in the interest of my community, and … if that means they don’t support me in reelection, that’s fine,” White said.

Read White’s full questionnaire.

Anderson wants to use their experience as an education and social policy researcher to address inequities and increase school funding.

Schools were among Anderson’s “safe spaces” growing up in Ohio and Tennessee as they lived in and out of foster care while their mother struggled with addiction. The experience taught them why stable school environments and supportive neighbors are important, eventually leading them to earn a doctorate degree, Anderson said.

Anderson moved to Chicago a few years ago. Anderson’s LinkedIn page and our CPS School Board questionnaire said they teach at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, but a university spokesperson said Anderson’s employment ended in mid-July. Anderson said they plan to return for the university’s winter and spring quarters, after the election, and are taking on other education-related consulting work.

Anderson’s top priority is to fix the CPS budget by seeking additional untapped federal funding, which currently makes up about 9% of the district’s budget, and pushing for more state funding.

If elected, Anderson said they would look to evidence-backed policies, rather than special interests, to inform their decisions. They also said they would work to build relationships and coalitions made up of people with varying political beliefs, from other local elected officials to working class and low-income people to billionaires.

“When all of these activists and these organizers were thinking about a school board, I believe that I was in their vision: Someone that wanted to be centered on students, that wants to keep public education as public as possible, and someone that is willing to talk to everyone,” Anderson said. “The first rule in organizing is that you have to organize people that don’t always agree with you, right?”

Unlike their opponents, Anderson has not been endorsed by major unions or special interest groups.

Read Anderson’s full questionnaire.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 5b, West Side

2026-09-24T10:10:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

The two candidates battling to represent a large swath of the West Side are taking a second stab at securing a school board seat. Incumbent school board member Michilla “Kyla” Blaise started a campaign in 2024 but withdrew at the last minute, while her challenger, Anthony Hargrove, failed to make the ballot two years ago.

Blaise, a political aide who was appointed to the school board by Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2024, is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union. Hargrove, who runs programs to help dropouts get back in school, has support from business and charter school advocates.

District 5b is one of the school board’s most economically diverse, stretching from the wealthy West Loop to historically disinvested neighborhoods such as North Lawndale and Garfield Park. It has the most public schools of any school board district with a total of 63. There are several neighborhood high schools struggling with declining enrollment, as well as some of CPS’ most in-demand magnet schools. Students who attend school here are mostly Black and Hispanic.

The candidates have homed in on different issues. Blaise said she is focused on increasing funding for CPS, addressing declining enrollment, and improving student mental health, while Hargrove has zeroed in on improving reading and math proficiency, refining special education, and expanding vocational and career education.

The two candidates align on some issues. They both support stronger restrictions on the use of artificial intelligence and cellphones in the classroom, and both oppose closing schools for any reason.

Blaise is proud of her status as a “lifelong Chicagoan.” She said her family has lived on the West Side for four generations.

She sent her kids to LaSalle Language Academy Elementary School and Kenwood Academy High School, which showed her the value of magnet schools, she said. She wants parents to have choices beyond their neighborhood schools.

As a school board member, she said she also supports neighborhood schools and wants to find ways to revitalize them, pointing to Marshall Metropolitan High School in East Garfield Park as an example. The school enrolled around 200 students last year. In the 1960s, when the school was overcrowded and Blaise’s father was a student there, Marshall enrolled some 5,000 students, she said.

The school has assets including an Olympic-size swimming pool, a commercial kitchen, and competitive sports teams. Blaise said the school board should help it reach its full potential by considering turning it into a sports magnet school or adding middle school grades.

Blaise typically votes with a school board bloc aligned with the CTU and got the union’s endorsement. She notably spearheaded the effort to change CPS’ budget this year, introducing an amendment that reversed some planned cuts by assuming CPS would receive an additional $150 million in state funding that had not been committed.

“I want to be a real advocate for making sure people understand how woefully underfunded our schools are, and also making sure that folks understand there’s an opportunity to really change the conversation here,” Blaise said.

Blaise said her experience living in a range of neighborhoods — East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Lincoln Park, and Wicker Park — helps her understand the city and the differing needs of her district.

“I have real friends and family that are across the city that attend CPS. I think I have a finger on the pulse,” she said. “I’m hoping that we can all just have the conversation in terms of the issues.”

Read Blaise’s full questionnaire.

Born and raised on the West Side, Hargrove touts his many connections to CPS. He attended CPS schools as a child and graduated from Orr Academy High School. Two of his children are current CPS students, and two others have graduated. He’s also worked for the district in several capacities, including as a security officer, social worker assistant, and parent worker at schools including Marshall, Phillips Academy High School, and Orr Academy High School.

Currently, he leads programs “that help reconnect young people to school and prepare them for success beyond the classroom,” according to his campaign website.

Hargrove has been endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” He also has the backing of The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that supports charter schools and advocates for school choice across public and private schools.

Hargrove, who didn’t make himself available for an interview, said in our CPS school board questionnaire that his past experience in the district has uniquely prepared him to serve on the school board.

“I’m running for every parent in my district who felt their voice wasn’t heard, for every student who felt unseen, and for every family that simply wants the best for their child,” he wrote. “I’ll bring a community-centered voice focused on accountability, opportunity and putting students first.”

Hargrove wants CPS to consider more community partnerships to make use of underutilized school buildings.

“The board should make transparent, data-driven decisions that put students first, strengthen neighborhood schools and ensure resources are used wisely,” he wrote of how he’d like to see CPS address declining enrollment.

Read Hargrove’s full questionnaire.

Mary Norkol is a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Contact Mary at mnorkol@suntimes.com.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 5a, West Side

2026-09-24T10:09:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

A realtor backed by school choice advocates is looking to unseat a longtime education activist with ties to the Chicago Teachers Union in the race to represent District 5a on the city’s West Side. Also in the mix: a retired special education teacher running as a write-in candidate. After decades of disinvestment, many schools there are struggling to stabilize enrollment and bring students up to grade level.

Incumbent Aaron “Jitu” Brown, a veteran community organizer, wants to secure more state funding and trim administrative overhead in Chicago Public Schools. His challenger, LaPamela Williams, an Austin native who attended Lane Tech College Prep, wants to increase financial accountability and cut expenses that aren’t benefiting students. Kernetha Jones, who was removed from the ballot, wants to see test scores improve before putting more money into what she calls a “failed system.”

The district stretches from the majority-Black Austin neighborhood to the west, through sections of Garfield Park and Humboldt Park, ending with Ukrainian Village to the east. The wide swath of the West Side encompasses 39 schools serving mostly Black and Latino students.

Students who live in District 5a are less likely to attend their neighborhood school than students in most other parts of the city, particularly for high school. Less than 7% of high schoolers in this area chose their neighborhood option, according to CPS data. One high school, Frederick Douglass Academy in Austin, had just 27 students last year, and has become a focal point in debates over how CPS should address declining enrollment.

All three candidates live in Austin. Their views diverge when it comes to independently run public charter schools, with Brown and Jones opposing their expansion, while Williams supports opening more if there is community support.

Williams was driven to run for the board by her love for learning and for her community. She was born, raised, and still lives in Austin.

“Education is forever, and the kids in my district are really suffering, especially academically,” Williams said, citing high rates of absenteeism and students graduating without the skills they need to succeed after high school.

Williams is a relative newcomer to education advocacy and organizing. But she said years of experience in customer service roles, including as a nursing home aide, have prepared her.

“Everything about my work is customer satisfaction,” Williams said. “Breaking information down so people can understand it … Actually listening to what people are saying and putting that action into it.”

Williams is backed by the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, which advocates on behalf of charters and has a well-financed political arm, as well as The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that supports charters and advocates for school choice across public and private schools. She is also supported by the Common Ground Collective, a pro-business, anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

She differs from Brown and Jones in her views on charter schools.

Brown believes CPS can take over management of existing charters to prevent harm to students. Jones supports helping existing charters if they are performing well. But neither believes there’s a need for new charter schools.

Williams supports opening new charter schools where there is community need, but only when the groups operating them have sustainable funding and a clear plan to improve learning. Williams also said CPS should do more to support existing charter schools if they are producing results and “meeting the criteria that they should be meeting.”

If elected, Williams said she would take a deep dive into the budget.

“The solution is constantly more taxes, more money,” Williams said. “But we need to be more responsible with the budget and overseeing it and making sure that when you are paying, that people are delivering.”

Read Williams’ full questionnaire.

Brown, who grew up on the city’s Far South Side, played a prominent role in the yearslong fights against school closings in Chicago and for a fully elected school board. Notably, he participated in a hunger strike that helped reopen Dyett High School in Washington Park. Since 2012, he has led a nonprofit that fights charter school expansion and works to support neighborhood schools.

Brown ran unopposed for his seat in 2024. He was endorsed by the CTU and leads the board’s Black Student Achievement Committee, which is working to close racial disparities and improve Black students’ classroom experiences.

“My concern is not just for Black students, but Black students are the population that’s in crisis,” Brown said.

Brown’s work in education stretches back to the 1990s, when his rap group visited a South Side elementary school. Brown remembers a young man sitting slumped in his chair saying, “Man, you cool, but you ain’t coming back.”

“That kind of stuck with me,” Brown said.

After that, Brown started volunteering with kids through the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization. He noticed resource disparities as he worked in different schools and communities.

“These children on 39th Street have one computer in their class, and that’s it,” Brown said. “There’s no Black history being taught to these young people. I realized that there’s an equity issue, and that began my path.”

Brown has been a key voice pushing for more state funding to address the district’s budget gap. He wants state lawmakers to increase taxes for the wealthy and close tax loopholes for corporations.

“The political will is there,” Brown said, to “not only tie a tourniquet” but also “heal the wound.”

Read Brown’s full questionnaire.

Jones grew up on the West Side of Chicago and graduated from Farragut High School.

According to her resume, she taught students with learning and behavioral disabilities in CPS over four school years in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Jones did not respond to requests for an interview, but in our CPS school board questionnaire, she expressed support for school choice and providing parents with vouchers, which are typically used to offset the cost of private school tuition.

Jones opposes the district’s comprehensive sex education and claimed, without evidence, that CPS uses lessons that sexualize children and are pornographic. Two years ago, when Jones made similar claims as a District 5 write-in candidate, Chalkbeat found no evidence that CPS curriculum covers anything of that nature.

In 2024, a Chalkbeat reporter asked Jones, who frequently used anti-transgender language in her 2026 candidate questionnaire, how she planned to represent students of varying gender and sexual identities. At the time, Jones said she isn’t against students who do not identify as heterosexual, but she’s against “grooming them in school without the parents’ knowledge. I’m against you changing the children’s names without the parents permission.”

CPS policy says schools should not share a student’s gender identity without the student’s consent or authorization from the district’s law department. Under the policy, students have the right to be addressed at school by the names and pronouns they choose.

Jones also wants to limit the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms due to the potential for racial bias in AI teaching tools. She wants CPS to hire more Black teachers so Black students see more educators who look like them. Research has found this strategy can foster a sense of belonging and lead to lower suspension rates and higher graduation rates for Black students. In 2025, 34% of CPS students identified as Black, compared with 21% of teachers.

Read Jones’ full questionnaire.

Lisa Kurian Phillip is a higher education reporter for WBEZ Chicago. Contact Lisa at lphilip@wbez.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 4b, North Side

2026-09-24T10:08:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Ellen Rosenfeld, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher and district engagement specialist, is running unopposed to keep the North Side seat she won handily in 2024 against five other would-be school board members in the city’s most crowded race.

Pro-school choice groups spent heavily to back her and oppose a teachers union-backed candidate. She’s made serving on the board her full-time role the past two years after leaving her position with CPS Family and Community Engagement. Rosenfeld is part of a bloc of seven elected members who have opposed the mayor’s appointees and elected allies on the school board, who make up a majority. She has backing from the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents CPS support staff, and other groups that oppose the Chicago Teachers Union, the mayor’s former employer and key ally.

The former Local School Council chair and mother of four CPS graduates argues the current board has been too mired in politics and susceptible to outside pressure. But she feels the incoming fully elected board could preside over an academic resurgence, from a rise in reading proficiency to a decrease in chronic absenteeism, one of her key concerns. She said the next board must rally around a set of goals for improving the district.

“Without a shared vision, it’s almost impossible to get the good stuff done,” Rosenfeld said. “We don’t even know where the ship is trying to go.”

District 4b is home to 18 schools, including several high-performing neighborhood campuses, coveted magnet schools, and one popular selective enrollment high school, Lane Tech College Prep. Families here choose their neighborhood schools at higher rates than in many other districts, especially at the elementary level. Some campuses draw diverse student bodies from both inside the district and across the city, but overall, the student population is whiter and higher-income than CPS overall.

Rosenfeld said she has forged relationships with school and district staff, families, and students thanks to regular office hours and visits to about 60 campuses, including some outside her area. She stands by each of her votes, including two on the budget: one to approve a 2025-26 spending plan without high-cost borrowing and a vote against this year’s budget, which she opposed for relying on money that the state hasn’t yet sent to CPS to ward off staff layoffs.

Rosenfeld angered the CTU and some Acero charter school families when she was among a small minority of board members who voted against absorbing five of the network’s schools into the district. She has argued that given its own enrollment and financial challenges, the district should not come to the rescue of troubled privately run public schools. Some charter and contract operators have since pointed to that vote to argue CPS could bail out their campuses.

Rosenfeld is poised to clash with the union again over the issue of school closures, which it staunchly opposes. She says the board has to reckon with decade-long enrollment losses projected to accelerate amid a plummeting birth rate. She said school board members shouldn’t simply look away from a growing number of severely underenrolled schools, where she said students get a subpar experience. The district needs to learn from the “awful” mass school closures of 2013 and start with genuine community engagement, perhaps by assembling a task force with a cross section of Chicagoans, she said.

“What we’re doing it’s not working,” she said. “It’s insanity and it’s wasteful.”

Read Rosenfeld’s full questionnaire.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 4a, North Side

2026-09-24T10:07:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

The race in this North Side district pits a retired educator appointed to the current school board against two challengers who say board members have faltered on fiscal responsibility and setting ambitious goals for Chicago Public Schools.

Karen Zaccor, a longtime Uptown teacher and advocate appointed to the school board by the mayor in 2024 after coming in second among six candidates, will face teacher recruitment and retention expert Ellen Sherratt and stem cell researcher Angel Alvarez.

The area along the north lakefront is home to 15 schools, less than almost any other school board district. They include high-performing neighborhood campuses, popular magnet schools, and a charter alternative high school. About 57% of students attend their neighborhood elementary schools, but that share is much lower at the high school level. The district’s campuses draw a diverse group of students: Of its 8,400 CPS students last school year, about 37% are Latino, almost 26% are white, 23% are Black, and nearly 8% are Asian.

In the 2024 school board race, what is now District 4a was part of a larger District 4. Board member Ellen Rosenfeld bested five opponents, the most of any race that year. Rosenfeld is running unopposed this year in neighboring district 4b.

Zaccor has voted consistently with a majority bloc of board members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson or elected with backing from the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnson’s former employer and close ally. Her priorities also echo those of the union, which has endorsed Zaccor. They include pushing for a billionaires tax or other new progressive state revenue to boost school funding and growing the Sustainable Community Schools program, a partnership between CPS and the CTU in which high-needs schools receive an additional $500,000 each year to partner with local nonprofits and expand services.

Her opponents Sherratt and Alvarez argue that the district must do more to address mounting deficits than lobby the state, including budgeting more thoughtfully and eliminating waste.

Sherratt has drawn endorsements and financial support from the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years, and other groups that oppose the CTU. Those include the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies,” while two groups that advocate for school choice and charter schools support her campaign.

Sherratt said she would bring her expertise on teacher quality to the board and push for setting ambitious student achievement goals.

Alvarez, who leads a family advisory board for the district’s Office for Students with Disabilities, said he would champion more responsive special education services and protect families from higher property taxes.

Sherratt, who has long studied teacher recruitment and retention, says the school board needs more experts who understand national education trends. She said she would be an independent voice, unbeholden to the CTU or other special interests.

“I bring a breadth and depth of experience from around the country,” she said.

Sherratt said she has spent her career researching how schools can hire and retain excellent teachers and consulting with districts, states, and the federal government. She has worked on a national initiative to boost teacher pay and on Illinois efforts to address educator shortages. She now leads Common Cents Education, a teacher quality consulting firm she launched to work with districts on workforce issues. Sherratt’s daughter attends a private school — which she said was a “personal decision made for our family,” noting a track record of supporting public schools.

Sherratt said she wants the city and district to set a series of “moonshot goals” to reach by Chicago’s bicentennial in 2037, such as significantly improving math achievement. She would seek broad input on those goals, including from students, for whom she would host special after-school office hours, she said.

“We should be more ambitious and make the process and the goals something the city of Chicago can really be proud of,” Sherratt said.

She also said the board should advocate for more state funding but rejected what she described as heavy-handed tactics, such as passing the recent budget with “phantom money” that the board is pressuring the state to approve.

“I imagine to many in Springfield it feels like they are being bullied,” she said.

Read Sherratt’s full questionnaire.

Zaccor represents one of the city’s wealthier districts, home to some premier magnet campuses. Her focus as a board member, though, has been strengthening high-poverty neighborhood schools and addressing lingering inequities.

Zaccor said she doesn’t see a conflict. There are high-needs schools in her Uptown neighborhood, such as Uplift Community High School where she taught for years. She was part of a group of parents and advocates who founded Uplift in 2005. And Zaccor said families and students across the city have shared with her many of the same concerns, including the availability of after-school programs, amount of screen time in schools, and quality of cafeteria food.

“I’ll never believe that making a demand for a truly equitable system is the wrong thing to do,” she said.

She is a longtime advocate for an elected school board and former Local School Council member. Her daughter graduated from Whitney Young Magnet High School, a CPS selective enrollment campus. She said she prides herself on her board service so far, particularly her push for a more stringent process for renewing and monitoring charter schools.

Zaccor strongly supports the continued growth of the Sustainable Community Schools program, which has faced recent questions about implementation hurdles and thin evidence of improved student outcomes. The program is “a work in progress,” she said, but the district has learned lessons it can apply to newly added schools.

Her other priorities include continuing to push the state for more funding, embracing green schools, and improving cafeteria food. She opposes school closures, arguing that the district instead should spend more to revitalize schools with low enrollment.

“We need to invest first and see what kind of difference that can make,” she said.

Read Zaccor’s full questionnaire.

Alvarez is no stranger to how Chicago’s school board can impact people’s lives. Four years ago, his daughter, who is visually impaired, missed the entire first semester of third grade at Decatur Elementary School because she did not have transportation. He spent long hours pressing district officials in charge of yellow bus routes and speaking to the school board, which has the authority to approve bus vendor contracts. He even filed a state complaint and shared his family’s experience through national media outlets.

Alvarez now leads a family advisory board for the CPS Office for Students with Disabilities, helping troubleshoot families’ issues with transportation, special education staffing, and other services.

“In CPS, there is a huge disconnect between theory and practice — what’s on paper and what families actually experience,” Alvarez, a former Local School Council member, said. He added about navigating the transportation issue, “I have a doctorate, and it was a complicated process for me.”

Alvarez is a scientist and assistant professor at Northwestern University and is director of the Stem Cell Core. He also has advocated for gifted education and taught science to high school students through the Hispanic Math and Science Education Initiative.

If elected, he would push the city to screen all children for learning and other disabilities before they start school and connect families with existing resources.

Alvarez said he has spoken with school board members about issues ranging from school discipline to the district’s financial woes. Limiting CPS property tax increases is his top priority. He believes the district can do more with the dollars it now receives. Yes, it should continue to seek more revenue from the state, but Alvarez also said it should reduce waste and spend smarter, including by giving Local School Councils more sway over school budgets.

“It’s easy to say, ‘I’ll ask the state for more money,’” he said. “The state doesn’t have the money.”

Read Alvarez’ full questionnaire.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 3b, Humboldt Park, Hermosa

2026-09-24T10:06:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

Two men who both grew up in Humboldt Park, graduated from selective enrollment Chicago public high schools, and became teachers through Teach for America are facing off — again — in the race to represent a district that spans from West Town to Belmont Cragin.

Both candidates identify as progressives. Incumbent board member Carlos Rivas Jr. won in 2024 with 54% of the vote compared to Jason Dónes’ 46%. Rivas has taken a more fiscally conservative approach to the school budget than his opponent.

Rivas has support from the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS school support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years, charter school advocates, and some Northwest Side local and county officials. He is also endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Dónes is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and several Northwest Side elected officials, including local and state officials and one member of Congress. Both men have the support of individual donors.

Schools in District 3b are struggling with teacher and counselor shortages, higher property taxes, and low enrollment amid rapid gentrification and neighborhood changes. The district includes a mix of 32 dual-language, charter, and alternative schools serving mostly Latino students.

Rivas and Dónes both care about protecting immigrant students from federal immigration agents, supporting more affordable housing, and securing more resources and community partnerships for CPS families. Rivas says he wants to see less interference from the mayor on the board and to move away from using loans that will increase CPS’ budget deficit. Instead, he wants to leverage partnerships with social service organizations that can offer resources to children, such as therapy or counselor access.

Dónes, a CPS parent, is looking to increase budget transparency, push for creative solutions within the existing budget framework, and said on our CPS School Board questionnaire that he won’t accept donations from corporations or “private interest groups funded by billionaires and millionaires.”

To try to avoid a repeat of his loss in 2024, Dónes is aiming to be more visible in district areas that didn’t vote for him in 2024 and has more volunteers from his ties to the progressive neighborhood group United Neighbors of the 26th Ward, he said.

Dónes has taught and trained teachers in various CPS schools, worked on CPS’ Instructional Equity Working Group, and helped draft Illinois’ first set of culturally responsive teaching standards. Since 2023, Dónes has worked for Beyond 100K, a national nonprofit addressing the STEM teacher shortage, with a focus on attracting more teachers of color.

His two children attend Moos Elementary, where he has served on the Local School Council since 2020.

Dónes is the co-chair of United Neighbors of the 26th Ward group where he has advocated for more affordable housing. He has volunteered with the Northwest Side Rapid Response Team to keep families safe from federal immigration officers and organized with Northwest Side elected officials seeking reelection since last year.

Dónes faced two challenges to his candidacy, but the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners ruled in his favor.

Dónes said his organizing background, experience as a CPS parent, and LSC background distinguish him from Rivas, as do the endorsements and donations he’s received from neighbors and local community groups.

If elected, Dónes said he would work to increase budget resources for district schools, push for budget transparency, and work to protect CPS jobs that support immigrant students facing threats from immigration agents.

“Readers want to understand how our advocates are being radical and creative in how we (search for) revenue while also being smart and diligent about spending,” he said. “You don’t have to choose fiscal responsibility or radical advocacy — there’s a way to navigate both.”

Read Dónes’ full questionnaire responses.

Going into his reelection campaign, Rivas said “it’s not ideal” to face Dónes again. He said his voting record shows him to be the voice for working-class families, especially those worried about property tax increases amid gentrification and school changes.

He was one of six school board members who voted against the amended CPS budget, which narrowly passed this summer and counted on state revenue that was not guaranteed, a vote that “ruffled a few feathers” with area elected officials, he said.

His priorities include increasing support for neighborhood schools and improving support for students from immigrant families, according to our CPS School Board questionnaire. He also highlighted budget accountability.

“I think we have such a big structural deficit in CPS that we absolutely cannot keep relying on loans to get us out of the difficulties that we’re in,” Rivas said. “We need to continue thinking about the long-term success of the district, while still advocating for more money from Springfield.”

Rivas has worked for the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability, a police oversight agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct, as the director of public affairs since 2022. He’s taught at CPS schools and UIC College Prep, a charter school, as an alumni counselor, and has been a teacher’s assistant and a security guard in CPS.

A homeowner and landlord, Rivas is also a transitional foster parent, fostering unaccompanied migrant children who need to be placed in Spanish-speaking households before they are sent to an adult sponsor. He said the experience has informed his perspective on the importance of dual-language programs in schools, stronger policies to protect immigrant families, and support for principals and counselors who can bring in more resources for students.

He also wants to improve support for students from immigrant families and policies to protect them from federal agents.

“I have a wide range of experience all across our district that defines me as someone who is thoughtful and looking at all sides when we’re thinking about the decisions we have to make for kids and families in our district,” Rivas said. “I am independent and I am not taking orders from any special interest group with what we’ve seen from the (mayoral) appointees.”

Read Rivas’ full questionnaire responses.

Ariel Parrella-Aureli is a reporter covering Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Avondale for Block Club Chicago. Contact Ariel at ariel@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 3a, Logan Square, Albany Park

2026-09-24T10:05:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

A newcomer building a coalition of support from private donors and charter school advocates is challenging a longtime community activist with ties to the Chicago Teachers Union and Northwest Side elected officials in the race to represent District 3a.

Incumbent Norma Rios Sierra, a Logan Square organizer appointed to the school board in 2024 by Mayor Brandon Johnson, is hoping to hold onto her seat against Peter Gonzales, a lawyer and tutor.

Schools in District 3a are struggling with teacher shortages, art program cuts, charter school closings, and mental health access. The Northwest Side district has a mix of 24 dual-language, charter, and alternative schools serving mostly Latino students.

While both candidates have similar positions on increasing funds for CPS and supporting immigrant families, their support differs. Rios Sierra is backed by the CTU and the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council, which represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years. She’s one of only four candidates to be endorsed by both unions.

Gonzales has support from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, The Urban Center, a centrist, pro-school choice political group, and the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Gonzales advocates for equitable teacher wages that can strengthen student test scores and expand opportunities for students, such as having a stronger trades pipelines and more school choice, while Rios Sierra wants to see more mental health resources for students and more art and extracurricular programs for neighborhood schools.

Rios Sierra survived two challenges to be on the ballot this fall. Rios Sierra was part of a working group to pick Macquline King, Chicago Public Schools’ new CEO, and she voted for the most recent CPS budget that hinged on receiving $150 million more in state funding.

She has voted to protect immigrant students from federal officials and to support the creation of a sustainable transition plan for families impacted by charter closings such as Aspira and Acero schools.

Born in Mexico City and raised in Logan Square, Rios Sierra spent years organizing with the nonprofit Palenque LSNA, working with students, families, and teachers on arts programming and events; fighting for affordable housing and local immigration reform; and organizing wellness workshops for over 200 parent mentors. She is a member of the Northwest Side Rapid Response Network, a CPS graduate, and a former Local School Council member at Logan Square Elementary.

As a single mother whose teen attends CPS, she said her commitment to her community and her background are proof that she shows up on behalf of students and families in the neighborhood who want fully funded schools and more mental health support for youth.

“I definitely want to continue to champion the needs of our immigrant families, and I’m really genuinely concerned with the mental health and well-being of our students,” she said.

Rios Sierra said she is committed to building relationships to secure additional revenue for schools, improving mental health access, and supporting more arts and extracurricular programming.

Read Rios Sierra’s full questionnaire responses.

With a background in budgeting, economics, and law, Gonzales said his skills differ from his opponent and show he is “willing to go to the mat” to stand up for immigrant, working-class families.

“I know what it means to really tackle hard budgetary issues,” he said. “I know what it means to deal with complex legal problems … when it comes to standing up against ICE and (President) Donald Trump. I actually do know what it means to defend people in open court.”

Originally from Aurora, Gonzales lives with his wife and 2-year-old son, whom he plans to send to a CPS school. He has lived in Avondale since 2019.

A senior legal advisor for the Illinois Secretary of State, Gonzales was the first in his family to attend college. He has volunteered as a tutor with Reach Out Community Center in Little Village and Midtown-Metro Achievement Centers in Little Italy. He’s also on the board of the Institute of Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame, which gives Latino college students volunteer opportunities with Chicago law firms with a focus on immigrant rights.

Gonzales wants to represent the area to better even out the district’s budget among schools and advocate for equitable wages for staff, funding for after-school programs, and resources to improve academic outcomes for students. He also wants to bring greater transparency and fiscal responsibility to CPS, advocate for more CPS pipelines into the trades, and protect immigrant students from federal immigration agents in the classroom and in the courtroom.

“At the end of the day, it’s just about trying to make sure every single kid gets the best possible education and that we’re protecting our community,” Gonzales said.

Read Gonzales’ full questionnaire responses.

Ariel Parrella-Aureli is a reporter covering Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Avondale for Block Club Chicago. Contact Ariel at ariel@blockclubchi.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 2b, North Lakefront

2026-09-24T10:04:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

A retired Chicago Public Schools teacher appointed by the mayor is facing off against a former special education teacher worried about the school district’s debt burden and a data scientist focused on securing more funding from the Illinois legislature.

Incumbent Debby Pope is endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union, Kyna Lenhof has the endorsement of the anti-CTU Common Ground Collective, and Daniel Basco has positioned himself as “a fiercely independent voice.”

District 2b is one of Chicago’s most culturally diverse areas and is home to 18 public schools. The three candidates running to represent the district all listed adequate classroom funding and resources among their main priorities, but their thoughts on how to secure that funding vary.

Pope said she supports increasing funding for schools by taxing the rich, while Basco said he wants CPS to get more funding from the state. Lenhof, meanwhile, said she wants to reduce the district’s reliance on high-interest loans.

Pope was appointed to the board by Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2024 after the mass resignation of his first group of school board appointees amid tensions with former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

She got the nod from the powerful teachers union, while Lenhof was endorsed by The Urban Center , a centrist political organization that supports charters and advocates for school choice across public and private schools. Lenhof was also endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, which is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.”

Earlier this summer, Common Ground released an ad attacking Pope for voting in favor of a CPS budget plan that assumes the district will receive $150 million more in state funding than projected.

The day before the vote, Lenhof also released a statement criticizing Pope.

“Our current board member, appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, has continually supported high-interest loans that burden taxpayers and weaken CPS’s financial future,” Lenhof wrote.

Both Pope and Lenhof have touted their experience working in classrooms, while Basco has positioned himself as an independent and highlighted his work researching education policy.

Raised in New York, Pope has lived in Chicago for more than 50 years and in Andersonville for nearly 30.

She taught high school for close to 20 of those years, primarily working as a bilingual social studies teacher. After retiring from teaching, Pope worked for the CTU for just over a decade, serving in various roles.

Pope was a strong advocate for bilingual and dual-language education during her first term on the school board, informed by her experiences in the classroom. When she started her career at Benito Juárez Community Academy High School, many of her students were newly arrived immigrants from Mexico. Pope wasn’t fluent in Spanish at the time but said she would read a Spanish dictionary every night after work to develop her skills.

“I saw school as an opportunity to help kids who had come as immigrants to find their footing in the United States,” she said.

Pope’s two daughters also attended CPS schools, graduating from Whitney Young Magnet High School while she was teaching at Gage Park High School. Her granddaughter currently attends Inter-American Magnet School, a dual-language school in Lakeview.

“The contrast in what was available to my daughters versus what was available to my students was painful to see every day,” Pope said. “My one daughter, she took four different art classes, and my other daughter was in concert choir, and they were both on the swim team. Gage Park didn’t have those things and I wanted all kids to have those opportunities.”

Pope said it’s important to ensure funding is equitably distributed. She’d like to see a graduated income tax and the closure of corporate tax loopholes so that the wealthy contribute more to public education.

Pope’s top donor as of mid-September was the political arm of the CTU.

Read Pope’s full questionnaire.

Lenhof moved to Chicago 25 years ago to take improv classes at The Second City. While there, she started working at Easterseals Academy, a therapeutic day school for students with autism, and later worked as a special education teacher at Scammon Elementary School in Kilbourn Park.

“I was inspired to run because I really do believe that every child should have access to a safe, equitable, and joyful education,” said Lenhof, a Bowmanville resident of 13 years.

She now works for KMM Consulting, a political fundraising and strategy firm that helps local candidates and nonprofits organize events and fundraise, and serves as treasurer for the 40th Ward Democrats. She also continues to perform and hosts a variety show in Andersonville.

If elected, Lenhof said she’d like to see CPS get more funding for special education, ensure that individualized education programs, or IEPs, are followed by all educators, and provide adequate support to special education teachers.

“My priorities really boil down to: How do you do the right thing for your most vulnerable populations?” Lenhof said.

She also said she would push for a budget that reduces the district’s borrowing as much as possible and avoids “more high-interest loan rates versus money that can go directly into the classroom.” Any money should be distributed equitably throughout the district, she said.

Lenhof’s two biggest donors among political action committees as of mid-September were the Common Ground Collective PAC and INCS Action PAC, a statewide group focused on promoting publicly funded, independently run charter schools.

Read Lenhof’s full questionnaire.

A Texas native, Basco studied policy analysis at Northwestern University. He worked in data science and got his Ph.D in policy analysis from the RAND School of Public Policy in California before moving to Andersonville five years ago.

Under the Obama administration, Basco advised the U.S. Department of Education on policies related to funding science education and worked with community colleges in Texas to evaluate the effectiveness of their courses.

In his current role at Kindsight, which provides fundraising tools to the education, nonprofit, and healthcare sectors, he builds technology to help nonprofits find donors.

“My approach is always, ‘How do you collect as much data as possible? How do you look at the problem from every angle?’” Basco said.

If elected, Basco said he would advocate for more state funding and push for multiyear CPS budgets to give students and families more consistency.

“What I’ve heard from parents is the uncertainty around the budget means uncertainty about programs, about after-school, about English language programs,” Basco said.

Basco, who works with artificial intelligence for a living, also said CPS needs stronger guardrails around AI. While AI can be a tool to help learning, Basco said the district needs to ensure students’ data and privacy are protected.

“The space is evolving so quickly so we need folks who are up-to-date about what’s going on to help shape policy,” Basco said.

Basco has emphasized his independence; on his website, he says that he is “beholden to no political machine.”

Basco said being an independent candidate means having “empathy for every audience.”

“I’m going to look at issues from every level and I will hear from everybody to try and find potential solutions,” Basco said.

As of mid-September, Basco had donated $7,000 to his own campaign and had reported no additional donations.

Read Basco’s full questionnaire.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 1b, Northwest Side

2026-09-24T10:02:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

The two women vying to represent Chicago’s Northwest Side are no strangers to politics — one ran for school board in 2024 and the other has run campaigns or worked for other elected officials for more than 15 years.

Michelle Pierre lost by a thin margin in 2024, which was her first time running for office after spending more than 25 years working in education as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and leadership coach. Claudia Peralta is making her debut as a candidate, but has worked with multiple politicians on the Northwest Side, including U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez.

District 1b is home to 20 Chicago public schools, which is among the fewest of all the school board voting districts. Families here choose their neighborhood elementary schools at a higher rate than in other parts of the city.

This matchup isn’t so much about individual policies as it is about differing strategies for how to govern as a Chicago school board member.

Pierre is metrics-driven, weighing district financial decisions against their return on investment for students bettering their academic outcomes. Peralta is rooted in political savvy and using government relationships to secure the resources Chicago Public Schools needs for students to thrive. District 1b voters will ultimately choose which style they want to see prioritized.

The winner will replace Jennifer Custer, who has served the past two years and ran for school board president before dropping out of the race in August.

Peralta has seen the inner workings of Chicago Public Schools from a few vantage points, including as a CPS student.

Peralta moved from Ecuador to Chicago when she was 12. She spent her teenage years in Logan Square and graduated from Prosser Career Academy in Belmont Cragin. Amid the Trump administration’s heightened immigration enforcement, Peralta said she can contribute to the board of education her firsthand perspective as an English-learning immigrant student.

“I’m learning that the moment we’re living in requires that we step up and that we face our fears,” she said. “I’m ready to fight and ensure that our children get the resources they deserve.”

One of those fears was running for office. For almost a decade, Peralta has worked behind the scenes on campaigns and in advocacy. She currently serves as U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez’ district director. Before that, she was state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe’s chief of staff and coordinated programs for the Illinois Coalition For Immigrant and Refugee Rights. Both Ramirez and LaPointe’s districts include parts of the Northwest Side. As a parent, Peralta served on the Carl Von Linné Elementary Local School Council.

Of the skills she’s learned from those roles, Peralta said knowing how to operate across different levels of government is a major asset, especially when it comes to funding.

Claudia Peralta, a candidate for Chicago Board of Education District 1B, addresses attendees at her campaign fundraiser inside Eris Brewery and Cider House in Chicago on Sunday, July 19, 2026, during the FIFA World Cup Finals. (Makiya Seminera/Chalkbeat)

Peralta remains firm that addressing CPS’ budget deficit shouldn’t come at the expense of educators’ livelihoods — a cause championed by the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council. Both organizations have endorsed Peralta and as of mid-September, SEIU had contributed to her campaign. She’s also collected individual contributions through events such as her World Cup final campaign fundraiser in July, which had about 50 attendees.

“The amount of support — it shows that I have been a part of the community for many years,” Peralta said. “People know my worth.”

Read Peralta’s full questionnaire.

If her narrow defeat for school board in 2024 confirmed anything, Pierre said, it’s that her campaign platform resonated with a large share of voters. This time, she’s trying to capitalize on that by getting her message out quicker and securing more support from local leaders.

“I thought it was not a political race. I thought it was just the Chicago school board,” Pierre said of her first time running. “Then I learned very quickly, everything is very political.”

Pierre sees herself as a candidate outside the partisan fray. But her campaign is also supported by three special interest groups. Those are the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, which advocates on behalf of publicly funded, independently run charter schools, and The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools. The third is the Common Ground Collective, an anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” Pierre is endorsed by both The Urban Center and The Common Ground Collective.

Those goals feed into her overarching message: Chicago’s children deserve a high-quality education, whether that be in neighborhood schools, charter schools, or magnet programs.

Chicago school board candidate Michelle Pierre, right, talks to Ald. Nick Sposato on election night Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at Moe's Cantina. Pierre narrowly lost to Jennifer Custer and is running again to represent district 1b.

Pierre points to her extensive background in education as evidence that she can get the job done.

She worked as a teacher and a principal for several years in New York and Washington, D.C., before becoming chief academic officer of Cleveland Metropolitan School District for six years. Since moving to Chicago almost a decade ago, Pierre has held a leadership role at LEARN Charter Network and now works in a senior role at New Leaders, an organization offering professional development for education leaders.

But Pierre said her children are her primary motivation for running. She served as a parent on the Local School Council at Ogden International School of Chicago. Now, her youngest daughter is a recent graduate of the Chicago High School for the Arts.

“I fought for her every single day,” Pierre told supporters at her campaign kickoff in Portage Park. “I believe in all 300,000 kids, and I will fight for them every single day.”

Read Pierre’s full questionnaire.

Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 1a, Far Northwest Side

2026-09-24T10:01:00+00:00

Read in Spanish.

A retired Chicago police officer allied with two local aldermen is looking to unseat a longtime community development advocate who gained an incumbent advantage when the mayor appointed him to represent Chicago’s Far Northwest Side.

Ed Bannon is hoping to fend off Margie Luczak’s challenge with support from the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union, which represents school support staff. But Luczak has secured the backing of special interest groups that favor school choice and charter schools.

Although the school board elections are nonpartisan, political undercurrents are present in voters’ decisions about which candidate aligns with their values. On the Far Northwest Side, voters have been more receptive to conservative candidates than much of Chicago and could be more sympathetic to an “anti-establishment” platform. But the race is inherently much narrower in its scope of issues than a Congressional or presidential campaign, which could reveal diverging attitudes specifically on the topic of education.

The Far Northwest Side is home to 22 schools that enroll more white students than Chicago Public Schools as a whole, but are more diverse than the voting population. Families here choose their neighborhood public schools at higher rates than in other parts of the city.

It’s one of the few areas in Chicago that leaned toward President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. And in 2023, many voters here picked former CPS CEO Paul Vallas over Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Although Bannon was appointed by Johnson, he hasn’t always aligned with him, most notably when he voted in favor of the CPS budget plan Johnson’s other appointees were trying to block last year. Bannon’s record has earned him endorsements from the Chicago Teachers Union and SEIU Illinois State Council.

Voters looking for a change in leadership may opt for Luczak, who served on Chicago’s police force for more than 25 years. In many ways, her campaign represents a foil to Bannon’s union-backed candidacy. She proudly says she’s not a “CTU puppet” and is supported by contributions from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools and The Urban Center, an organization that advocates for centrist leadership and school choice, including private schools. But she has little direct experience in education.

On a Tuesday night at Jefferson Park’s Copernicus Center, a handful of people — a few teens, a teacher, a parent and her child, and local state Sen. Robert Martwick — quietly filed into a spacious room. It was the night before Chicago Public Schools released its budget proposal, and Ed Bannon was hosting a briefing to explain the district’s finances and hear community members’ concerns. As far as he knew, he was the only board member holding such a meeting.

That community engagement is central to how Bannon sees his role as a school board member.

“I don’t know any way other to run other than just being out there and talking to people and trying to show that my record is one that will improve CPS,” Bannon said.

Bannon’s involvement on the Northwest Side spans several decades. He served as executive director of the Six Corners Association, coordinated business recruitment and retention programs for the 45th Ward, and ran for alderman in 2023. Incumbent Nick Sposato defeated him.

He also served for a decade on the Local School Council for Dever Elementary, where his children attended. Bannon said his long-standing involvement with CPS helped earn him his board appointment from Johnson.

“People are going to say what they’re going to say about how me being appointed somehow influences me as a board member,” Bannon said. “All I can say is I’m doing all those things regardless of (being) appointed or elected.”

Having conversations with constituents is the only way to clear up any preconceived notions about his allegiances, Bannon said. When Steinmetz College Prep teacher Lisa Reed voiced her frustrations with the board at Bannon’s July budget briefing, he didn’t shy away from her questions. Instead, he stepped aside with her after the meeting to hear her out personally.

Read Bannon’s full questionnaire.

If it hadn’t been for the smattering of attendees donning bright yellow shirts with Margie Luczak’s name stamped across, the candidate’s fundraiser at Tommy’s on Higgins might have looked like a large reunion of old friends.

The back of the Norwood Park bar buzzed as Luczak shuffled through the crowd greeting people, including Reed, the teacher who attended Bannon’s budget briefing the night before. The turnout — about 40 people — came as a welcome surprise for Luczak, who has never run for office.

Luczak grew up in West Lawn on the Southwest Side and graduated from Curie High School in the late 1980s. She spent nearly 30 years as a Chicago police officer and worked across several units, including narcotics and licensing.

While Luczak doesn’t have any children, she said she sees the school system through the perspectives of friends whose children attend CPS and through her experience as a taxpayer. In the past year, Luczak said she attended meetings held by The Urban Center and learned more about how the district operates.

“I don’t think the CPS needs more money thrown at them,” Luczak said. “I think they need to fix the issues that are going on first.”

When Luczak retired from the Chicago Police Department in January, she decided it was time to serve her community in a different capacity. Her priorities include lowering property taxes and returning school resource officers to schools — an initiative she said would give kids positive exposure to police officers.

Luczak acknowledges she doesn’t have much direct experience with education, but she believes her extensive policing career equips her with the “common sense” necessary to be a school board member.

“I put out a lot of fires, and so I was a good listener,” Luczak said. “Being on the Chicago school board, I will listen to my community and what their needs are.”

Read Luczak’s full questionnaire.

Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board member Jessica Biggs faces scrutiny over 2018 firing as she runs for leader

2026-09-23T21:26:00+00:00

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This story was reported and published in collaboration with WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Jessica Biggs holds up her work leading a South Side elementary school as a top reason voters should pick her in an intense fourway race for Chicago’s first elected school board president.

That’s even though she was fired from that job as principal at Burke Elementary in 2018, and until recently, was banned from working in Chicago Public Schools.

Biggs, a current school board member, has long maintained she was terminated based on a rushed internal investigation after openly criticizing problematic district practices — a claim she doubles down on in a TV ad she released this week.

But all three opponents in the race to lead the 21-member school board have highlighted her dismissal, arguing it’s disqualifying. Candidate Sendhil Revuluri said the investigation found “a deliberate, multi-year scheme to falsify attendance data to game her school’s rating.” Opponents have also questioned whether Biggs’ removal from the Do Not Hire list last summer involved quid pro quo with district Superintendent Macquline King — a suggestion Biggs and King have strongly denied.

A close Chalkbeat and WBEZ review of the 2018 district inspector general’s report, CPS data, and all available court records, including transcripts, and interviews with at least a dozen district officials, educators, experts, and others show a more nuanced picture: At Biggs’ direction, Burke staff improperly marked students tardy when they arrived late enough that they should have been flagged as absent for half the day. An uptick in the school’s attendance rate under Biggs helped improve a high-stakes rating given to the school at the time. But the OIG report does not lay out a full-blown conspiracy to cheat, and it’s hard to say how much of the attendance bump came from mislabeling students versus a concerted effort to get kids to school. The watchdog recommended that Biggs be disciplined, but did not suggest she be fired.

Former CPS CEO Janice Jackson stands by the decision to fire Biggs. But now, Jackson supports Biggs’ campaign to lead the school board, saying she has been impressed with her school board service.

“She didn’t come back with a chip on her shoulder,” Jackson said. “She came back to serve and did the same thing she did when she was a principal, which was to look out for the kids and the families that she was entrusted with.”

The timeline of Biggs’ removal from the Do Not Hire list does not support the quid pro quo allegation, but there are unanswered questions about how she got off the list after a previous request was denied citing “serious” findings in the inspector general report. The reversal came eight months after Biggs started serving on the school board.

At a WTTW forum last week, Jessica Biggs described allegations in a report by Chicago Public Schools’ inspector general as being “around minor bureaucratic issues.” But her opponents in the race for school board president say the findings, and her subsequent firing from the district, are disqualifying.

At a forum last week, Biggs said the allegations in the watchdog report “were around minor bureaucratic issues.”

“I have always said that this was unjust,” she said of her firing, adding that she was proud the Do Not Hire designation was removed.

Concerns about attendance-tracking, student transportation led to Biggs’ firing

Biggs took the helm at Burke Elementary in Washington Park in 2012 at a particularly contentious time. A former teacher, Biggs took on Burke as her first principalship after serving as an apprentice leader for a year at a different CPS school.

In her first year, Burke — serving about 270 mostly Black and low-income students — was on a list of 129 schools facing closure. It survived, but was then designated to take in students from a nearby shuttered school.

At the time, principals were under intense pressure to improve their schools, even as they had to make do with less amid recurring budget crises. Schools were given number ratings that carried high stakes, driving parents’ school choices and even district decisions about closures.

During the 2016-17 school year, a staffer complained to the district’s internal watchdog that Biggs was directing the attendance clerk to misrepresent attendance data and sent staff to pick up students in their personal vehicles without getting written permission from parents, as was CPS policy. One of her opponents, Hilario Dominguez, said this failure to follow transportation protocols “endangered students.”

The inspector general’s office substantiated the complaint after interviewing teachers, clerks, and other staff. Burke’s assistant principal told the watchdog that even a student who arrived 30 minutes before the end of the school day might still be marked tardy instead of absent. Illinois law requires that students attend for at least 300 minutes to be considered present.

Investigators suggested in their report that the school’s flawed tracking of attendance was tied to efforts to better its standing. In one email highlighted in the report, Biggs thanked school staff for their hard work to improve attendance and said that to boost the school’s rating, “we MUST hit 94% by the end of the year!” One teacher told the watchdog that staff felt pressure to increase attendance.

The inspector general’s office acknowledged it could not determine how widespread the tardy mislabeling was. But it noted Burke’s tardy count was four times the district’s average in 2016 and 2017. Staff at Burke logged more than 10,000 tardies in each of those two years and less than a dozen half-day absences.

Even before the watchdog’s investigation, Biggs’ supervisor had instructed the school not to mark students arriving really late as tardy.

In an interview with Chalkbeat and WBEZ, Biggs said she owns some of the report’s findings.

She admitted that she failed to keep proper documentation on student rides. Biggs said she likely reviewed driver’s licenses and insurance for staffers giving student rides, though she told the OIG in 2018 she was not aware she needed to verify them. But Biggs said her team was simply trying to help out families struggling with transportation, including some living farther away that enrolled at Burke after the school closures.

She acknowledged that some students were marked tardy who should have been designated as absent half a day. But she dismissed the idea that she oversaw an intentional plot to fudge attendance data. She said the district gave schools some leeway to determine when a tardy becomes a half-day absence. Biggs also noted schools with earlier start times, like Burke, tended to see many more late arrivals.

During Biggs’ six-year tenure, Burke’s attendance went from 88.1% in 2012 — a tough school year when a newly hired Biggs and her team battled closure — to 93.7% her last year in charge. The school’s rating got a boost from state test score growth and a positive school climate survey, but the attendance rate remained consistently shy of the school’s 94% goal that would have pushed the rating up further. The year after Biggs was fired, the attendance rate dipped to 89.5% — a drop she attributes to staff turnover.

Stephanie Garrison, who taught at Burke for almost 20 years and is now retired, said she was concerned about student safety when she realized Biggs was telling employees to pick up children without following the required steps.

Garrison, a former union representative in the school, said some staff complained about Biggs’ “my way or the highway” attitude.

“The administration sets the tone,” said Garrison, who responded to outreach from WBEZ through the union. “There were a number of talented teachers that felt they had to really just move on.”

The teachers union backs Dominguez, Biggs’ opponent in the board president race.

Ever since her 2018 termination, Biggs has insisted she became a target because she complained about her school being dirty and that it was not being given enough special education staff or resources — two major controversies under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel. During summer break after her firing, parents, staff, and community partners came out in support of Biggs at a meeting with school officials and questioned their motivation for letting her go.

Matt Lyons, who led the district’s talent office at the time of Biggs’ firing, said he didn’t see evidence in the OIG’s investigation that she had intentionally manipulated attendance data.

Lyons said Biggs was not fired for speaking out but noted that her firing came in the months following an explosive Chicago Tribune series about systemic failures to address sexual misconduct in the district. While Biggs’ case had nothing to do with sexual misconduct or the Tribune’s reporting, Lyons maintains she faced harsher discipline because of the spotlight the report placed on CPS practices.

“It was a time of heightened scrutiny, and we felt public pressure to ensure school leaders were following policies by the book,” he said.

Biggs’ removal from Do Not Hire list raises questions

Biggs spent years working to clear her name after she was fired. She filed a lawsuit against CPS months after her 2018 firing, claiming that her firing violated her due process rights and stunted her education career. The court dismissed it because she had been an at-will employee and it found she failed to prove her firing prevented her from getting another job.

Later, in 2023, she asked CPS to remove the Do Not Hire designation in her employee file because it prevented her from volunteering to chaperone her daughter’s field trip. An internal CPS committee reviewed her request and allowed her to volunteer, but declined to make her eligible for employment.

Jessica Biggs says she’s proud she was able to get off the school district’s Do Not Hire list, but opponents have raised questions about how she did it after previous denials.

In July 2024 after filing to run for school board, Biggs asked again. She cited her work on coordinating the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccination efforts with the nonprofit Southwest Organizing Project.

The district, under then-CEO Pedro Martinez, referred the petition to an outside law firm, likely to avoid conflict of interest concerns. In a detailed, five-paragraph letter, attorney Elizabeth Babbitt denied the request, saying the misconduct outlined in the OIG report was “serious.”

“At your direction, a CPS school manipulated attendance data and placed students’ safety at risk by failing to comply with the CPS student travel policy,” Babbitt wrote.

In July 2025, Biggs tried a final time, arguing that her situation had changed because, in 2024, 40,000 voters elected her to the school board.

“I felt like it was an opportunity to right a wrong that had existed for a long time,” she said in the Chalkbeat/WBEZ interview.

The district, led by then-interim CEO Macquline King, turned to Babbitt again. A month later, the lawyer wrote a three-sentence letter to Biggs approving her removal from the Do Not Hire list. It did not contain a reason.

Babbitt did not respond to questions from Chalkbeat and WBEZ.

Lyons, the former HR chief at CPS, backed Biggs’ final successful attempt to get off the Do Not Hire list. In a letter, he wrote the OIG report detailed only “minor policy violations” that didn’t harm students and said Biggs was “widely regarded as a strong and beloved school leader.” More recently, he has donated to her bid for school board president.

Andre Smith, who lost to Biggs in the 2024 school board election and has been working for Victor Henderson, another candidate for school board president, said he is suspicious of the timing and the outside lawyer’s about-face. Smith is calling on the Cook County State’s Attorney, the CPS inspector general, and others to investigate.

He said it would be easy for a government investigation to pull phone and text messages to ensure there was no collusion between Biggs and King or other district leaders.

In a statement, CPS officials said “King did not review or decide any of the Do Not Hire petitions involving Ms. Biggs.”

That fall, the superintendent search committee led by Biggs voted not to include King on a list of finalists. Biggs said that’s evidence there was no quid pro quo.

The search then stalled, and Biggs distanced herself from it. In March of this year, Biggs eventually voted with 17 other school board members to give King the permanent position.

Sean Harden, the current appointed school board president, said he doesn’t think “anything malicious or untoward” happened. But “it probably would have been best practice” for Biggs to notify the school board that her Do Not Hire designation had been lifted before she voted to hire King.

Biggs said she didn’t bring it up because there was no conflict in her vote for King since a third party decided to remove her from the list.

Jonathan Collins, a school board expert at Columbia University’s Teachers College who also serves on New York City’s appointed school board, said Biggs’ case put CPS in a tough spot.

Outsourcing doesn’t completely ward off the perception that a board member leveraged her position, he said. But having a board member barred from working for the district makes for “terrible optics.”

“It’s a lose-lose situation,” he said.

As the next school board president is about to take over, principals are once again under pressure to increase attendance. CPS has struggled to recover from a pandemic-era absenteeism jump.

Asked how she would approach the case of a school leader accused of manipulating data, Biggs said she would take the allegations seriously. But she’d also interrogate the charges and focus on due process for principals.

“I think one of the most important levers for change in the district is really strong principal leadership, and we ask our principals to do a lot, and they need to be protected in their jobs,” Biggs said. “I’m also aware that humans, government entities, are fallible, and so it’s why it’s important to read documentation that comes before us to ask questions to push back.”

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Sarah Karp is an education reporter for WBEZ, part of Chicago Public Media. Contact Sarah at skarp@wbez.org.

Chicago school board looks at possible preschool expansion, despite opposition from district leadership

2026-09-10T22:31:57+00:00

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The Chicago school board is weighing a resolution to explore offering full-day preschool to all 3-year-olds and shifting how it provides services for young children with disabilities.

The resolution, drafted by board member Anusha Thotakura, would give the district until next summer to study how families access early childhood programs and how it can better meet their needs before crafting a plan for a possible overhaul. For children with disabilities, Thotakura wants the district to consider sending staff to provide special education services in private childcare settings rather than busing children to district schools.

In a memo to school board members, CPS Superintendent Macquline King voiced strong opposition to the resolution. She suggested the administration was blindsided by it and argued the proposal could saddle the financially strained district with significant costs. King also said she was concerned that if the district starts sending special education staffers to daycares, it might also have to dispatch them to private and faith-based schools, which vie with district-run campuses for enrollment. The district conducted a small pilot starting in 2023 to provide federally required services for young children with disabilities in Head Start programs and found few families took advantage, the memo said.

But Thotakura and other board members said it’s worthwhile to study what early childhood access and services currently look like — including for bilingual students — and how the district can strengthen them. Thotakura said she understands the district’s financial constraints but argued that more robust early services could help reduce spending needed later to help students who fall behind academically.

“When we invest early in our students, that sets them up for success throughout their entire time in CPS,” she said.

The resolution echoes a campaign proposal from Hilario Dominguez, who was until recently the Chicago Teachers Union’s deputy political director and is running for school board president this fall with union support. Thotakura and other board members who voiced support for the resolution were appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, a staunch union ally, or elected with CTU backing.

The district expanded access to preschool for 4-year-olds in recent years, and it offers programs for 3-year-olds in some schools. Those programs are generally half-day, a format that Thotakura noted is a poor fit for working families who might need full-day childcare.

Supporters on the board argued special education services in children’s childcare settings would spare them lengthy bus rides and disruptive transitions. The resolution also calls on the district to take a closer look at the city’s current Child Find system for identifying children who qualify for early childhood disability services, which Thotakura said is likely missing too many children.

School board member Debby Pope said research has shown that early childhood programs and interventions for students with disabilities can be especially helpful for children from low-income families and other disadvantaged students. She said her grandson, who has a disability, thrived after receiving special education support at his daycare in Pennsylvania.

“These types of programs can really benefit our struggle for equity and our desire to diminish the achievement gap that exists,” she said.

In her memo, King said the district was not involved in developing the resolution and that it could lead to a duplication of existing services.

“For the record, the District does not support moving forward with this proposal, given our current operational and financial context and the significant implications for students, families, schools, and District operations,” she wrote, adding that the plan could undermine the district’s credibility as it lobbies the state for more funding.

Some board members said they only learned of the resolution in recent days and have questions and concerns. Member Therese Boyle said she worries that moving some services to private childcare providers could hurt district enrollment. She also raised concerns about sending CPS staff to private schools.

“It seems like the resolution is biting off very large pieces to chew,” she said. “My head is swimming with it all, to be honest.”

Member Jennifer Custer said the board should not govern the district by resolution but instead work closely with district officials through new committees the board is launching later this year focused on student achievement, finance, and operations. Member Ellen Rosenfeld said she is concerned that a preschool expansion is something the cash-strapped district cannot afford.

“The district has to be able to implement something this massive and this expensive,” she said.

Thotakura said the board will continue conversations about the resolution in groups of five or fewer members, which would allow them to discuss it without calling a public meeting, and could vote on it later this month.

In an interview with Chalkbeat, Thotakura said she reached out several times to the district’s administration about working together on a proposal. She stressed that her resolution simply asks the district to explore the issue and identify barriers to access without committing it to take any specific action. Officials would have to develop recommendations for improving services based on next year’s study by June 30, 2028.

“The district’s memo made it seem like the resolution is asking for huge policy changes overnight,” she said.

Reema Amin contributed to this report.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board candidates sign pledge to ban AI use in schools

2026-09-01T15:07:13+00:00

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Roughly half of the 45 candidates running for the Chicago school board have signed a pledge to adopt a three-year ban on artificial intelligence use by CPS students and educators.

Crafted by a local nonprofit, the pledge also calls for eliminating school screen time before third grade and limiting it in later grades. It demands that the district hire a chief privacy officer and ban the collection of student biometric data, such as voice recordings captured by literacy software.

“The risks of AI are absolutely outweighing the benefits right now,” said Cassie Creswell, the head of Illinois Families for Public Schools, a parent advocacy group that has lobbied for more student privacy protections. “It’s perfectly possible to have a low-tech education and learn everything you need to know.”

The nonprofit wanted to leverage the city’s first races to elect all 21 members of the school board to exact commitments from candidates, Creswell said, though last week she also called on the current, partly elected board to consider AI restrictions this fall. So far, 23 candidates have signed the pledge.

The local push comes amid a national parent backlash against education technology, including AI-powered software. But some Chicago school board candidates, district officials, and others said the pledge goes too far, denying educators useful tools and limiting their ability to help students thoughtfully and safely navigate an ubiquitous technology.

“I think an outright ban is unproductive, and it really negates our responsibility, which is to come up with better solutions so our kids can both access this stuff, but also so that we don’t do irreparable harm to them,” said Janice Jackson, a former CPS CEO who is now leads the Education and Society Program at the nonpartisan think tank the Aspen Institute.

In a statement, Chicago Public Schools said it remains “steadfast in its deliberate, responsible approach to artificial intelligence.” It noted that the Illinois State Board of Education’s recently released AI guidelines for school districts references CPS’ AI guidebook as a model.

Creswell points to a recent move by CPS to shelve a plan to give high school students access to Gemini — Google’s AI chatbot — as an early win for the effort, though CPS officials said they only briefly weighed that plan and nixed it last spring.

The district said officials considered “an aspirational plan” to enable Gemini access on its high schoolers’ Google Classroom accounts after a small group of educators tested the tool without letting students access it. But the plan was put on hold last May based on input from teachers “to prioritize individual school readiness and educator training.”

“CPS embraces AI’s potential to enhance learning while remaining fully committed to safeguarding critical thinking and student data privacy,” the district’s statement said.

The district said a group of high school students spent the summer designing a new Student Voice AI Council and drafting a Student AI Playbook.

Board member Debby Pope, an appointee and retired educator running to represent district 2b, who signed the pledge, worries about AI’s potential to undermine students’ ability to think creatively, write, and ferret out misinformation.

“It’s extremely important to take an approach of caution and care so we raise a generation that has critical thinking abilities and understands the importance of using multiple sources of information,” she said.

But she said she is concerned that an outright ban might hamper the district’s ability to teach kids already widely using the technology how AI works and how to navigate its pitfalls.

Ellen Rosenfeld, who is running to represent district 4b unopposed, didn’t sign the pledge. She shares many of the concerns in the pledge and supports taking a more critical look at tech use in CPS.

“I am concerned that on AI, we are building the plane while we’re flying it,” she said.

But she said she was uncomfortable signing a sweeping document with a yearslong commitment. She said she is unsure how much jurisdiction the board has to impose such a policy.

Some momentum for technology restrictions is building nationally. Earlier this year, Illinois joined a majority of states in adopting a new law restricting student cell phone use in schools that will go into effect next year.

But the state’s AI guidance is nonbinding, imposing no requirements on how districts regulate the technology’s use. Earlier this summer, the school board in Los Angeles — whose superintendent resigned amid a federal probe into a costly failed AI chatbot contract — passed a policy banning screen time before the second grade. This week, New York City is releasing a new policy that would restrict student AI use in the elementary and middle grades and set screen time limits though it stops short of a full moratorium.

Creswell, of Illinois Families for Public Schools, said the nonprofit’s Pledge to Protect Human-Centered Education was also inspired by a recent Brookings report suggesting that AI’s potential harms to students exceed the possible benefits. She said tech use in CPS and its cost to the district have expanded without enough evidence these tools are improving learning or vendors are safeguarding student privacy. The nonprofit is taking particular aim at Amira, an AI-powered tool for struggling readers that CPS says has shown promising results in supplementing more traditional instruction.

Jackson, the former CPS CEO, said school districts need to be more discerning in selecting education technology tools. A lot of them are “junk,” she said, and she does worry about how companies are collecting and using student data.

At the same time, she said teachers are embracing helpful AI-powered tools, for example using AI to more efficiently plan lessons geared to diverse student needs. Failing to teach smart, responsible use of a technology that has come to permeate daily life can leave students at a disadvantage compared with peers at better resourced districts.

“I don’t think we get rid of technology and educate a bunch of kids who don’t know how to use these tools efficiently, because that doesn’t set them up for success,” she said. “But I do think it’s a moment to take a step back and make sure there are guardrails in place.”

This story has been updated to include information on a newly released New York City policy on student use of AI.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board delays proposal to steer more dollars to Chicago Arts High School

2026-08-27T22:12:40+00:00

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The Chicago school board for the second time postponed a controversial proposal to steer an estimated $5.5 million to Chicago Arts High School, formerly known as ChiArts, a once privately run school the board voted last year to absorb to avert its closure.

The extra money would come on top of $5.7 million already earmarked in the budget passed in July for its transition to a district-run school. School board members who back the proposal say the added money would allow the campus to more fully preserve its conservatory model, in which students receive hours of training from professional artists alongside each day’s academics. But district officials cautioned they would have to dip into funding for some of CPS’s 72 other, generally less intensive arts schools — a move that critics said would be unfair and damaging to other schools.

Supporters on the board said the extra dollars would tide the school over for a year until it cultivates philanthropic backing for its conservatory — a push that curtailing its arts offerings could undermine. Under the proposal, the school would keep more of roughly 70 teaching artists involved with its conservatory last school year.

The push comes after months of vocal lobbying of the board by students, parents, educators, the Chicago Teachers Union, which represents them, and other backers — and at a time of intense fiscal stress for the deficit-plagued district.

“I know this is not the same school people signed up for,” said board member Michilla Blaise. “We need to step up and make sure an extremely successful school continues to be extremely successful.”

Blaise authored the resolution to provide more funding and moved to table it until the board’s Sept. 10 meeting, saying conversations with district officials are ongoing. Blaise’s resolution includes no dollar amount, but the district estimates it would take $5.5 million to provide the additional staff it calls for.

District officials have balked at the proposal. In an internal memo obtained by Chalkbeat, Superintendent Macquline King told board members that CPS had already delivered on its promise to preserve the conservatory model “to the greatest extent practicable.” She noted that other arts high schools received $53,000 on average for their arts programming this year. And even with the backing of a now-dissolved foundation that actively fundraised for the school, its previous model had ultimately proved unsustainable, King wrote.

Chicago Arts High School’s total 2026-27 budget is $14.4 million. With an additional $5.5 million, per-pupil spending at the school would increase to almost $40,000, compared with a district average of about $20,000 — a cost supporters say makes sense for an intensive, specialized program preparing students for arts careers.

Under the district’s existing plan, the school’s nine-hour day was shortened by 50 minutes, to what CPS said was still longer than many comparable schools nationally. The district said it created 20 positions for resident artists, whom the school could eventually share with other area campuses.

At Thursday’s meeting, King said transitioning the school to district management had been a “herculean effort.” The school will now offer eight Advanced Placement classes as well as online courses for about 200 students who are not on track to graduate. Officials said preliminary enrollment this week is down almost 40 students, to about 500, in line with districtwide decreases.

“We needed to create a new school and adjust the model to ensure long-term sustainability and academic rigor,” King said.

In her memo, King had urged board members to weigh their decision in the context of already substantial resources that CPS devoted to absorbing five campuses of the Acero charter network — more than $13 million so far — as well as millions more to deal with fiscal trouble at the now defunct EPIC Academy High School and the ASPIRA charter school network, which closed its campuses in recent years.

In an open letter to the board, Joe Ferguson, the head of the Civic Federation, had urged the board to reject the additional money, arguing that siphoning the funding away from other schools would set a “dangerous” precedent.

“This is the worst kind of Chicago parochialism — favoring one small but vocal group over the needs of the many,” he wrote.

At Thursday’s meeting, board member Che “Rhymefest” Smith, who is an advocate for more robust arts education across CPS, once again voiced opposition to granting Chicago Arts High School more resources, saying many schools in his South Side district had not received any additional funding for arts programs. He said pushing for more resources for one favored program to the possible detriment of others “borders on corruption,” a comment for which board President Sean Harden censured him.

Blaise said she believes the idea that steering more dollars to Chicago Arts High School would siphon off resources from other campuses is “preposterous.” She noted the school’s students are predominantly Latino and Black and come from across the city.

“The narrative that this is some kind of specialty program for rich white kids is completely false,” she said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Jennifer Custer drops out of race for Chicago school board president

2026-08-27T20:35:15+00:00

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Jennifer Custer, an incumbent school board member, is withdrawing from the race to be the first elected Chicago Board of Education president.

In a statement, she said she filed paperwork Thursday with the Chicago Board of Elections to withdraw. Custer was the only candidate in the race whose petition signatures were not challenged.

“I am exiting because it became abundantly clear that various special interests are prepared to spend millions of dollars in this race,” she wrote in the statement. “Going up against that kind of spending in our political system creates an uphill battle that I ultimately decided I did not want to put my family, endorsers, volunteers, and supporters through.”

Custer did not make an endorsement, but left the door open to doing so. Four other candidates remain: Jessica Biggs, a former CPS principal and incumbent school board member; Hilario Dominguez, former political director for the Chicago Teachers Union and former special education teacher; Victor Henderson, an attorney, and Sendhil Revuluri, a consultant and former vice president of the school board appointed by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“I know the other candidates in this race well, and I will ask the same question I have asked throughout my time on the Board: Who shares my North Star of doing what is best for our children?” Custer wrote.

The former suburban educator and mom of three narrowly won her seat in 2024 over Michelle Pierre, who is now running again to represent district 1b. Custer had the support of the Chicago Teachers Union, but forged a more independent path over the past two years serving on the board.

Recently, she was the only no vote on the board’s decision to put two non-binding referendums about raising new revenue for CPS on the November ballot. Both questions were put forward by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s allies and Custer was the only one of a more independent bloc of school board members to attend the meeting. She was also the lone no vote against hiring Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King as the permanent leader.

In July, Custer joined with six other school board members to vote against an amended budget that assumes $150 million more in state revenue. She also voted against taking out a high-interest loan last year to reimburse the city for a portion of a payment to a municipal pension fund that supports non-teaching staff and retirees in CPS.

Custer’s fundraising lagged behind the other candidates in the race. One of her top donors has been the political action committee of the Operating Engineers Local 150, where her husband, Jeremy, is the political director. In April, she told Chalkbeat one of her biggest campaign expenses has been child care, which is a permissible expenditure under state campaign finance laws. Arranging care for her children had allowed her to visit schools, meet with potential supporters, and attend board meetings, she said.

In her statement, Custer thanked her campaign staff and her family, “especially my three little ones, who have seen less of me than they deserve,” she wrote.

Prior to serving on Chicago’s school board, Custer worked as a paraprofessional, and classroom teacher and administrator in school districts in Wisconsin and Chicago’s suburbs. She served for two years as president of the teachers union in Itasca and was an assistant principal and interim principal in Addison School District 4.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s first day of school brings excitement and concerns about possible budget cuts

2026-08-24T20:57:10+00:00

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Eleven-year-old Carter Darling was so excited Monday morning that he was awake before his mom and the sun.

By 6:45 a.m., Carter was wearing his backpack and the school uniform he typically hates: a black cardigan with the school’s name embroidered on the upper left corner, a white collared dress shirt, a plaid tie, gray slacks, and black sneakers.

“I feel good,” he said, smiling, before embarking on the two-block walk to his first day of sixth grade at Robert A. Black Magnet Elementary School in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side.

Carter is one of more than 300,000 Chicago Public Schools students who returned to the classroom Monday. It’s a big year for the nation’s fourth largest school district. Mayoral control is set to formally end in January and be replaced by a fully elected school board that will manage a $10 billion budget, oversee district leadership, and set the vision for the city’s more than 600 public schools.

The school board’s decisions directly affect schools like Carter’s. Last month, the current board approved a budget that assumes CPS will get $150 million more in state funding than Illinois lawmakers allocated in May. The additional money would help reverse summer layoffs, but schools could face midyear cuts if it doesn’t come.

Before Mayor Brandon Johnson rang the first bell Monday at George Leland Elementary School in the Austin neighborhood where he lives, he repeated his push for Illinois to implement a state millionaires tax to fund public education.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson walks Chicago Public School students to their first day of school at George Leland Elementary School on Aug. 24, 2026.

“We’re going into a season where we have to demand more from those who have the ability to give more to actually do more,” Johnson said. “You have politicians that have greater expectations of third graders than they do of themselves.”

Back on the South Side, Carter’s mom, Jaciel Cathey, recounted taking a photo of Carter shaking hands with Johnson last year when he visited his school alongside then-interim CPS CEO Macquline King.

Cathey learned more about the district’s budget situation during one of the district’s family webinars last week but said she still doesn’t know what it will mean for her child’s school.

“Why are we including money in the budget that is not set in stone?” she said. “You’re depending on money that is not there.”

Cathey hopes to use her new role on the school’s Local School Council to help address funding and resource gaps, including securing money to fund a crossing guard for the small but sometimes busy streets around the school.

She and Carter are also trying to remain focused on what they can control.

Carter will probably take an admissions test this fall for sixth graders interested in attending the district’s selective middle school programs, known as Academic Centers.

The family is no stranger to navigating CPS through periods of instability. Cathey grew up in the Woodlawn neighborhood and graduated from CPS schools before becoming a CPS teacher and later changing careers.

When Carter turned 3, Cathey enrolled him in a full-day preschool program at Holy Angels, a Catholic school near her Bronzeville home, with hours that allowed her to work.

Before Carter entered kindergarten, CPS schools saw midyear cuts, then received a historic funding commitment from the state. In 2019, the Chicago Teachers Union went on an 11-day strike. Cathey said this unpredictability made her want to keep him at Holy Angels through eighth grade.

“You knew they would have the staff, you knew they would have the resources,” Cathey said of the private school, which costs about $7,000 annually.

Jaciel Cathey walks her son, Carter, to school on Mon., Aug. 24, 2026 in Chicago, Il.

But Cathey felt Holy Angels focused too heavily on the arts and disciplining students and not enough on reading and math. When it was time for kindergarten, Carter applied and was admitted to Walt Disney Magnet School, a coveted public magnet school on the North Side.

They liked the school. But at the end of first grade, a white child called Carter a racial slur on the playground, Cathey said. According to an incident report reviewed by Chalkbeat, staff planned to hold a “restorative conversation” with the other child. She didn’t feel the school was being responsive enough to her or handling the situation well, so Carter returned to Holy Angels for second grade.

“Let’s put him in CPS, see what happens — well, he gets called the n-word,” Cathey said during an interview last week. “OK, let’s go back to what we know.”

CPS now has a Black Student Success Plan, meant to improve outcomes and the school experience for the city’s Black students. But the Trump administration is investigating CPS in part over the plan, claiming that it discriminates against students who aren’t Black.

By the end of second grade, the Cathey family had moved further south to Pill Hill. Black Magnet was just a five-minute walk from their new home. The state has labeled the close-knit, small school “commendable,” and students last year outpaced their peers across the district and state in math and reading proficiency.

Carter enrolled at Black Magnet in fourth grade and in the two years since, hasn’t looked back. He likes the staff, has made friends, and enjoys learning — especially the “pretty fun” projects in science, he said.

Cathey said Carter will stay at Black Magnet through eighth grade if he doesn’t get into an Academic Center. But she wants him to have “consistency” as he prepares for college, and that means leaving CPS for high school, she said.

“We need for him to get the most support that he can get and the most rigorous education that he can get without, you know, Mr. Johnson teaching math on Monday, then Mr. Johnson is laid off because Springfield didn’t send the money,” Cathey said.

As the mother and son walked up to Black on Monday morning, Cathey reminded Carter about their annual tradition of getting ice cream after school on the first day. She gave him a hug and sent him into the building with a tote filled with paper towels and tissues for his classroom.

Mila Koumpilova contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Board of Education 101: Know the basics of the soon-to-be elected board guiding Chicago Public Schools

2026-08-20T10:00:00+00:00

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If it seems like you’ve heard more about Chicago’s school board in the past two years than ever, it’s for good reason.

That’s because for the first time after 30 years of mayoral control, the Chicago Board of Education will be fully elected in November. No matter what involvement you might have with CPS — as a teacher, a parent, an administrator, a student, or a community member — all registered voters can cast a ballot for one representative from their local electoral district and one person to lead the board as president.

It’s historic. It’s unprecedented. But if you’re not tapped into CPS school board politics, it might also be confusing.

Here’s everything you need to know about the school board and the shift from mayoral control to elected representation.

What is the Chicago Board of Education?

The city’s school board is the primary entity tasked with creating the vision and setting priorities for Chicago Public Schools. Its role differs from that of CPS’ central office, led by CEO Macquline King, which handles more of the district’s day-to-day operations.

The Chicago Board of Education shares many responsibilities with school boards across the country. It is meant to follow several guiding principles laid out by the Illinois Association of Schools Boards, including clarifying the district’s purpose and monitoring its progress toward the goals it sets.

Chicago’s school board is enshrined in state law, but its structure has proven malleable in reality. Most notably, in 1995, as part of a broader state legislative package to improve CPS’ academic performance, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was given responsibility for appointing a five-member board — known as the Reform Board of Trustees — to spearhead transformative reform.

In 1999, it reverted to its old title as the Chicago Board of Education and increased its membership to seven people. It grew to 21 people after 10 members were elected in 2024 and were joined by 11 mayoral appointees.

What does Chicago’s school board specifically do?

Some Chicagoans may be most familiar with one of the board’s core functions: making financial decisions. The school board has the power to raise local property taxes and decides how to allocate local revenue and streams of state and federal funding to schools.

While more granular spending decisions are usually left to school and district administrators, the board’s budgetary clout can supersede their authority. This was demonstrated in the board’s latest budget approval last month, when a narrow majority of members voted to rescind hundreds of staff layoffs that King’s office had made to address the district’s more than $700 million budget deficit. The board instead built in a revenue assumption that state lawmakers would provide $150 million more than they had already allocated.

Another one of the board’s key powers, hiring a district leader to fill the roles of CEO and superintendent, has been in the spotlight for much of the past year. After choosing someone to head the district, the board evaluates that person’s performance.

Important paperwork, such as collective bargaining agreements with labor unions and contracts with charter school operators, also requires board approval.

A school board is supposed to be responsive to the communities it serves. In Chicago, the board now has power to gather community input through referendums. It also must gather input on proposed changes to district policies.

Receiving community input is one of the main functions of the Chicago Board of Education, which can included feedback from Chicago Public Schools students themselves.

It’s not always easy to reach a consensus on these recommendations. The board now has 21 members, each with differing views on how best to serve CPS students and educators.

Why do we have so many school board members in Chicago?

We know, 21 people is a lot of school board members. Chicago has one of the largest elected boards among major U.S. cities. It dwarfs Illinois’ average of about seven school board members per district, according to Ballotpedia.

The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill in 2021 to triple the board’s membership from seven to 21 people, including the board president.

A desire for better representation on Chicago’s school board — rather than unceasing mayoral control — played a large part in adding more members. To determine how those members would represent different parts of Chicago, state lawmakers passed separate legislation in March 2024 dividing the city into electoral districts.

The expansion received mixed feedback. Some education advocates applauded the move, while others feared the large school board would create a messier policymaking process.

As a compromise, lawmakers created a transition period that started in 2024 with the election of 10 members who joined 11 mayoral appointees for a two-year hybrid period.

Why didn’t Chicago always vote for school board members?

Outside Chicago, elected school boards aren’t a novel idea. Most school boards in Illinois and across the U.S. are elected.

Illinois legislators initiated the process to fully elect the board by 2026 in the same law that put 21 members on the Chicago Board of Education. Despite pushback from some local groups and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the bill passed the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2021.

Demands for an elected school board long preceded the bill’s passage, with prominent organizations such as the Chicago Teachers Union championing the change as a way to hold the board accountable to families and educators. Several decisions made by the appointed board had soured public perceptions of the governing body, including its unanimous vote approving former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to close about 50 schools, which disproportionately affected Black students.

As part of the path to a fully elected board, lawmakers required half the board to be elected in 2024. The other half remained mayoral appointees. Voters delivered disparate results on what local factions they wanted to represent them by voting in four CTU-backed candidates, three pro-charter candidates, and three independents.

Two years later, Chicagoans will be deciding who represents them in all 21 board positions.

Does that mean I have to vote for my school board member every two years?

It depends where you live in your district and what year it is.

Each of the 10 districts Chicagoans voted in during the 2024 election had about 275,000 residents and has since been divided into two subdistricts. Voters will elect a candidate running in their half of the district, referred to as the “a” or “b” subdistrict. That means each district will produce two elected school board members.

Per state law, members elected to replace mayoral appointees will initially serve two-year terms, while those taking office in subdistricts represented by members previously elected in 2024 will serve four-year terms.

The term lengths will swap starting in the 2028 general election. So, a school board member elected this year to serve a two-year term will be up for a four-year term if they win reelection in 2028.

What’s in it for the CPS board members? Do they get paid?

No, members do not get paid for serving on the board. Illinois state law prohibits it, although members can be reimbursed for related job expenses. Serving on the board averages about 25 to 30 hours per month for members, according to the board’s website.

Some current board members have quit their day jobs to give more of their time to the position. Critics argue the lack of pay disincentivizes working parents and teachers from running for office and have called on state lawmakers to legalize some form of compensation. An effort to make that change fizzled out in the House earlier this year.

Opponents of board compensation contend that creating salaries for board members would siphon money away from already underfunded school resources.

For now, board members are compensated with something a bit less tangible: influence over the fourth-largest school district in the country.

Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

A divided Chicago school board adds referendums on new revenue to November ballot

2026-08-13T19:24:26+00:00

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For the first time in its history, Chicago’s school board voted Thursday to put two questions on the November ballot gauging voter opinions on proposals to bring in more money for the deficit-plagued district.

One referendum would ask voters if they support a statewide millionaires tax to raise money for public education. The other would ask if they would favor a new financial penalty on the owners of vacant city land to steer additional dollars to Chicago Public Schools. The school board needed to decide on these questions before a Monday deadline to add them to the ballot.

Because both are non-binding, neither would compel the state or the city to enact the new taxes and turn the revenue over to the district. But supporters of the referendums hoped they could put pressure on state and city decision-makers. Last spring, state lawmakers considered a binding referendum to enact a millionaires tax to fund education and provide property tax relief on the ballot. But the measure failed.

In response to board members arguing the referendums do little to ease CPS’s immediate fiscal pressures, board President Sean Harden argued the board should pursue more urgent fixes but also let the public weigh in on possible longer-term solutions.

“What we have before us is a window of opportunity — pretty short in nature — to activate and use a new muscle,” he said.

The special meeting initially lacked a quorum. Some board members who showed up — largely those appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson or elected with backing from his former employer, the Chicago Teachers Union — accused their colleagues of boycotting to derail the referendums. Some of the missing board members decried the hastily called special meeting to vote on what they described as half-baked proposals and said it conflicted with prior commitments or work. The meeting was eventually reconvened, with two board members supportive of the referendums joining virtually.

The debate about the referendums comes a couple of weeks after a majority on the board rallied around a high-stakes budget gamble: They rejected educator and staff layoffs under CEO Macquline King’s budget proposals. King had argued the layoffs were a responsible way to address the district’s deficits after years of shrinking enrollments and a growing workforce. Instead, the board opted to balance the budget by assuming an influx of additional state revenue. If state lawmakers do not approve that revenue during a November veto session, the district would likely face disruptive midyear cuts and other fallout.

Angel Velez, the board vice president, invoked a growing gap between what Illinois’ formula considers “adequate” district funding and the amount CPS receives. The tax on high earners is a favored proposal of Johnson, who appointed Velez.

“This is fundamentally about how we build the public support needed to move our schools from scarcity to adequacy,” Velez said during Wednesday’s board meeting to review this month’s agenda.

Cydney Wallace, another Johnson school board appointee who introduced the vacant lot question, said the thousands lots across the city are eyesores that impact public safety and cause other issues. She cited research suggesting that developing vacant urban land leads to improvement in residents’ mental health.

“Safe passage to school should also include healthy, cared-for blocks,” she said Wednesday.

Some board members voiced concerns about how the city would target vacant land for the new financial penalty without inadvertently punishing owners who plan to develop it. Supporters of the proposals argued that it will be up to the city to work out the details.

Jennifer Custer, the sole no vote on both ballot questions, said the board must focus on finding immediate solutions to the district’s budget crisis rather than soliciting voter opinions about proposals other agencies would have to enact.

“I don’t see these as being actionable items,” she said. “I see them as window dressing to a larger problem.”

Like Custer, the Civic Federation, a nonpartisan watchdog group based in Chicago, noted in a statement that referendums make little headway in addressing CPS’ pressing financial challenges and urged the board to stay focused on fixes that it can directly control.

Jessica Biggs, a board member who like Custer is currently running for school board president, said the last-minute special meeting showed a board term “rife with chaos and disorganization.” But she said she would have backed the millionaires tax referendum if she had been able to attend.

“I have been clear that I believe it is long past time to require the very wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share so we can fully fund our schools,” she said in a statement.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the board also appointed a new chief lobbyist to lead efforts to secure the additional $150 million from the state that the board baked into its amended budget. Iris Millán, now the associate vice chancellor of government affairs and civic engagement at City Colleges of Chicago, will become CPS’s new chief of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs — a position vacant for more than a year.

Some board members, such as Michilla Blaise, ripped into colleagues who missed the Thursday meeting, accusing them of “lack of leadership.” On social media, Blaise referred to them as “the recipients of Billionaire Mike Sacks donations” — a Chicago hedge fund executive and donor to Democratic causes — invoking a line of attack against non-CTU-aligned school board members that the union has embraced ahead of the November school board races.

Several school board members criticized the hastily called meeting to take a vote, saying they couldn’t miss work or other commitments, especially after a marathon board meeting the previous day. One member, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, said the last-minute meeting to vote on proposals he said lacked detail or teeth showed “really poor planning on someone’s part.”

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

The Chicago Board of Education voted to reverse layoffs, but CPS says not all positions can be restored

2026-08-12T21:06:13+00:00

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Despite a directive from the Chicago Board of Education to reverse hundreds of layoffs across Chicago Public Schools, district officials said they can’t afford to reinstate every position cut earlier this summer.

The board’s 11-7 vote revised CPS’ proposed budget, assuming the district will get an extra $150 million in state funding, with $100 million of that going to help reverse hundreds of layoffs, including teachers and support staff. Even if that money comes through, it won’t be enough to bring back everyone who was cut, district officials said Tuesday night.

While students will see many reinstated teachers and other staff on Aug. 24, the first day of school for most students, not all laid-off educators will be able to return. CPS has not said how many employees will get their jobs back.

CPS sent out surveys Tuesday night to principals asking about their most pressing staffing needs related to students and academics and separately asked laid-off teachers if they’re interested in returning to their schools. The surveys, which Chalkbeat obtained, provide the clearest information educators have received on next steps since the board adopted its revised budget roughly two weeks ago. Teachers will be notified of possible reassignments between this weekend and the first day of school, according to the teacher survey.

Principals, whose budgets were finalized in June and likely have scheduled classes, will not have to reopen their budgets, district officials said. Instead, the district will use the survey results to hire back “selected positions” centrally and assign them to schools, the district’s acting Chief Talent Officer Jerry Taylor wrote in the survey.

The rehiring process excludes positions meant to reduce class sizes or those associated with special education, CPS said, which has a separate appeals process, Taylor wrote to principals.

During a Tuesday night webinar for families, Chief Education Officer Karime Asaf said officials are working to implement the adopted budget, but it will take time.

Asaf added that “every decision we make will always put students first, and we will always be honest with you about what is happening.”

One CPS principal addressed the school board Wednesday to decry the uncertainty and disruption that attempting to reverse layoffs is creating. Jeff Finelli, the principal at Edison Park Elementary, said restoring some positions, particularly those of assistant principals in small schools, is worthwhile. But he said kicking off the year takes months of “meticulous, relentless planning,” and rethinking staffing at this late stage is a “massive, unnecessary distraction.”

“Instead of focusing on our students and staff, principals will be forced to navigate logistical nightmares with no current answers,” he said. “This breeds confusion and takes our focus away from what’s most important.”

CPS had warned the board against revising the budget to include more money than expected, because a funding shortfall could result in midyear cuts. Securing more state funding this fiscal year would require a three-fifths majority approval from state legislators in both the House and Senate during the November veto session.

Hundreds of employees received layoff notices last month before the budget vote, including Andrew Feigenbaum, who taught third grade math and science and led an after-school club at Oscar DePriest Elementary School in the West Side’s Austin neighborhood.

CPS says 65 to 85% of laid-off teachers typically get rehired into vacant positions at other district schools. Feigenbaum said he’s applied to about 30 schools since learning of his layoff in mid-July but hasn’t heard back from any.

Feigenbaum, who has taught in CPS for two years, said he had received almost no clarity about next steps between the board vote and the district’s survey Tuesday night. He hopes to be rehired at DePriest.

Feigenbaum said he was frustrated that teachers were laid off before the board’s vote — which is typical at CPS — and wished the district would decide on a budget earlier in the spring. After teaching for more than a dozen years in other districts, Feigenbaum said the layoff experience at CPS has “kind of soured me to the district.”

“This is, like, all you see on the news — ‘the board voted to rescind the cuts’ — (but) what does it actually mean?” Feigenbaum said. “Now we fill out some survey so that maybe we’ll get our old job back, and maybe we won’t.”

Two of the major unions representing CPS workers are split on the board’s decision.

The Chicago Teachers Union pushed board members to revise the budget to pressure the state to boost dollars for CPS, which the state considers to be 70% adequately funded, and pointed to supportive statements from some key state lawmakers. On Wednesday, the union held a press conference to continue pressuring state officials for more money.

But SEIU Local 73, which represents thousands of support staffers, is skeptical more funding will come and warned that midyear cuts would devastate its members and students. Earlier this week, the union formally requested a detailed plan from CPS leadership and the board by Aug. 27 outlining what cuts would take effect without state funding and what protections it would provide to workers and families.

The union also asked state legislators, including House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, who previously said he would push for more school funding, to make concrete commitments and provide detailed plans for approving additional CPS funding during the fall veto session.

Mila Koumpilova contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Board of Elections rules on final challenges to school board candidacies

2026-08-11T18:42:22+00:00

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Four final candidates for Chicago school board — including two incumbents — survived challenges to their signature petitions and were cleared to get on the November ballot at a Tuesday meeting of the city’s Board of Elections.

The board commissioners rejected efforts to block the candidacies of board members Karen Zaccor and Michilla Blaise and would-be members Claudia Peralta and Connie Anderson. Candidate Kernetha Jones was kicked off the ballot.

With those decisions, the ballot for November’s historic Chicago school board races is close to set, though appeals of decisions clearing six candidates are pending in Cook County Circuit Court.

For the first time, Chicago residents will elect all 21 members of the board, after decades of mayoral appointments and a transition stretch in which the board was partly elected and partly appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. In three of the races, incumbent board members will be the only options on the ballot, though in at least one case a challenger has vowed to mount a write-in campaign.

The circuit court is slated to rule on a number of dual circulation petition challenges in which challengers argued the petitions should be thrown out because the candidates in the nonpartisan board races enlisted petition circulators who had also collected signatures for partisan candidates in Illinois’ March primary.

The Board of Elections commissioners roundly rejected the argument that those petitions should be invalidated earlier this year. Adam Lasker, general counsel for the board, said Tuesday he expected more appeals could follow the meeting. The board’s work on school board petition challenges is now done. `

Signature challenges to remove candidates from the city’s ballot are a longstanding fixture of Chicago’s rough-and-tumble electoral politics. Of the 51 would-be board members who filed petitions to run in November, 28 faced objections alleging issues with the signatures they collected or other problems. Most survived the bids to kick them off the ballot.

With the ballot now largely finalized, campaigning for the volunteer seats overseeing Chicago Public Schools can begin in earnest — and the races are shaping up to be costly and competitive. Candidates had already raised almost $2 million by the most recent quarterly deadline for reporting campaign fundraising to the state. Some likely heavy spenders, such as the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, have largely held off on spending until the ballot is set and the start of the school year draws more attention to school issues from parents and other voters.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board to weigh adding ballot questions about new revenue sources

2026-08-10T20:51:15+00:00

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The Chicago school board might try to place two questions on the November ballot asking the city’s voters if they would be in favor of new revenue for the cash-strapped district.

One would ask residents whether Illinois should impose a millionaires tax to boost K-12 education funding statewide, and the other would gauge their support for new financial penalties on owners of undeveloped city land to increase Chicago Public Schools funding. Both are nonbinding, which means neither would legally require the state or the city to enact the proposals.

In an email to school board members sent Monday and obtained by Chalkbeat, a school board staffer invoked a 2011 law she said gave the board the ability to place advisory questions on the ballot following a simple majority vote.

“The Board has a unique opportunity to utilize this authority now and make inroads for new revenue for the district,” wrote Fae Rabin, the board’s chief of staff.

The city’s Board of Elections would have to approve the referendums by next Monday to place them on the ballot, so the school board plans to discuss them at Wednesday’s agenda review meeting and vote at a special Thursday meeting.

Last month, a divided board approved a budget that reversed layoffs in the district administration’s own spending plan and addressed a funding gap by assuming an influx in additional revenue from the state. District leaders have vowed to press the state to come through on the extra dollars, arguing that despite significant funding increases in recent years, CPS remains well short of what Illinois considers “adequate” funding. But the prospects of lawmakers approving such an increase during a November veto session in the fall are murky, placing the district at risk of highly disruptive midyear budget cuts.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has argued in favor of a new tax on the state’s high earners. But efforts to pass legislation that would have placed a millionaires tax on the November ballot fizzled out in the state legislature this past spring. A majority of school board members were appointed by Johnson or elected with backing from his allies at the Chicago Teachers Union, so they might be eager to extend the push to the fall election, even though the referendums wouldn’t be legally binding.

Board President Sean Harden could not be reached for comment.

One independently elected school board member, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, said he is checking on the board’s legal authority to add the questions to the ballot and voiced concern about the rushed bid to vote on them this week, rather than during the board’s regular monthly meeting. He noted that the questions include no specifics about how the district would use the additional money to help students.

“If we’re asking the state to amend our funding formula, we have to show we can govern responsibly and connect funding to student improvement,” he said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Despite state funding increase, gap to adequately fund schools widens in most Illinois districts

2026-08-08T00:07:47+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools is further away from having enough money to meet its students’ needs as defined by the state, according to new data released by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Under ISBE’s calculations released Friday, CPS is now considered a little over 70% adequately funded, compared with 73% last year. CPS isn’t alone in that shift. More than 700 school districts regressed from hitting the state’s target of 90% funding adequacy, a metric reached by assessing a district’s student population and ability to pay for a variety of common cost factors.

The backslide is due, in part, to the state changing how it counted low-income students. Officials said they decided to count students “who were eligible for federal social programs as of July 1,” including Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program, or SNAP.

The widening gap in funding adequacy for hundreds of districts, including Chicago, adds fuel to the Chicago Teachers Union’s argument that the city’s schools need lawmakers to commit more money. The Board of Education echoed this sentiment when they recently passed a budget assuming the state will increase funding during the fall veto session in November.

Illinois Federation of Teachers and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates called the funding distribution a “wake-up call” to the state. However, amending the state’s budget now would be hard and require a three-fifths majority vote.

Illinois’ way of funding schools assumes students with higher-needs cost more to educate. Adequacy targets for each district fluctuate annually based on the students being served, which is why an increase in low-income students raises the cost the formula says is necessary to reach adequacy.

Identifying low-income students for the formula is likely to change further next year. Illinois lawmakers put $200,000 in this year’s budget for the state education department to come up with a new way to count low-income students in response to the Trump administration’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which cut funding for many social programs.

There was a 43% rise in low-income students this year, according to ISBE. That coupled with lower property tax revenues and increases in teacher salaries and instructional material costs are what is driving districts away from being adequately funded, state Superintendent Tony Sanders told reporters in a webinar Friday.

Schools get at least the same amount of money they received the year prior. Districts furthest from achieving adequate funding are first in line to receive more money. Lawmakers added $350 million — the typical annual funding commitment — this year as part of the state budget.

Despite more districts faltering in their march toward adequate funding, total state spending on K-12 schools totals over $9 billion. That’s up by more than $2 billion since evidence-based funding was introduced in 2017.

Notably, that money is unrestricted. So districts do not have to use the money exactly in line with where the state identified heightened needs.

Zooming in on Chicago’s state funding this year

Chicago Public Schools remains one of the neediest districts in Illinois.

Overall, CPS will get about $1.9 billion from the state for the 2026-27 school year. That’s nearly $66 million – or about one-fifth — of the $350 million increase in state education funding. But it falls just short of the $2 billion the Chicago Board of Education hopes to get.

Last week, the school board passed an amended budget that increased the amount it expected to get from the state through the evidence-based formula, from $1.9 billion to $2 billion. Additionally, it assumes $50 million more from a separate pot of state funding that’s meant to reimburse CPS for other services, such as special education and student transportation costs.

The board also directed CPS CEO Macquline King to reverse hundreds of staff layoffs as part of its new budget.

If the funding doesn’t come through, schools may be forced to cut staff or programs in the middle of the school year. While King urged the board not to assume more funding than CPS was expecting, she and board members have said they will press the state to boost its support during the Illinois legislature’s November veto session, which would require three-fifths of lawmakers in the state House and Senate to approve.

“We will be working with our government partners at both the city and the state level to secure the additional funding that our schools need, and we really hope that you stay tuned so that we can inform you how you can help us with that advocacy for additional school funding,” King said Thursday evening during a webinar for the public.

If lawmakers agreed to give CPS more money, Sanders said ISBE would advocate that all districts get a funding increase.

Disbursements of funds to districts should start Monday, according to ISBE.

Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org. Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

15 more Chicago campuses join Sustainable Community Schools program

2026-08-03T22:05:41+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools will open 15 more Sustainable Community Schools this upcoming school year, meaning roughly 10% of district schools will receive extra funding to partner with nonprofit organizations and provide wraparound support for students and families.

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the expansion Monday morning at Malcolm X College, where he was joined by allied Chicago Board of Education members, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, and several educators whose schools are part of the program or are joining this year.

There are now 51 schools in the program, which CPS launched in 2018 with the CTU. A Chalkbeat analysis last year found the schools have mixed outcomes and have left millions of dollars unspent. The district’s contract with the union requires 70 schools to join the initiative by the end of its contract in 2028. Of the city’s roughly 630 public schools, which includes charters and others run by independent operators, 520 are run by the district.

Schools in the program receive $500,000 annually to work with a community-based organization and provide extra programming and support for students and parents, such as hiring more mental health professionals. Schools must apply to join.

Johnson said the expansion connects to his vision of creating more resources for communities, such as more affordable housing and “holistic solutions” to violence.

“This model provides more than an education,” he said. “It is the hub of wraparound, academic, and social support that’s extended to the entire community.”

The expansion is a sign that the “days of school closures, consolidation, and privatization has ended officially,” Johnson added — a potential nod to candidates for school board he doesn’t align with, who may be interested in closing schools in response to CPS’s dipping enrollment.

District officials, the union, and school leaders have described the program as a godsend for schools with lots of students from low-income families. The office that oversees the Sustainable Community Schools program is slated to spend about 57% more than it budgeted last year, from about $24.6 million to $38.6 million, according to the district’s latest budget book.

But since the program’s launch, schools and their partner organizations have left more than $6.6 million unspent, according to a Chalkbeat analysis last December. Chalkbeat also found that internal tensions and staff turnover sometimes strained partnerships between schools and nonprofit organizations.

Student outcomes are mixed. Schools that originally joined the program now have higher graduation rates than schools that didn’t get into the program. Suspensions dropped among all schools in the program, as they did at similar schools outside the program. But chronic absenteeism is higher, and enrollment is lower, at participating schools.

To combat some of these challenges, CPS changed how schools join the program, said Megan Hougard, chief of college and career success at CPS.

Previously, schools and organizations did not meet before schools applied, she said.

This year, CPS expanded the list of nonprofits that schools can partner with. Interested schools then met with the organizations, picked which one to work with, and applied together, Hougard said.

Now, she said, “there’s shared expectations, and then there’s just a checkpoint of, ‘Is this the right match?’”

One of the new schools in the program is Gage Park High School on the Southwest Side. Mike Norwood, a physical education teacher at Gage Parktold the crowd at Malcolm X that he “almost started crying” when his principal told him the 300-student school had been selected. He said the school has a strong environment but “needed a miracle” to help boost resources for its neediest students.

The opportunity will allow the school, which is partnering with the Southwest Organizing Project, to create more clubs and activities for kids, such as job training, he said.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” he said. “Now, it takes a school to raise a community.”

Becky Vevea contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s school board rescinded many layoffs with uncertain money. What’s next?

2026-07-31T23:38:15+00:00

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A divided Chicago school board passed a nearly $10 billion budget late Thursday that preserves jobs but relies on an additional $150 million in state funding that may not materialize.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King, whose proposal included cuts that the board amended, swiftly sent an email to parents sounding an alarm and floating the possibility that school may not start on time Aug. 24.

“As it stands right now, though, we do not know if we will be able to secure the short-term financing needed to pay our employees in September, which would effectively shut down the district just as staff and students are set to return,” King said in her Thursday night email to families.

Multiple financial experts say that is unlikely because the district should be able to secure a short-term loan, albeit with high interest.

Last year’s budget avoided cuts to the classroom. This year’s budget drama is set against a larger political backdrop. CPS has long argued that the state underfunds the district under Illinois’ school funding formula. A majority of board members, most appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, are betting the state will act. But state lawmakers and the governor have already approved a budget, and changes now would be difficult.

Coming months before a November election in which every seat on the school board will be on the ballot, competing views over the budget could prove to be a core campaign issue.

Here’s what parents should know about what’s happening, what it could mean for schools, and what might happen next.

Will school start on time?

CPS did not respond to questions about why schools might not open as scheduled. But a delayed opening is unlikely and unprecedented.

Previously, CPS said that passing a budget Thursday would allow the district to secure short-term borrowing by Sept. 2, just in time to make the Sept. 4 payroll.

CPS needs the loan to make up for late county property tax payments. That loan, designed for government bodies facing short-term cash flow needs, would help cover a missing $400 million of $700 million the district needs for operations in September, according to a memo CPS sent board members this week that Chalkbeat obtained.

Experts said the district will probably be able to secure loans in the time frame it needs.

But, it’s going to cost the district more in interest.

“It’s probable, if not almost a near certainty, that they’ll end up paying more for it because of the budget as well as the short time frame,” said Lisa Washburn, managing director at Municipal Market Analytics, Inc., a market and credit analysis research firm.

Lenders may want to scrutinize CPS’ finances more than usual because the approved budget relies on uncertain money, which could slow down the process, said Justin Marlowe, a municipal finance expert at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

“(Investors) haven’t done that so far, but a budget that assumes a bunch of state revenue that may or may not arrive is good reason to ask tough questions you’ve never asked before,” Marlowe said in an email.

What if CPS doesn’t have the cash it needs to pay staff?

There are legal consequences for missing payroll, including violations of multiple state labor laws and union contracts that could result in lawsuits and criminal charges, the district wrote in its memo.

It could also mean no school.

“Because employees cannot be compelled to work without compensation, missed payroll will likely result in immediate strikes, walkouts, or work refusals that will halt district operations,” the memo said.

The district could ask its unions for grace on paychecks. CTU and the principals union supported the modified budget plan, but SEIU Local 73, which represents thousands of support staffers who are among the district’s lowest paid, opposed it.

In 1980, Chicago Public Schools was locked out of the bond markets and failed to make payroll multiple times. Then-Gov. Jim Thompson convened city leaders, school officials, unions, and bankers to broker a deal to bail out the troubled school system. They created a separate body known as the School Finance Authority, which could access the markets and get the district the money it needed. This became the precursor to mayoral control in 1995.

Now, CPS is transitioning back to local control, with a hybrid school board made up of 11 mayoral appointees and 10 members elected in 2024. All 21 seats are also on the ballot this Nov. 3, adding a layer of electoral politics to the tensions.

What are the chances the state sends CPS more money?

Revising state revenue for Chicago schools upward by $150 million would require an amendment to the state budget, which passed in May. Any changes require a three-fifths majority of state lawmakers. That’s 36 votes in the Senate and 71 votes in the House, including legislators who don’t represent Chicago and would likely seek funding for their districts, too.

Gov. JB Pritzker said Friday that state funding for school districts is already a “known quantity,” and that if Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has a plan for adding supplemental funding, as he implied Wednesday, the governor hasn’t seen it.

“He seems to have a plan or is planning to put something together, and so I look forward to seeing that,” Pritzker said.

It’s not clear whether there are enough votes for such a measure to pass during a veto session in November. Even if it did, that money would likely come through later in the school year.

Pritzker noted that the state has increased K-12 education funding by about $3 billion since he took office in 2018. CPS has seen state revenue increase by nearly $1 billion in that time. The district’s budget has grown from about $6 billion in 2018 to just under $10 billion this year.

CTU and aligned school board members argue that the state’s formula for distributing money to schools, which changed in 2017 before Pritzker took office, promised to get all schools to an adequate funding level by 2027. The state is not on track to hit that goal but the union is putting pressure on Pritzker, Welch, and other state lawmakers to do so.

Will teachers who were laid off from my school be rehired?

The modified budget plan calls for spending $100 million to rescind layoffs that happened earlier this month. Another $50 million would go toward easing a hiring and spending freeze later in the school year.

Nelsen Gerew, chief of internal and public affairs at the Chicago Fund for Public Education, said CPS could give money back to schools and let them handle rehiring, or the district could reverse its own cuts, which would be more complicated.

“Is the idea that we’ll try to get schools back to where they were (last school year)?” Gerew said.

Principals have been working with budgets approved in June and have likely rearranged class schedules for the upcoming year. Teachers who were laid off may have been rehired elsewhere. The CTU contract allows a tenured teacher who has been laid off to return to a school within 10 months if there’s a vacancy and they’re rated proficient or higher.

Will there be midyear cuts at my school?

If the money the school board is expecting from the state doesn’t come through, schools may be forced to cut staff and other resources in the middle of the year to make up the difference.

However, other sources of revenue could increase. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson could declare a larger surplus from special taxing districts known as TIF, or tax increment financing, meant to spur economic development. Last year, he did, and CPS got $576 million. This year, CPS initially projected $200 million in TIF surplus and revised it earlier this week to $285 million. This revision allowed them to remove furloughs from its initial budget plan.

Johnson faces reelection in February 2027, although he has yet to announce his intentions.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Seeking to reverse layoffs, Chicago school board approves budget, assuming more state money will come

2026-07-31T01:50:09+00:00

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Bucking warnings from Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King, the school board amended and narrowly passed a roughly $10 billion budget proposal Thursday that assumes the district will receive $150 million more in state funding than projected.

Eleven board members voted to reverse hundreds of school-based staff layoffs included in King’s proposal, heeding the demands of the Chicago Teachers Union and the principals union.

Appointed board members Anusha Thotakura, Debby Pope, Cydney Wallace, Angel Velez, Ed Bannon, Emma Lozano, Karen Zaccor, Michilla Blaise, and Norma Rios-Sierra, as well as elected board members Jitu Brown and Ebony DeBerry voted to increase the state funding projection of $2.78 billion by another $150 million.

Elected board members Angel Gutierrez, Carlos Rivas, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, Ellen Rosenfeld, Jennifer Custer, Jessica Biggs, and Therese Boyle voted no. Elected board member Yesenia Lopez abstained.

District officials pushed the school board to approve the budget this week so they could secure short-term borrowing by Sept. 2 — two days before paychecks go out — and avoid a “de-facto shutdown” of schools. In a statement after the vote, a spokesperson said the district “cannot guarantee that CPS will receive financing in time for the September 4 payroll” given the board’s changes.

“Failing to meet payroll is unacceptable,” the statement said. “This places the District at significant risk of being in violation of the law and collective bargaining agreements. It may also damage our credit rating and severely restrict our future borrowing capacity for capital projects and operational needs. Most critically, any disruption in pay directly threatens the stability of our schools, impacting our students, families, and dedicated staff.”

The vote came after hours of public testimony and an unusual two-hour recess. During that time, CPS lawyers provided legal advice about amending the budget, according to multiple sources.

Earlier this week, after a push from SEIU Local 73, CPS took furloughs out of its proposal by increasing the amount it expects to receive in special taxing district dollars, known as TIF surplus dollars, which are controlled by the mayor and City Council.

But board members and the Chicago Teachers Union want more pressure on state lawmakers, who have not yet fulfilled a goal to fund all schools to what it considers 90% adequacy. The state considers CPS funded at 73%.

“If we’re not including the state in this conversation, we are fooling ourselves and we are robbing our kids of opportunities,” said appointed board member Michilia Blaise, who introduced the plan to revise King’s budget. “Let’s make it clear to our students that cuts to school communities will not come lightly.”

With the state’s veto session scheduled for November, it’s not clear any new money would come in time for this school year.

Some key Democratic lawmakers have promised to help boost school funding, including House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch. At the board meeting, State Senator Robert Martwick, who represents parts of the Northwest Side and some suburbs, told board members he will fight for more funding.

King warns of consequences to revising her budget proposal

Before the vote, King defended her budget plan, noting that CPS has lost 45,000 students in the last seven years but has hired 10,000 more staffers. Despite school-level cuts, she noted most laid off staffers are rehired in other vacant positions and highlighted an increase in special education and bilingual staff.

She also warned of the risks of assuming more state funds will come through. King recalled her time as a principal in 2017, when CPS had adopted a budget expecting more state funding than previous years that didn’t come through after then-Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed related legislation. CPS imposed big cuts, and King had to lay off staff at her school.

“This was severely disruptive to my students,” King said. “Those are the faces that I see. Those are the conversations that I recall, and that is why I put forth the recommended budget that I did.”

School board has a heated debate

Board members were starkly divided.

Several elected board members not aligned with the teachers union and Mayor Brandon Johnson underscored the risks of assuming there will be more state money.

Elected member Jennifer Custer called the idea of expecting a $150 million increase in state money a “hallucination.” Elected board member Che “Rhymefest” Smith said he will help advocate for more funding from the state and the city.

Smith, a rapper and songwriter, recited a poem he crafted in response to one delivered during public comment by a CTU member: “They say the mayor owes a billy, give it again and again, and don’t make us look silly,” referencing the $1 billion in TIF dollars the mayor and City Council surplused last year, of which CPS got $577 million.

Board president Sean Harden warned TIF surplus is not a guarantee either.

At least a dozen school staffers, clad in bright red CTU shirts, urged the board to revise the budget and push the state to pay up. Several teachers said teacher layoffs mean bigger class sizes and breaking relationships with students.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates acknowledged the difficult decisions King and her team faced and laid the blame on state lawmakers, including Gov. JB Pritzker. She said the union will help CPS pressure the state.

“Let’s assume that doing this together makes it impossible for people to keep telling us no,” said Davis Gates, who is also the president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. Board member Jitu Brown also said he believes the “political will” to boost state education funding is there.

Dian Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73, which represents 16,000 support staffers, remained skeptical that a majority of state lawmakers will agree to increase CPS funding.

“Unsecured revenue cannot pay our (Special Education Classroom Assistants) rent in September,” Palmer said. “It cannot guarantee a bus aide on the bus when school opens. Our students do not get to wait for Springfield to make up its mind, and neither should this board.”

Kia Banks, head of the principals union, supported an amended budget. She said she was encouraged that Illinois House Speaker Welch is interested in boosting funding.

“If (funding) doesn’t come through, like in 2017, it’s devastating, and I don’t think they would want that on their record,” Banks said of state lawmakers.

But Justin Marlowe, director of the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, said the state now has “far less” incentive to act. If the state can’t come up with the money, “CPS will have to own the consequences,” he said in an email.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema atramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools’ lunchroom staff move closer to strike

2026-07-30T23:21:56+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools’ lunchroom workers are taking steps toward a possible strike, their union announced Thursday.

Unite Here Local 1 delivered a letter to the school district Thursday asking to start a fact-finding process in its year-long contract negotiations. In that process, a fact-finder that’s a third party reviews each side’s argument and issues their findings. According to state law, school district workers can’t go on strike until at least 30 days after a fact-finding report has been publicly released.

The escalation comes as the school board is poised to vote on the district’s nearly $10 billion budget plan for the 2026-27 school year, which includes layoffs and other program cuts. Earlier this week, officials revised the plan to eliminate five furlough days for all staff.

A Chalkbeat analysis of the budget plan found lunchroom funds are poised to shrink slightly and some vacant lunchroom positions are set to be eliminated. Unite Here Local 1 represents roughly 1,800 lunch workers in CPS.

During remarks to the board on Thursday, Tawanda Murray, an executive board member of the union, highlighted a union survey of lunchroom workers last year that found 47% of respondents reported struggling to pay for housing, and 22% said their families rely on food pantries.

Last year, CPS reduced kitchen workers and told families that students would get more cold meals and simplified menus.

The union is pushing the district to raise pay for lunchroom workers to at least $40,000 annually and staff up school kitchens. In April, Chicago Police cited about two dozen lunchroom workers during a planned act of civil disobedience in order to raise awareness about its demands.

On Thursday, workers picketed outside of the Board of Education headquarters downtown in front of a giant inflatable rat, a longstanding feature of union rallies.

Jesse Hernandez, a cook at Columbia Explorers Academy, said he makes $24 an hour and has about $300 left in his paycheck after he pays his bills.

He said bartends on the weekends to make ends meet and wishes he had more time to spend with his grandchildren. He said he’s moving soon because he can’t afford his current apartment.

Hernandez said he’s prepared to go on strike in order to secure more pay for himself and his colleagues, adding that his coworkers who are lunchroom assistants are earning closer to $17 an hour.

“That’s why I’m here, fighting for them and for myself,” Hernandez said.

CPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Becky Vevea contributed reporting.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago to cut funding earmarked for schools that replaced police with restorative justice policies

2026-07-30T22:15:11+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools is poised to cut in half the money and staff the district provided to some high schools after they removed police officers stationed at their campuses.

High schools were given money roughly equivalent to a school resource officer’s annual salary in order to implement alternative approaches to safety, known as Whole School Safety Plans.

A Chalkbeat analysis of the proposed 2026-27 budget found that funding for Whole School Safety Plans at 54 high schools would go from $8.7 million to $4 million and the number of positions would go from 80 to 42. Most schools would see a reduction from $160,000 or more to around $80,000 and the loss of roughly one position, under the proposed budget.

At the same time, CPS plans to roll out a new framework, designed to help all schools implement a wide-ranging policy related to safety and student well-being passed in 2024. That policy requires teaching social-emotional learning, having restorative practices, staffing a behavioral health team, maintaining at least one security guard, and annually updating an emergency management plan, among other things.

District officials and advocates who long fought to remove police and end harsh discipline practices said the framework is meant to expand those approaches beyond a subset of high schools.

In a statement, CPS officials characterized the money schools received after removing police as “temporary supplemental funding” and that it is now being “phased-out.”

“This is a planned adjustment to temporary transition funding, not a reduction in the District’s commitment to Whole School Safety,” the statement said. CPS also said they added 10 new climate team security officer positions and reclassified 28 other school climate positions.

Calls to remove police from Chicago high schools started years before 2020, when Local School Councils began voting on their removal. That year, 17 campuses cut school-based cops. In the years that followed, more schools voted to remove police, and in exchange, the district provided those campuses “trade-in” funding to support climate and culture coordinators, restorative justice coordinators, social workers, and security guards.

Researchers at the University of Chicago studied the impact of removing police and shifting to restorative practices at CPS high schools and found declines in school-based arrests and high-level discipline violations. Students said they felt a stronger sense of safety and belonging.

In 2024, the Chicago Board of Education, then made up of seven members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, voted to cut the district’s contract with the Chicago Police Department and remove all school resource officers ahead of the 2024-25 school year.

Before that, CPS had a contract with the police department to station officers at schools. The cost was $33 million dollars in 2020, but fell to $11 million in 2022 before the board’s 2024 vote. CPS staffs security guards at all schools and budget documents show their ranks remain stable at more than 1800 in the proposed budget.

Jitu Brown, an elected school board member and longtime advocate for restorative justice practices, said the district needs to continue the work of undoing “decades of zero-tolerance policies that targeted Black and Brown youth and looked at our young people through a lens of hate.”

“I will personally check in to make sure that the resources you need will be provided, that you’re getting the support that you need from the district level to make sure that we can implement this plan,” Brown said at a news conference Thursday morning.

Maria Degillo, Youth Director of Communities United and a longtime activist on the issue, downplayed the cuts, noting these funds have only been available to about two dozen high schools that had voted to remove police. She said it’s more important to train staff inside all schools to be part of building safe school environments.

“We can’t think about it as just one position,” Degillo said. “Rather, how are you actually creating again a space where everybody feels like this is a part of what they do and this is how they move in their school?”

Ronan Shableski, the chief of safety and security for Chicago Public Schools, said his office is focused on making sure the Whole School Safety framework is implemented citywide.

“The safest schools aren’t just the ones that respond well to emergencies; they’re the ones that help prevent them,” Shableski said.

Shableski and Degillo said the district and community organizations plan to start training principals and assistant principals on the new framework starting in August.

This story has been updated to include a statement from Chicago Public Schools.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools budget conflict revolves around revenue assumptions, timing

2026-07-29T23:46:59+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education is expected to vote on a $9.96 billion budget plan Thursday that would cut hundreds of teachers but beef up special education staff and freeze some spending in 2027.

The board legally has until late August to approve a budget. But CPS officials are pushing for approval this week to avoid missing payroll in September.

Many board members don’t like the cuts in the current spending plan. Some say they’re a painful necessity to balance the budget. Others say the district should keep pushing for more state money, press the county over a tax-revenue issue, and pass a budget that assumes those dollars will come through.

Why does CPS have to pass a budget this week to make September payroll?

Two reasons: the late distribution of property taxes and the need to borrow money.

Local property taxes, which are collected by Cook County and distributed to government agencies such as CPS, make up roughly half of the district’s operating budget. Almost all property tax dollars that end up at CPS go toward running the district’s daily operations, including salaries.

CPS is expected to receive $4.5 billion in property taxes this fiscal year.

But when the money actually gets to CPS depends on when the county collects the tax. In recent years, technological glitches have delayed tax bills, resulting in CPS and other school districts not getting local revenue in time to cover their expenses.

The district used to have billions of extra federal COVID relief dollars to help cushion the delay, said Wally Stock, acting chief financial officer at CPS. It can no longer do that because the relief funding has ended.

Stock said CPS is missing roughly $250 million in spring tax money. The county treasurer’s office says the figure is closer to $70-80 million, and a “significant portion” of it will be distributed to CPS this week. CPS has said that money, which was owed last fiscal year, won’t impact the upcoming budget.

Why does CPS need to borrow money?

When the county is late giving property tax revenue to CPS, the district takes out Tax Anticipation Notes, or TANs, a form of short-term borrowing that’s paid off when tax dollars come in.

Stock said CPS needs a few weeks to secure a loan in order to cover payroll by September, which is why it needs a budget now. Lenders require an approved budget and tax levy, the district said.

But Justin Marlowe, the director of the Center for Municipal Finance at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, said lenders typically want some kind of guarantee that revenue will come through and they’ll get paid back with interest, so it’s possible CPS could find a willing lender without an approved budget. But the district “would get much more favorable terms,” such as better interest rates, with an approved budget, he said.

CPS has a junk bond rating and therefore pays higher interest rates. District officials estimate it’s spent $80 million in interest since 2020 on short-term loans to make up for late property tax payments.

The county is considering extending a bridge loan to CPS. The county has about $300 million to offer in bridge loans, which isn’t enough to cover payroll, and TANs would still be necessary, Stock said.

Can CPS change the revenue assumptions to avoid cuts?

Earlier this week, CPS leaders nixed a plan for five-day furloughs by increasing how much it expects to receive from special taxing districts, known as TIFs. This amount will not be clear until the city passes its own budget in November or December.

On Tuesday, the district revised its TIF surplus estimate from $200 million to $285 million, compared to $576 million last year.

The Chicago Teachers Union and some allied board members have said that CPS should also anticipate getting more money from the state. That money makes up about one-third of CPS’ operating budget. The union and board members argue that despite an increase in school funding every year, lawmakers have not fulfilled a funding promise made a decade ago. The state formula estimates CPS is 79% of the way to being adequately funded.

But the district’s state money projections are more concrete. They’re based on the budget state lawmakers approved in May.

In a public letter in the Chicago Tribune Wednesday, school board vice president Angel Velez argued that the board can pass a budget that keeps central office and other cuts but “budgets for the revenue our students are owed,” including from the state and a county bridge loan, and “can be amended later if our partners in government fall short.”

“If the state ultimately forces us to truly consider reducing our workforce, let it be after every other option has been exhausted and our constituents have seen us try to prevent it,” he wrote.

In an interview, Velez said passing the current budget plan does not “pressure the state to commit” to what it promised.

If Velez’s suggestion works, CPS could avoid some level of its proposed cuts. If it doesn’t, CPS would have to amend its budget and risk midyear cuts or layoffs, something CPS CEO Macquline King said she had to do as a principal in 2017 when anticipated state revenue didn’t come through.

“We will continue to advocate with our partners at all levels of government to get the funding we know our students need,” King said in a statement Wednesday. “But trying to balance the budget on unrealized state revenue at the 11th hour would be a mistake with devastating short-and-long-term consequences.”

Passing a budget based on uncertain revenue, such as state aid, can result in higher interest costs when CPS tries to borrow money, said Lisa Washburn, managing director at Municipal Market Analytics. CPS carries one of the highest debt burdens among the nation’s school districts.

Even if the state approved more funding — which House Speaker Chris Welch said this week he’s interested in — it’s unclear if it would come this fiscal year, she said.

“Anybody can build a budget on hope [but] hope is not a strategy, and it may be that the state eventually does come through with additional cash, but there isn’t evidence that is going to happen anytime soon,” Washburn said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools cuts staffing slightly but special education positions will rise at some campuses

2026-07-28T21:08:38+00:00

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Amid Chicago Public Schools’ budget challenges, the district’s campuses will start the upcoming school year with a less than 1% cut in overall staffing compared with last year, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of school budgets posted last week.

But the cuts vary across the district’s 500-plus schools. More than 200 schools will have more staff positions, mostly driven by hundreds of new special education positions that CPS says are necessary to meet student needs.

At some schools, there are staff increases of as much as 22% compared to this time last year, while others are losing nearly 20% of their positions. The positions affected by the cuts are wide ranging, from counseling positions to teachers meant to reduce class size ratios.

The school-based staffing figures come as the district tries to close a $732.5 million deficit. The Chicago Board of Education is expected to vote on the district’s nearly $10 billion budget plan, which includes hundreds more special education teaching positions but many other layoffs. CPS on Tuesday nixed a plan for five-day furloughs next school year.

At individual schools, the changes in staffing ranges from a single part-time position to 16 positions.

The schools with staffing increases serve an average 70% of students who are from low-income households, on par with the districtwide average. Roughly 270 schools will have fewer staff compared with this time last year. At those schools, three-quarters of students on average are from low-income households, slightly higher than the district as a whole.

Forty-one schools won’t have a change in positions compared with last fall. At those schools, 68% of kids on average come from low-income families.

These budget figures also don’t tell the full story of decisions that principals must make, according to one principal, who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Her school — where students are overwhelmingly from low-income families — is gaining a couple of positions to open a special education cluster program. But the school also had to cut some non-teaching positions in order to keep a teacher, she said.

While she said her school is faring better than many others, she and her staff are “feeling the impact.”

“We had to make tough decisions,” she said.

Chalkbeat’s analysis excludes staffing for charter and contract schools, including a group of former charter and contract schools that will become district schools in the fall, because district data does not provide enough information about their staffing levels.

The district is slated to spend about $18 million less, or about 2% less, on charter schools, according to CPS budget information. However, it has budgeted $27.6 million for the upcoming school year to absorb and reopen five former Acero charter schools and Chicago High School for the Arts — a former contract school — as district-run schools.

The data shows how many positions schools got before the start of the school year compared with the same point in time last year. But the figures don’t capture whether schools gained or lost staff during last school year.

In a fact sheet about school budgets, the district said its goal “is to ensure staff are placed where most needed across the District in an effort to best serve all schools and decrease vacancies in high-need positions and schools.”

Officials said schools’ staffing changes are due to changes to enrollment, student needs, changes to programs, and how individual schools decided to spend their discretionary dollars.

The district also tightened its needs-based formula for funding schools and incorporated enrollment in more.

The formula is largely based on a school’s needs rather than the number of students enrolled, to decide how many positions schools get. It assigns each school an Opportunity Index number based on many factors, including how many low-income students a school serves and the life expectancy in the area.

This year — as overall CPS enrollment dipped again after a couple of years of small gains — the district tweaked its formula by slightly increasing student-to-teacher ratios and the Opportunity Index score needed to warrant some additional positions.

CPS has emphasized that class size limits won’t change and are enshrined in its contract with the Chicago Teachers Union.

The district said it limited cuts to positions. It decided that elementary schools wouldn’t lose more than four “foundational” — or core — teacher positions, and high schools wouldn’t lose more than six, regardless of their enrollment or Opportunity Index scores.

Foreman High School will gain special education positions but lose other teaching positions, and it will lose one position overall.

The school’s Opportunity Index rose, which warded off additional cuts, said Jessica Keirns, a member of Foreman’s Local School Council. Almost 90% of Foreman students come from low-income families, and many are English learners, she said.

The index is protecting “some of the most vulnerable students in our city,” Keirns said.

For Lizette Garcia, the mother of a rising first grader at Nightingale Elementary School on the Southwest Side, hearing of additional cuts is frustrating because the school already feels tight on resources, she said. The school, where 83% of kids come from low-income households, will lose five more positions, or nearly a 5% staff reduction.

The school enrolled 862 students last year. At the time, her son’s kindergarten class had 30 students. Her son was struggling with reading, and she wondered if the class size made it harder for the teacher and her assistant to support students.

The school opened a new kindergarten classroom midway through the year, and his class got smaller, she said.

“But by that time, he was already behind,” Garcia said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools CEO King removes furloughs from the budget proposal ahead of vote

2026-07-28T19:03:58+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools removed its proposal for five furlough days next school year, the district announced Tuesday ahead of the Chicago Board of Education’s Thursday budget vote.

The furloughs would have started in January and applied to all staff districtwide on days when students are already scheduled to be off. The district revised its revenue assumptions to avoid having the unpaid days off.

CPS said the change is in response to feedback from the community but also comes after pushback from some board members, as well as the unions representing teachers and support staff. The latter, SEIU Local 73, demanded Monday that CPS revise its revenue projections for special city taxing dollars, known as TIF surplus, to prevent furloughs. CPS said it will do just that: The district will increase its TIF surplus dollars projection by $85 million — to $285 million.

In a statement Tuesday, Dian Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73, said the union applauds the decision.

The actual TIF amount won’t be clear until the City Council adopts its budget, which typically happens toward the end of the year. CPS’s new TIF surplus assumption is less than half of the record amount it received last year after months of conflict with the mayor’s office. In an interview last week, King said she has been discussing her budget plans with city leaders but hasn’t received concrete TIF figures.

The district’s nearly $10 billion budget proposal would cut hundreds of other staffers, increase special education staffing, and freeze some spending after January.

While the board can legally wait until late August to pass a budget, King is pushing them to vote Thursday so that CPS has enough time to issue short-term borrowing and make September payroll. Eleven board members, or a majority of the 21-member board, must vote yes for the budget to pass.

“It became clear that to alleviate any potential stressors or possible disruption to the start of the school year, we needed to update the proposed budget,” King said in a statement.

Last week, a dozen teachers and the Chicago Teachers Union blasted furloughs and layoffs during a budget hearing.

CTU has for months pressed state lawmakers for more funding but said in an online post last week that the district was “undercounting” how much TIF money the mayor would make available. The mayor has the power to declare a surplus on any money in TIF accounts that is not earmarked for a specific project. By doing so, all taxing bodies get a portion of the funds and by law, CPS is entitled to roughly half of any surplus.

Separately, the Illinois Federation of Teachers is suing Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas on behalf of the CTU and suburban union members to release tax revenue that hasn’t made it to the district.

In a statement, CTU and IFT president Stacy Davis Gates said that the revised proposal still doesn’t include enough staff and urged the board to keep revising or delay a vote “until the budget addresses our students’ needs,” she said.

“What is on the table is still a very rough draft that would cause permanent harm to Chicago’s students,” Davis Gates said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools could take another crack at overhauling its middle management

2026-07-22T22:11:33+00:00

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As Chicago Public Schools weighed budget cuts this summer, officials revisited a familiar target: middle management.

Staffing in the district’s 18 network offices that serve as bridges between schools and district headquarters nearly doubled over the past decade before dipping last school year as massive deficits loomed, according to a Chalkbeat analysis. The growth stemmed in part from the launch of networks for high schools under former CEO Janice Jackson. More recently, it tracked with the district’s overall staffing expansion fueled with COVID relief dollars.

Although a major overhaul of these networks is on hold, CPS leaders are continuing to discuss whether they could be leaner and more responsive to schools, sources told Chalkbeat.

The spotlight on networks highlights longstanding debates about their role and value, in a moment when CPS faces ballooning deficits, shrinking enrollment — and pressure to boost student outcomes. Some educators and advocates say they find their structure and roles opaque, and feel the district should steer some network funding directly to schools instead. But other principals say their networks have been a crucial source of stability and guidance amid leadership turnover in CPS.

CPS CEO Macquline King first pitched rethinking the network offices last fall to align with the city’s new elected school board districts. But following pushback, the district stuck with the existing structure of 13 elementary, four high school and one alternative high school networks.

The networks evaluate principals, provide guidance on improving instruction, and relay information about expectations, new initiatives, and legal compliance between schools and the CPS central office. Network chiefs’ jobs are similar to superintendents’ roles in smaller suburban districts, according to a statement from a district spokesperson.

Networks had a $40 million budget last school year. To put that in context, more than $4 billion goes directly to schools.

Over time, network office staffing has fluctuated from a low of 119 positions in 2017 to a recent high of 248 in 2024, before falling to 227 last year, according to the Chalkbeat analysis of positions publicly posted in June each year. Even as the district trimmed administrative and school positions to close a $732.5 million gap this summer, network staffing will remain relatively flat, with the budget for networks inching up to $42 million.

King told Chalkbeat CPS focused on ensuring “that the network chiefs are successful in supporting our principals” when budgeting for the networks.

Antonio Acevedo, the chief of Network 7 that last year oversaw 25 schools in Pilsen, Little Village, and parts of North Lawndale, says his team of about 10 people is lean and busy. His own lengthy list of responsibilities includes everything from coaching earlier-career school leaders to forging relationships with community groups to holding professional development sessions on topics such as the science of reading. He said he visits at least two schools a day and speaks to students often.

“We are always trying to strike this balance between trust and accountability,” Acevedo said.

Others say there’s room to streamline and strengthen the networks. Kia Banks, the head of the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, the union that represents principals and has some network members, said how well the networks function varies widely depending on who is leading them. A district as large as Chicago needs “that middle layer of management,” she said, but she raised concerns about duplicative staff positions and conflicting directives from networks and the central office.

“We feel many of the resources that are directed to the central offices and the networks should be placed directly into the schools,” she said.

Nelson Gerew of the Chicago Public Education Fund said in his organization’s annual surveys, principals report high levels of satisfaction with their network chiefs. In the most recent one his group plans to publish later this summer, 84% of school leaders said they get key support from their chiefs, and 78% said they trust them.

Nevertheless, as CPS continues to struggle with budget problems, “The networks are going to be an evergreen target,” Gerew said.

King’s proposed network overhaul highlighted CPS politics

Back in September, King had floated the idea of overhauling the 13 elementary networks into 10 offices aligned with the school board electoral districts. The district had recently begun a shift to a fully elected school board, and lawmakers had drawn a map to represent voters.

The four high school networks would have remained. Network chiefs and deputy chiefs would reapply for their jobs.

Officials said at the time that the goal was primarily to make middle management more nimble and responsive to school needs — and to save money.

The idea caused an internal backlash. Some school leaders worried the change would sever key relationships with their supervisors and disrupt principal evaluations that had already begun.

Some school board members also voiced concern that aligning the networks to the board members’ districts might inadvertently invite board members to meddle in their schools. The Chicago Teachers Union, which represents many network staffers, also expressed concern about cuts to support positions.

Previous CPS administrations have put their own stamp on the network structure, including the addition of high school networks in 2018 under Jackson to give them more specialized support.

Currently, between 10 and 13 people work in each network office, with some additional citywide network staff. There are also 24 central office staffers tasked with network support, according to the Chalkbeat analysis of CPS staffing data.

The number of instructional support leader positions in network teams that conduct classroom observations and provide input on teaching and learning grew substantially during the pandemic, reaching a high of 112 before dipping more recently. In 2026, there were more than 80 such positions, with an average salary of $115,000. They are represented by the CTU.

The average salary for network chiefs — a position that has often served as a stepping stone to top district leadership — hit a high of almost $180,000 last year, then dipped to about $160,000 this year. In total, average network office salaries have changed little even as overall CPS employee pay has risen steadily over the years.

Principals: CPS networks with good leaders help schools

Principals who spoke with Chalkbeat about the networks said that they can work well, although instability and bureaucratic issues can hamper their effectiveness.

Augusta Smith, a former CPS principal and administrator who now works at the parent advocacy group Kids First Chicago, recalled that her former network chief, LaTanya McDade, spent a lot of time in classrooms, knew her campuses intimately, and was consistently responsive when principals needed help or advice.

“I could call on her at any time, and she’d be there,” Smith said of McDade, who went on to serve as Jackson’s chief academic officer.

But Smith said some network chiefs can be much more focused on ensuring compliance with central office directives.

When school board member Jessica Biggs worked as a CPS principal, she had five network chiefs in as many years. She spent much time and energy getting the new arrivals up to speed, making for a “deeply unsupportive structure.”

But that has changed in recent years, Biggs said: More seasoned leaders serve in these roles and act as a bulwark against the turmoil stemming from leadership changes atop CPS.

“I worry about upending the one stable structure as this new administration is getting its footing,” Biggs said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Teachers and CTU tell Chicago Board of Education to reject proposed budget cuts, furloughs

2026-07-20T23:02:09+00:00

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More than a dozen teachers and their union pushed the Chicago Board of Education Monday to reject the district’s $9.88 billion budget proposal that includes all-staff furloughs and a spending freeze in the middle of this upcoming school year.

During one of two required budget hearings, teachers discussed how the district’s proposed budget — which also includes staff cuts to help close a $732.5 million deficit — would hurt them and their schools and would exacerbate problems that educators are already facing due to recent budget woes.

For example, a teacher in the Austin neighborhood said Monday that teachers across four grades at her school have already received layoff notices, meaning each of those grades would have just one teacher, and at least one class could have as many as 47 kids, based on current enrollment estimates, she said. That figure would violate the Chicago Teachers Union’s contract with the district.

Another teacher at Funston Elementary School in Logan Square said her school couldn’t get more custodial or pest control help as it dealt with a rodent infestation.

The comments during Monday’s hearing signal sharp tensions over a budget proposal that CPS revealed last week and wants its board to approve in ten days.

The Chicago Teachers Union estimates that the proposed furloughs, which would happen on staff professional development days, would mean a 2.3% pay cut for its members. The union has made two key demands: The state should hold a special legislative session and raise revenue for schools, and CPS should sue Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas for repeatedly late tax bills, which has meant late revenue that CPS and other school districts rely on.

In an interview with Chalkbeat Monday, CPS CEO Macquline King described her budget plan as “very painful.” Proposing furloughs was the hardest decision she and her team made, in part because they would happen on days meant for educators to improve their work with students, she said. King added that she hopes elected officials in a position to help CPS will consider the impact of furloughs when making decisions.

“What I do believe is really important is that there is a sense of urgency in order for Chicago Public Schools to make payroll in the fall,” King said to Chalkbeat. “We really need the budget to pass because ultimately we do not want to disrupt services to our students.”

Emila Zoko, acting CPS budget director, said furloughs and the mid-year spending freeze are “options of last resort” and avoidable if the district gets an additional $200 million in revenue, such as from special taxing district dollars from the city known as tax increment financing — or TIF — surplus. CPS is already assuming it will receive $200 million in TIF surplus in its budget proposal.

The district is already laying off more than 760 teachers and 800 paraprofessionals, most of whom the district expects to rehire at other schools with openings. Overall, the district, which employs about 37,000 people in schools, would cut a net total of 164 school-based employees. The district, where enrollment has declined, also laid off 162 central office and citywide employees earlier this month.

Still, the layoffs mean the neediest students may lose contact with an adult they have come to trust, staffers said during the hearing.

“Think about how this impacts our [unhoused] students — what happens when those people in their lives are not there to make sure they feel safe, secure, and thriving?” said Tiwanda Parker, a college and career coach who said she was laid off.

Board members legally have until the end of August to pass a budget, but district leaders want the board to adopt a plan by July 30. That’s because, in order to make up for late Cook County property tax revenue, CPS needs a few weeks to take out a short-term loan to pay for daily operations, including payroll, at the start of the school year, according to Wally Stock, acting chief financial officer. That process will require CPS to have an approved budget, Stock previously told the board.

CPS says it’s owed at least $250 million from the last round of late tax payments alone. Pappas’ office told the Chicago Tribune the figure is closer to $70 million or $80 million.

The district does not have cash to provide a cushion as it waits for the tax dollars, and in the last year, borrowing to fill the tax-revenue gap has cost CPS about $40 million in interest, Stock has said. On Monday, Stock said he is talking to the county on possibly getting access to an interest-free bridge loan that typically isn’t available to CPS, but even that wouldn’t be large enough to get the district through its bills from September to October.

Board of Education members focused on ways to raise more funding but diverged on how to get there.

For example, Che “Rhymefest” Smith, an elected board member, focused his questions during the hearing on how much more TIF dollars City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson could send to CPS to avoid furloughs and a midyear spending freeze. Elected member Jitu Brown, however, said it’s not realistic to expect more TIF after receiving a record amount last year, and said the district should instead build in the possibility for more state funding.

Budget officials said their numbers are rooted in historical projections. CPS has received at least $200 million in TIF surplus dollars every year since 2023.

The budget proposal wouldn’t implement a spending freeze and furloughs until January, providing CPS leaders “a window of time” to attempt securing more revenue, Stock said.

CPS held a second budget hearing Monday evening. People can view it on the district’s YouTube channel.

Mila Koumpilova contributed.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools releases $9.88 billion 2026-27 budget amid deepening financial strain

2026-07-15T22:01:12+00:00

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Facing intense financial pressures, Chicago Public Schools officials unveiled a proposed $9.88 billion district budget that includes five furlough days and a spending freeze that could start in January. But they said they hope to avoid those measures by persuading state lawmakers or the city council to steer more dollars to the school district.

District leaders said hundreds of staff layoffs, a push for more revenue, and other cost-saving measures took a $450 million bite out of the $732.5 million deficit the district faced this summer. To help close the remaining gap, CPS is bumping up the amount it expects the city would contribute in special tax dollars for development, known as TIF, from $100 million to $200 million. Last year, CPS received more than $500 million in TIF dollars, a record amount, but district officials said they wanted to be more conservative in projecting this year’s influx.

Unless even more city or state revenue materializes, the district will furlough all staff for five days when students are scheduled to be out of school and teachers are expected to get professional development — a move that would save $85 million. The district also would freeze some hiring and other spending in the second half of the school year.

“This process is painful for everyone all the way around,” said schools chief Macquline King on a call with reporters. “Ultimately, the budget we have presented is one that does its absolute best to meet the diverse needs of students.”

The district’s teachers and principals unions and some school board members decried the cuts, saying they will affect students.

The district is laying off about 760 teachers and 800 school-based support staff this week, though officials said that the majority will likely get rehired to fill vacancies on other campuses.

The district shared budgets with schools in May and finalized them in early June, but it has not disclosed campus budget allocations. More than 160 central office and citywide administrators were laid off on Friday — a move that CPS said will save $18 million. The blueprint presented Wednesday includes spending on pensions, debt service, and central and districtwide staff.

Last year, the district issued layoff notices to 1,450 teachers, support staff, security officers, and other employees. Officials said that in line with previous years, about 75% of them were rehired. District leaders said that while there will be fewer general education teachers after the district increased student-to-teacher ratios by one student, it is boosting the number of bilingual and special education teachers and classroom assistants. That will result in a net school-based position loss of about 160 in the district, which employs more than 37,000 people on its campuses. Factoring in contractual pay increases, CPS is sending $143 million more directly to schools compared with last year.

District officials again stressed the tough financial realities CPS faces: The costs of employee pay and pensions, the district’s massive debt, and upkeep for Chicago’s aging school buildings keep going up. The district added thousands of new positions using federal COVID aid during the pandemic even as enrollment shrank. District leaders have defended the staffing growth, saying it allowed schools to address longstanding staffing gaps and speed up its recovery. Despite significant state funding increases in recent years, CPS remains about $1.6 billion of what Illinois estimates would make for “adequate” funding.

CPS is asking the board to approve the budget by July 30, which officials say will give them enough time to borrow money against its future tax revenue to address cash flow issues amid a Cook County property tax delay.

Wednesday’s budget is the first fully shaped by King, who stepped in on an interim basis last summer when outgoing schools chief Pedro Martinez had already finalized school budgets. King crafted the final $10.2 billion budget, notably declining to take out a high-cost loan to pay into a city pension fund covering some CPS support staff despite pressure from the mayor’s office.

This week’s budget proposal also did not include a contribution toward the Municipal Employees’ Annuity and Benefit Fund. District officials touted the fact that the new budget does not add to the district’s $9 billion debt, with interest and other costs diverting hundreds of millions of dollars that could go toward instruction and support services.

King described the budget as “thoughtful, responsible, and entirely student-centered.” But the proposal left some board members concerned about how cuts would impact schools in their districts.

Anusha Thotakura, an appointed board member who represents the Near North Side and West Town, said many schools have experienced cuts “year after year,” and she wants to see more investments that parents want, such as in early childhood education and dual language programs. At the same time, CPS is in a difficult spot, she said.

“When you start with a pie that is too small and are forced to figure out how to cut it and a way to feed people, you’re never going to win,” said Thotakura, who has advocated for more state funding.

She said she hopes CPS and board members will work extra hard over the next year to secure additional funding, including from the state and city.

In a statement, Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and Illinois Federation of Teachers, called the proposal “dead on arrival.” Furloughs, she said, are another blow to educators who are already working in schools that are stretched for resources.

The union, along with allied board members, have called on state lawmakers to raise money for schools through progressive taxes and more recently pressed CPS to sue the county treasurer’s office over late tax payments.

“Does anyone in this state other than CPS educators have power to help school children instead of hurt them?” Davis Gates said in the statement. “It’s time for them to use it.”

Kia Banks, the head of the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, said in a statement the union understands district leaders are in a tough spot. Still, she’s unsure the proposal, which eliminated assistant principals in small schools, represents “the strongest path forward.”

“We are extremely disappointed by the possibility that students could lose resources, programs, and support they need and deserve,” Banks said.

But Danny Vesecky, senior research and policy associate at Civic Federation, said that while layoffs are painful structural changes, they will permanently reduce the district’s expenses. It’s also the “right direction” for the district to move in after federal COVID relief money went away but investments fueled by those dollars, such as more staff, still exist.

“There is unfortunately no way to address that other than unwinding some of the increase in spending that we engaged in in previous years,” Vesecky said.

Vesecky also described furloughs as a reasonable yet temporary solution, since those savings won’t reduce the district’s expenses or deficit in future years.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

CTU endorses 15 school board candidates, throwing weight behind incumbents, mayoral picks

2026-07-14T01:16:22+00:00

This story was published in partnership with WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times.

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The Chicago Teachers Union announced Monday it will endorse only 15 candidates in the upcoming school board race in which all 21 seats are up for election — a decision that could make it difficult for the union to hold onto its majority.

The union will back 10 incumbents who they supported in the election two years ago or were appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Johnson, a former organizer for the CTU, is an ally of the union.

Notably absent from their list of endorsements is Yesenia Lopez, who won in 2024 with the union’s endorsement, but occasionally voted independently of other CTU-aligned school board members over the past year and half.

CTU last month endorsed their political director Hilario Dominguez in the citywide race for school board president. There are four other people running for that seat.

In the six districts where the CTU did not endorse anyone, it was because the race had only one candidate or there’s no candidate aligned with the CTU.

One of the five non-incumbents getting CTU’s nod is Tameka Walton, who the union said is mounting a write-in campaign. Walton’s petition signatures were challenged and the Chicago Board of Elections is expected to make decisions on petition challenges Tuesday.

Angel L. Velez, the incumbent vice president of the board who was appointed by Johnson and filed to run for his seat in district 9a, also announced on social media last week that he did not have enough valid signatures to stay on the ballot. That leaves Brittany Bailey Preston, the wife of state Sen. Willie Preston, as the only candidate in the race.

Juan Rangel, the CEO of the Urban Center, a political action committee paying for many of the petition challenges, said Cydney Wallace, a Johnson appointee running in 8b is also expected to be removed from the ballot. CTU did not include Velez or Wallace in their endorsements.

The CTU has been seen as a politically powerful force, especially after getting Johnson elected, but it remains to be seen how much their endorsement matters.

In the first school board election in 2024, the union endorsed in all 10 races and only four of their candidates were victorious. Still, the union had a friendly school board because Johnson appointed 11 people, giving them enough backers to have a majority on the 21-member board.

CTU-backed candidates would have to win 11 races to hold onto a majority. The CTU’s two political action committees had a balance of less than $200,000 as of March 31, the last time quarterly filings were due. New reports are due out on Wednesday.

The union also boasts more than 30,000 members that can knock on doors and get out the vote, which will be important in the Nov. 3 election where turnout could be low.

Kimberly Walls-Kirk, chair of the CTU’s political action committee, says the union’s endorsements carry weight with voters because they trust teachers.

“I’m the parent of a child who graduated from a Chicago Public School. I’m a teacher in Chicago Public Schools,” she said. “So if I have a vision of what learning conditions look like for my child, then I, as a teacher, am one of the best people to endorse a candidate.”

A handful of other political action committees have already raised more than a million each and have already started donating money to candidates.

Rangel said he was surprised that the CTU wasn’t more organized as they approached this election. The Urban Center PAC is supported by centrist billionaires and pro-charter groups.

“The CTU has a reputation of having first-class, first-grade political operations, but I think they’ve been kind of sloppy on this this time around, and I’m not sure the exact reason why,” he said.

Dominguez, the CTU’s endorsed presidential candidate, blamed the lack of challengers in some races on the fact that it is a volunteer position that is essentially a full-time job, he said.

Andrew Broy, the president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, said that based on 2024 election results, the power of a CTU endorsement is a “mixed bag” — more helpful in some well-to-do or gentrifying areas such as the North Side and Logan Square, and less so on the Southwest and Northwest Side. Overall, he said, recent opinion polls suggest the union’s popularity has dipped.

“That might blunt the positive impact of a CTU endorsement,” Broy said.

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter. Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

CPS lays off 162 employees as it works to close budget deficit for 2026-27 school year

2026-07-13T20:26:41+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools notified 162 central and citywide employees Friday that they will be laid off, the district confirmed Monday.

Half of the employees work for central office departments that focus on districtwide policies and operations. The other half, known as “citywide” employees, help support individual schools.

The layoffs will save the district $18 million, CPS spokesperson Mary Fergus said in a statement.

The layoffs are part of the district’s attempt to close a more than $730 million deficit. Last June, while facing a similar deficit, the district laid off 161 employees who are staffed centrally, in addition to a slew of other cuts.

CPS is expected to publicly reveal a roughly $10 billion proposed budget later this week, which should provide a clearer picture of any additional cuts. Schools, which received their budgets in May, have also been grappling with budget-tightening decisions.

CPS did not specify the specific positions of the people losing their jobs. Many different offices were affected, including Career and College Success, Talent, Department of Principal Quality, Information and Technology Services, Students with Disabilities, Student Health and Wellness, Transportation, Facilities, and Safety and Security, School Counseling, Procurement, Real Estate, and the Office of Sports Administration, according to Fergus and a memo that chief talent officer Ben Felton sent Friday to school board members and district leaders.

Of the 162 people laid off, 38 people are represented by SEIU Local 73, the union that represents support staffers at CPS, such as custodians, and 25 were represented by the Chicago Teachers Union. The unions did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In deciding what positions to cut, the district’s top leaders were “directed to prioritize maintaining critical functions that directly serve students, and protect school-based staffing to the greatest extent possible,” the memo said.

The district tried cutting other expenses first, such as renegotiating vendor contracts and reducing some unspecified central “non-essential” office services. Neither CPS nor the memo said how much money these measures saved.

“These actions reduced a substantial portion of the deficit,” Fergus said in her statement to Chalkbeat. “Even after these measures, targeted central office and citywide staffing reductions remained necessary to protect resources for students and schools.”

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s Black Student Success Director Eugene Robinson Jr. talks about the initiative’s first year

2026-07-09T18:08:35+00:00

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Eugene Robinson Jr., Chicago Public Schools’ first director of Black student success, has faced a tricky balancing act over the past year.

Community advocates called for decisive, visible progress on the district’s Black Student Success Plan, the five-year initiative they had championed for years and helped enshrine in state law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration argued the plan discriminates against non-Black students and withheld federal funding over it — a standoff that’s now playing out in the courts.

Against that backdrop, Robinson set out to implement the plan he helped write in 2024. A University of Chicago graduate with a master’s degree in social work, he previously worked as the district’s director of student engagement and led the University of Chicago Charter School’s Woodlawn campus.

The rollout’s first year was decidedly low-key, with lots of public attention focused on delays in naming a new board committee that will help guide the work. The board named most, but not all, of the Black Student Achievement Committee’s members this week.

Chalkbeat spoke with Robinson about what he was able to accomplish this past year and what comes next for the plan, at a time when the district is contending with major budget pressures.

This conversation was edited for length and clarity.

You became the inaugural director of Black student success in June 2024, charged with rolling out a plan that involved a lot of input — and high expectations — from community members. What drew you to this role, and did you have some trepidation?

I’m a product of Chicago Public Schools. I went to Lindblom High School in Englewood. My family has a story that’s connected to why we’re doing this work and to the Great Migration. I am also an uncle of several nieces and nephews who are products of Chicago Public Schools. I’ve worked in higher education, and I’ve participated in a program called Great Expectation Mentoring. In my professional career, I’ve looked at other cities and states doing work focused on Black boys or Black girls. This opportunity allowed me to connect being a product of CPS, growing up in Englewood and Auburn Gresham, coming back to work in schools, working in nonprofits, and as a Black man in general.

Your first task was to write the plan, drawing on recommendations that came through community engagement. The plan sets some concrete goals, but it doesn’t go into detail about how the district will get there. How much work has the district done to figure out the “how,” and how much still remains?

The one thing I like to say is that the Black Student Success Plan is not the work. It is the vision and the aspiration. It is also the item to hold us as a district accountable, and it was written to align with the district’s five-year strategic plan, and with state statute that requires the school board to establish a Black Student Achievement Committee. The goals are very high-level and ambitious. There’s a lot of research and data that talks about certain powerful practices, and there was historical data that we looked at as a district.

But the plan is not the work. Some of this work started at the school level before the plan was actually taking shape. One example is Black student unions — one of the recommendations from the community working group. How do we create these culturally centered leadership and voice spaces for young people?

You led the plan’s first year of implementation in a national climate of intense scrutiny of race-based initiatives. How much were you able to accomplish this year?

The first year was about socializing the plan, letting everyone know that, “Hey, we have a Black Student Success Plan,” and activating that ecosystem for philanthropy with higher ed and community-based partners.

The Black Student Success Working Group didn’t go away. We reconstituted that to look different and to engage differently. We call it the Black Student Success Champion and Stakeholder Alliance Group so we are moving beyond recommendations to how this shows up in schools.

We also were able to establish what’s called the Black Student Success Convening and Collaboration, where we brought together various offices connected to certain goals. For example, we have a goal to increase Black male teachers and Black teacher retention. That’s our talent office.

We walked on a journey of establishing a Black student union framework, so we actually did some focus groups with schools that had Black student unions and schools that did not have them.

Using the two examples you mentioned, did the district’s talent office take some steps this year to make it easier to recruit and retain Black male teachers? Did schools foster new Black student unions?

I would say this is [work that will take place] in Year 3 of the plan. We have never had a Black student union resource and toolkit. We also looked at the history of Black student unions nationally and in CPS, and we actually went into the CPS archives and pulled out photos of Black student unions to understand and make those connections for young people.

We received a small grant opportunity that supports both the Black male educator strategy work and our very first Black student union conference. We are launching a Black male educator wellness cohort with some of this funding. We are working to establish other partnerships to offer professional learning for Black male educators. We’re supporting our grow-your-own work to ensure that Black males in non-teacher roles move up into teaching roles.

How did the Trump administration’s push to get the district to scrap the plan affect your work?

One of the things I would say related to is that we still have that open investigation [by the U.S. Department of Education]. But the district will continue to ground ourselves in the research and the data and our equity framework, which is all about targeted universalism. Targeted universalism is not about taking from one group to support and elevate another group. It is the system recognizing that groups may need differentiated support to achieve the same north star.

We are no different than any other school district having to navigate this climate, like my colleagues that I’m in close connection with in Denver and Los Angeles, who have similar Black student success plans.

Did the fact that the board’s Black Student Achievement Committee wasn’t named earlier this year affect your work on the plan, given the central role it is supposed to play in guiding the initiative?

Even though the committee has not been launched, there is collaboration and communication between the Office of Equity, the CEO’s office, Black Student Success Plan, and the two chairs of that committee. This is all new for us, but there is open communication. The way I will explain it is that the Black Student Success Plan is the work of the district in alignment with the state statute and our five-year strategic plan. The Black Student Achievement Committee will serve as the accountability structure for the district to be able to do this work.

You mentioned the philanthropic funding you lined up. Do you see this work being largely funded through philanthropic contributions going forward, or will the district attach some local or state dollars to the initiative?

There is an overall commitment that the CPS budget process is driven by equity. We are in a budget season now, so I wouldn’t answer that particular question. What I will share with you is that there is momentum to support this work in the philanthropic community, and we’re also looking at other ways of supporting this work.

But I think about the district’s commitment to having an Office of Equity, the positions that come along with that, including my position that never existed before, and also a project manager who works alongside me. Having different offices looking at their data and aligning to the Black Student Success Plan will take people, time, and money. Those offices will identify the resources that will potentially be attached to this work.

What’s high on your to-do list for next year?

I know I talked about Black student unions a lot, but I’m really excited because when we center ourselves on student voice and those who are most impacted and allow them to have a seat at the table, it can make for powerful practice and ignite opportunities for young people.

I am excited that we will be able to host the very first Black Student Union Conference at Malcolm X College on Oct. 21. We have some young people through the Mayor’s Office Youth Works program interning with us to help us plan the conference, and we have collaborated with different partners like Mikva Challenge over the year.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Johnson-aligned Chicago school board members continue push for more funding from Springfield

2026-07-08T22:17:58+00:00

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Chicago Board of Education members aligned with the mayor again pushed Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday to hold a special legislative session to allocate more funding to public schools.

Their calls come as Chicago Public Schools finalizes a roughly $10 billion budget proposal for the coming school year. Officials have been working to close a more than $700 million deficit projected earlier this spring.

Schools had to approve their proposed budgets in early June, but the district has yet to release full details around what might be cut. The Chicago Teachers Union joined Mayor Brandon Johnson-aligned board members at Wednesday’s press conference outside the Board of Education headquarters where they called for state lawmakers to again consider raising education funding through progressive tax policies that target wealthy individuals or corporations.

Khari Humphries, the city’s deputy mayor of education and youth, also joined elected board member Jitu Brown and appointed members Michilia Blaise, Karen Zaccor, Norma Rios-Sierra, Emma Lozano, Angel Velez, Cydney Wallace, and Debby Pope.

Illinois lawmakers attempted to begin the process to raise education funding through a millionaire’s tax, but that legislation ultimately stalled before they adjourned at the end of May.

“If the Hippocratic Oath in medicine says, first of all, do no harm, can the state of Illinois say they have not done harm to Illinois children?” Brown said to reporters.

CPS is expected to publicly reveal its budget plan by mid-July and wants the board to approve it by July 30, but some board members said that timeline feels rushed. A delay in Cook County property taxes has placed extra pressure on the budget, officials said.

The state budget increased education funding for school districts by $350 million this year for a total of $9.2 billion. But many districts, including CPS, are still short of what the state’s evidence-based formula considers as an adequate level of money. Even if lawmakers reconvene this summer, it’s not clear how quickly any extra money would make it to school districts like CPS.

“We are facing decisions that no city should ever have to make,” Humphries said during the press conference.

The district is expecting about $100 million from the city’s special taxing districts, known as TIF dollars, which the mayor and City Council control. That’s a fraction of the more than $500 million in TIF last year for CPS, a portion of which went back to the city for pension obligations.

Brown said board members are asking the city to release more TIF dollars. Humphries said he can’t say whether the city will do so. At a board meeting later Wednesday, acting chief financial officer Wally Stock also said CPS is “not trying to be aggressive” but is also having those discussions with the city.

During Wednesday’s meeting, however, CPS CEO Macquline King said the district is working through “different avenues” for help, including pressing the county for some relief.

“There is a sense of urgency,” King said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board names members of Black Student Achievement Committee

2026-07-08T21:06:18+00:00

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More than two years after Illinois lawmakers mandated a new committee to steer Chicago Public Schools’ efforts to improve the outcomes and experiences of Black students, the school board announced a partial list of its members Wednesday.

Jitu Brown and Michilla Blaise, the West Side board members who will lead the new group, helped select its members from a pool of 500 applicants. The committee will help oversee the rollout of the district’s Black Student Success Plan, a five-year initiative that has come under fire from the Trump administration.

Delays in forming the committee have frustrated some student advocates and supporters of the plan. Brown told Chalkbeat last summer that he would announce the members that September. The district later opened a more formal application process in late 2025 and then reopened it in January. At the board’s June meeting, Brown blamed the more recent delays on internal “struggle.”

On Wednesday, Blaise thanked community members for their patience and said the wait paid off in a careful, thorough screening process and strong applicant pool.

“We’re watching every step we make just because the whole world is watching us,” she said. “There are so many people and so many other places that are really hopeful for the work that we do here.”

The committee members are:

Darius Anderson, a community organizer and culinary arts professional
Alyssa Blanchard, a CPS special education case manager
Amber Brooks, an operations and organizational leadership executive
Karen Calloway, the principal at Kenwood Academy
Jemia Cunningham-Elder, the CEO of North Lawndale College Prep
Crystal Gardner, a West Side community organizer
Aquila Griffin-Ingram, a workforce analytics and compensation leader
Valerie Leonard, a community leader and founder of the nonprofit Utopia
Ayoka Noelle Mota Samuels, senior leader at City Colleges of Chicago
Chanise Stephens, a CPS educator, parent, and activist

“These individuals represent a diverse mix of stakeholders from across Chicago,” Brown said. “Each one brings a deep commitment to racial justice, public education, and the success of Black students.”

Four additional members will be announced soon as they complete required district onboarding, board members said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago cut funding for assistant principals in small schools. Most chose to keep them anyway.

2026-07-07T21:49:24+00:00

Data analysis by Sophie Hayssen

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Alex Dakessian, the assistant principal at McCutcheon Elementary on Chicago’s North Side, had a hectic year.

She scheduled classes, helped evaluate 78 teachers and support staff, oversaw the school’s five specialized classrooms for students with significant disabilities, and translated for some of its more than 130 English learners. With two campuses several blocks apart, she sometimes became a “track star running between buildings” when emergencies arose.

But with McCutcheon’s kindergarten through eighth grade enrollment a few students shy of 250, Dakessian’s position landed on the chopping block this spring when the district cut school budgets.

More than 130 small schools were poised to lose funding for their assistant principals next school year. Most, including McCutcheon, used discretionary dollars to keep them or convinced CPS to make an exception, leaving about 40 campuses without that position, Chalkbeat has learned. The move comes as district officials are trying to close a $732.5 million deficit to balance a more than $10 billion budget.

In 2024, Chicago Public Schools vowed to staff an assistant principal on each of its campuses — no matter how small — as part of a new budget formula meant to steer more resources to high-needs schools, many hit hard by enrollment losses. But this spring, the district announced it would cut funding for assistant principals, or APs for short, in schools with fewer than 250 students, among other educator and support staff positions.

The move incensed leaders at the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, which is bargaining with the district to finalize the first fully fleshed-out contract for school leaders. The union has argued that regardless of school size, APs such as Dakessian ensure campuses run smoothly and serve as sanity-saving partners and confidants for principals.

According to numbers provided by school board members, 72 of 138 campuses chose to use discretionary dollars to keep those positions. In the cases of another 23 schools, the district made an exception and funded an AP position, for example because of an upcoming program change.

Nelson Gerew of the Chicago Public Education notes the nonprofit has been a major proponent for staffing an assistant principal in each school. They help ease the intense pressure and loneliness of the principal role and represent a crucial school leader pipeline, with about a third eventually taking over the top job at their CPS school.

But this spring, Gerew says, school budget cuts were inevitable to balance the district’s budget. Because CPS guarantees a minimum level of staffing under its 2024 formula, many small schools were protected from other cuts the district made, Gerew notes. Cutting their APs meant they would share in the budget pain with larger schools, he said. There, principals have occasionally noted that both some schools serving hundreds of students and campuses serving fewer than 100 receive funding for one assistant principal.

“It’s encouraging that the vast majority of principals were able to keep their APs,” Gerew said.

As of its most recent staffing data at the end of June, CPS had a total of 644 assistant principal positions, up from about 600 before the 2023 budget formula changes and from a recent low of 540 in 2017, during another tough budget stretch. In 2026, APs made an average salary of $135,650, based on a Chalkbeat analysis of public CPS staffing data.

In a statement, CPS, which lost 45,000 students since the start of the pandemic, pointed to the intense fiscal pressures it faces. It said school budgets — including the number of eliminated assistant principal positions — remain preliminary until the school board approves an overall district budget this summer. But it said most appeals for additional staffing from schools were approved, and the district would make an effort to reassign employees whose positions were cut.

An ‘arbitrary’ enrollment cutoff with a catch

The principals union has pointed to Dakessian’s case to argue that the district’s 250-student cutoff is arbitrary and to contest a decision not to include pre-K enrollment.

Last year’s official enrollment at McCutcheon was 246 students. But that number does not include about 70 preschool students, who are part of a separate funding stream, but still demand the time and attention of school leaders.

School leaders and their advocates say assistant principals tend to have full plates, pitching in with a wide range of duties, from handing school discipline to communicating with families to filling in when other staff is absent or positions go vacant.

At last month’s school board meeting, Cy Hendrickson, the vice president of the principals union and an assistant principal at Hernández Middle School, said because they work throughout the summer, many assistant principals make less per hour than they would if they had continued teaching. Many regularly work on their own time on evenings and weekends, from completing teaching evaluations to answering parent emails, he said.

“The responsibility of leading and loving a CPS school is too immense and too profound for any one person to bear alone,” Hendrickson said.

The standoff over the AP cuts has cast a shadow over ongoing contract talks between the district and Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, which formally unionized school leaders for the first time after state lawmakers allowed it in 2023. Last fall, the two sides reached a preliminary agreement that included more protections against harassment and more due process rights for principals facing discipline, as well as 4% cost of living increases for 2025-26. But the union and district have been bargaining over a more fully fleshed-out contract.

Kia Banks, the union’s president, said it was “blindsided” by the district’s assistant principal decision — and has continued to push for a way to preserve these positions at the bargaining table. She said at the more than 40 schools losing their APs — campuses serving predominantly high-needs, Black and Latino students — only two principals told the union they feel they can make do without a second-in-command next year.

School board members express concern about AP cuts

Some school board members have voiced concern about the assistant principal cuts, even as they say they understand the district was forced to make difficult decisions to balance its budget.

Board member Karen Zaccor, a former CPS educator, said three schools in her North Side district lost their AP funding, including McCutcheon and Uplift High School, which has bucked district trends by growing its enrollment in recent years. All three chose to keep those positions with discretionary dollars. But she said she worries about what programs and other budget items might not be funded as a result.

“You can’t say, ‘We solved the problem. All of these schools are getting their APs back,’” Zaccor said. “We don’t know what else might be going away.”

School board member Jessica Biggs, a former CPS principal, said she felt the district had made the right call when it committed to staff an assistant principal in each school. She had spent most of her first year as a principal without a second-in-command, at Burke Elementary, which served fewer than 250 students at the time. She struggled.

In her second year, she hired assistant principal Tenesha Hatter, whom Biggs credits with the school’s enrollment and academic growth. Hatter led the school’s efforts to improve its climate and culture and fostered relationships with students to improve attendance, allowing Biggs to focus on boosting academics. Hatter went on to become a CPS principal herself.

“I don’t know if I would have stayed in the role if it wasn’t for her,” Biggs said. At the same time, she added, “There is nothing that’s good to cut right now.”

One small school principal, who spoke with Chalkbeat anonymously to discuss the issue without district authorization, recalls finding out the campus would lose its assistant principal funding this spring.

“I remember putting my head in my hands and just sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my god,’” that principal said. “It was devastating.”

The school got just enough discretionary dollars to keep the assistant principal. But it eliminated a teaching position to free up more discretionary dollars it still needs for learning materials, supplies, and more. For the first time, it will start charging student fees, and will lean on parent leaders to do “a hella lot of fundraising,” the principal said.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago’s school board is supposed to have a noncitizen advisory board. It still doesn’t exist.

2026-06-29T21:00:54+00:00

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When state legislators created Chicago’s elected school board, they also required the city’s mayor to name a noncitizen advisory board, meant to give people without citizenship a more formal voice in school board matters since they cannot vote or run in elections.

But about four months ahead of this year’s school board races — and 18 months after the city’s first elected members were seated — Mayor Brandon Johnson still hasn’t created that advisory panel.

“There is no clarity on this,” Socorro Diaz, a mother of three Chicago Public Schools graduates who is interested in serving on the panel, said in Spanish through a translator. “How is this going to be organized? Because education is too important.”

This year, Chicago will transition from a partially elected school board to a one that is fully elected. The election for all 21 school board seats is Nov. 3.

The panel is supposed to advise the Board of Education on various issues that impact noncitizen children, including on how to create an “inclusive learning environment” and more generally sharing perspectives from noncitizen families. State law maps out almost no instructions for the mayor: It doesn’t establish a deadline for the mayor to create the advisory board, the number of people to appoint, or even whether any of the picks must be immigrants or noncitizens.

For parents who had pushed for this board, its absence felt especially deep last fall during an intense federal deportation campaign in Chicago known as Operation Midway Blitz. At the time, the mayor’s office told Chalkbeat that it was finalizing applications for the advisory board, but it was figuring out how to protect people interested in participating without putting them in the crosshairs of the federal government.

That application still doesn’t exist. The mayor’s office did not answer a question about the status of the application, but in a statement last week, a spokesperson said they hope to create the board by the fall.

“Given the nature of recent immigration enforcement, the Mayor’s Office is working to develop a process that allows community members to participate safely and confidently,” said mayoral spokesperson Griffin Krueger.

Some parents have suggested the mayor’s office can appoint at least some people who may be citizens or legal residents but can still act as representatives for noncitizens.

Kids First Chicago, an education advocacy group that lobbied for the creation of the noncitizen advisory board, had pushed the mayor’s office last year to name the panel, especially as immigration enforcement kept families from sending their kids to school.

Claiborne Wade, a member of Kids First’s Fair Governance Task Force and parent of CPS students, said he can understand the mayor’s office’s concerns, especially with a federal government that is targeting immigrants and noncitizens.

Not having the panel in place, however, means that the board is potentially not hearing from certain immigrant communities whose kids are in CPS, who “do have a voice, too,” he said.

Diaz, who is currently on the Eric Solorio Academy High School Local School Council, first got involved in parent councils almost 25 years ago, when she learned that one of her daughters, at the time a 6-year-old newcomer from Mexico, was not receiving help in understanding English in school, she said. She recalled seeing her daughter set aside in a corner of her classroom, and Diaz repeatedly pushed the principal for help.

Since then she’s participated in LSCs and bilingual advisory councils, too, and believes it’s important for parents to get involved, she said.

When she learned about Chicago’s first school board elections, she felt a mixture of emotions: happiness that parents would get to choose who made policy decisions for the district but sadness that she and others who aren’t citizens wouldn’t be able to cast votes or run for office.

She feels the advisory panel is an advocacy vehicle for parents who can’t be at board meetings or are fearful of revealing their identities. To Diaz, it’s frustrating to not know what’s happening with the panel.

“They need to start being more transparent,” she said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Delays in ramping up work on Chicago’s Black Student Success Plan frustrate some advocates

2026-06-25T21:33:38+00:00

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Coretta Shane, the mom of a Chicago seventh-grader, applied earlier this year to serve on a new committee that would help steer the district’s Black Student Success Plan, a five-year initiative to address academic disparities Black students face.

She got an email thanking her and promising updates in the following weeks. That was back in March.

Shane knows the plan is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has withheld federal dollars from the district over its refusal to scrap it. Still, the silence hasn’t sat well with her.

“I’ve just heard nothing, which is maddening to me,” she said. “I wish there would be some communication.”

Over the past year, district officials have worked to reassure parents and advocates that they are forging ahead with the initiative — while appearing to move slowly and cautiously to ward off further federal scrutiny and fallout. On Thursday, Jitu Brown, the board member slated to lead the Black Student Achievement Committee, announced yet another delay in naming its members. And when the district this past spring challenged in court the U.S. Department of Education’s move to withhold grant dollars over the plan, one of CPS’ arguments was that it hadn’t even started implementing the program.

Those who pushed to codify the committee in state law have voiced impatience with the slow pace — a sentiment Brown echoed at the board’s monthly meeting on Thursday.

Other advocates and experts say they understand the precarious position CPS is in — and recognize the first year of the plan’s rollout was likely to largely involve low-key planning.

“I just remind myself that this is something CPS has never done before,” said Dominique McKoy, the executive director of the University of Chicago’s To & Through Project, who has followed work on the plan. “This is an effort that’s trying to disrupt decades and generations of frustration for a population that historically hasn’t been served well by the city and the school district.”

In a Thursday statement, CPS said it is making headway on the initiative, and recently got a $250,000 grant from a Chicago-based foundation for its work on cultivating Black student unions and hiring more Black male educators. The district is planning a fall conference bringing together members of more than two dozen Black student unions on CPS campuses this fall. The statement also cited an increase in Black student enrollment in Advanced Placement courses and ongoing efforts to reduce discipline for Black students.

The district has pushed back on the feds’ call to kill the plan

CPS unveiled the plan in early 2025 after a yearslong process of gathering input from community members who had decried gaps Black students face on a long list of academic metrics and in access to some advanced courses and other opportunities.

The day after its release, a conservative advocacy group filed a complaint with the federal Department of Education, arguing the plan discriminates against non-Black students, particularly Latinos. The Trump administration began investigating, and last fall announced it would withhold millions in magnet school grants unless CPS scrapped the initiative altogether.

The plan sets a number of sweeping goals, which include hiring more Black male educators and reducing punitive discipline for Black students, who make up roughly a third of the district’s student body. But it doesn’t go into detail about how the district would tackle these goals or what progress toward them would look like in each year of the rollout. CPS also did not spell out a specific budget for implementation.

Brown, a longtime advocate for Black students in the district, said last summer that the first year of the initiative would be about listening to district employees, parents, and students, and figuring out how to replicate practices that have worked well for Black students.

He had initially said the committee to oversee the rollout would be announced last September. The board office said in May that Brown would be available for an interview only after the new committee is onboarded, but it did not give a timeline for when its members would be named. The district in recent weeks has also asked for more time before providing an interview with officials, and on Thursday, it referred questions about the committee delays to the board office.

At Thursday’s board meeting, Brown blamed the delays on an internal “struggle” after the board held two separate rounds of taking applications this past school year. He did not elaborate what exactly was getting in the way but said, “I am very frustrated, very concerned.”

In the meantime, the district held several community roundtables to gather more input on the plan this past spring. District budget materials from last summer also said CPS’ various central office departments would work on their own visions for implementing the plan during 2025-26. In response to a public records request from Chalkbeat, the district declined to provide these department-level plans, citing an exemption for internal documents that are in draft form.

CPS said a first-year focus would be supporting Black student unions at its high schools and expanding their number. McKoy said there’s some momentum on this issue as well as conversations about cultivating closer partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities. Some Black students in CPS have expressed interest in better understanding what these campuses might have to offer, McKoy said.

Sona Fokum, a research project manager at the Black Researchers Collective, said CPS officials had preliminary conversations last year with the group and other local experts about tracking and evaluating the initiative’s outcomes, including by involving students in the effort. But the collective hasn’t heard about next steps more recently.

When it comes to the federal pushback, the plan remains in limbo. In its lawsuit against the feds, the district has demanded that the government reinstate its magnet funding, noting the decision to withhold it happened before the investigation into the initiative was even formally completed. The district argued the plan is on solid legal footing because it sets out to rectify historical discrimination and missteps that have led to measurable disparities between the outcomes for Black students and those of their peers.

“The Plan does not take anything away from non-Black students,” the district said in court filings.

The Department of Education hasn’t filed a response to the district’s complaint in court, and a spokeswoman did not respond to an inquiry about the status of the investigation.

District Superintendent Macquline King was subpoenaed to testify before a congressional education committee earlier this month on CPS’s handling of hot-button issues, including the Black Student Success Plan and policies on transgender students, which are also under a federal investigation. But the plan itself sparked just a brief exchange with a friendly Democratic lawmaker, in which King stressed the community input that went into designing it and its goal of helping “students that have been historically and systematically void of opportunities.”

Committee’s creation lags

Shane, the mom who applied to serve on the Black Student Achievement Committee earlier this year, lives in South Shore, but she drives her daughter to school across the city to the North Side’s Walt Disney Magnet School, where she was recently elected to the local school council.

Shane has long been a critic of the more meager academic offerings — especially when it comes to science, technology, engineering, and math — that some schools in predominantly Black neighborhoods have. She saw the committee as a chance to advocate for more robust programs at the district level.

“The fact that my daughter can’t go to a school in our neighborhood because of a lack of resources really bothers me,” she said.

Koron Nash, the father of two CPS students, attended a virtual meeting about the plan with Brown, the school board member, organized by the parent advocacy group Kids First this spring. Nash, who also applied to serve on the committee, felt Brown’s commitment to advancing the plan was genuine. Nash strongly supports the plan’s goals.

But he wants to see specifics on how CPS will tackle them, with a budget and metrics to track progress: “At this point, we should be well beyond informing people. We should be taking action. We’re behind the eight ball.”

David Stovall, a professor of Black studies at the University of Illinois Chicago, said with any new multiyear initiative, planning and troubleshooting tend to take up the first year.

Still, he said, he is eager to see the district flesh out the plan — and address head-on the issue of its severely underenrolled schools, many of which serve predominantly Black students. He said he got involved with offering input when the district was first crafting the plan. But he left because officials did not seem open to discussing that issue or addressing it explicitly in the initiative.

“It’s nonsense to talk about a success plan when you’re not doing anything to address this glaring issue,” he said. “If you are going to address marginalization, you have to start with the most marginalized.”

McKoy says the district needs the help of other city agencies, academia, and others to address the needs of Black students and families. He believes the district is still genuinely committed to the initiative in the face of the Trump administration’s attack on it.

“There’s no way that’s not having an effect,” McKoy said. “But I am not seeing folks shy away and change the messaging.”

On Thursday, Brown, the school board member, said he will push to finally name the committee overseeing the initiative in July.

“I’m not really interested in any more conversations about it,” he said. “We need to announce this committee and get to work.”

Chalkbeat Chicago reporters Reema Amin and Makiya Seminera contributed to this report.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board adopts legislative agenda calling for more funding — after state lawmakers adjourn

2026-06-25T21:30:38+00:00

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The Chicago Board of Education unanimously passed a legislative agenda Thursday that calls for more state funding and a millionaire’s tax — even though Illinois state lawmakers passed a state budget last month and have adjourned for the summer.

While some board members were happy with the items in the new agenda, they were also frustrated that it would be adopted after lawmakers had left Springfield.

“This would have been fantastic for us to have in January or even February,” said Anusha Thotakura, an appointed board member who has previously pressed CPS for a legislative plan. “There is absolutely no opportunity for this legislative agenda to result in increased state funds for the upcoming school year — zero.”

Several board members called for the agenda to be a “living document” that CPS could add ideas to. And others wanted more demands of local officials. Elected board member Che “Rhymefest” Smith said he was disappointed the agenda didn’t include anything about pressing the city to send more special taxing district dollars to the district – an amount that can vary year to year.

The agenda is a list of issues that Chicago Public Schools wants to advocate for with lawmakers, typically on the state level. But in recent years the board has not always had an agenda: It last adopted one in early 2024 under former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who then didn’t present one in 2025.

The district CEO is charged with creating a legislative agenda and presenting it to the board for approval in January of each year, but the board waived that requirement in January 2024 and January 2026, though not in 2025, according to board records. Those waivers say that the CEO would still be expected to present something early in the year.

Neither CPS nor the school board office explained why this legislative agenda came later in the year and after the state legislative session ended. CPS CEO Macquline King and board members have visited Springfield over the past year to meet with lawmakers, which state Rep. Ann Williams, who represents North Side neighborhoods, described as “very visible and engaging” during public comment on Thursday.

This is King’s first legislative agenda, which asks for more state funding as the district faces a $732.5 million deficit in its budget for next fiscal year, which the district is aiming to finalize by July 30. It also makes several new asks that weren’t in the 2024 list, such as a millionaire’s tax to raise more revenue for education funding and more charter school regulations.

The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing lawmakers to hold a special session this summer to address funding issues.

During a union press conference Thursday morning, CTU vice president Jackson Potter said schools are slated, for now, to lose lots of staff and claimed district officials are considering cutting up to two weeks of instructional time next school year if it doesn’t get more funding to close its deficit. CTU President Stacy Davis Gates relayed a similar message to the union’s executive board in a letter earlier this week.

In a statement, CPS spokesperson Sylvia Barragan disputed that, saying “at no point has the district considered shortening the school year to alleviate financial challenges” and doing so “is not a viable option.” School districts are required to have 176 instructional days, which is the exact number of days for student attendance on CPS’s approved calendar for next school year. Cutting from that now could put the district out of compliance with the state.

The new legislative agenda includes a mix of old asks and new demands. Similar to the 2024 agenda, CPS is asking for more funding through the state’s main education funding formula in order to reach the state’s definition of “adequate funding.” It also wants heftier reimbursements for certain required services it provides, such as transportation for students with disabilities. And, it again calls for the state to help pay for Chicago teacher pensions in the way it does for other Illinois school districts, something one bill aimed, but failed, to do this year. (CPS has a special tax levy to help cover most teacher pension costs, and state money covers about a third of the costs.)

Some of the newer items include language about supporting more regulations around charter schools, in line with a resolution the board passed last year.

It also includes multiple proposals for raising progressive revenue. In its language supporting a millionaire’s tax, the district states that “by capturing a portion of ultra-high incomes, this dedicated revenue source would directly help address structural budget gaps, support classroom investments, and reduce reliance on volatile or one time revenue streams.”

Thotakura said the millionaire’s tax is a “notable” addition and could help the board avoid raising the property tax levy to the legally allowed limit, which it typically does annually.

Ed Bannon, an appointed board member, said it’s possible the agenda “just kind of didn’t get prioritized” early this year as King was still the interim CEO at the time and was navigating a host of issues. Despite the late timing, he said he’s happy a document now exists as the board gets ready to fill a long-vacant position on its intergovernmental team, which helps establish CPS’ advocacy presence in Springfield.

“The state needs to fulfill its obligation to fully fund education, and having an official legislative agenda is a step in the right direction,” Bannon said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Why more Chicago schools lean on dollars they raise independently amid budget crunch

2026-06-22T10:00:00+00:00

Data analysis by Thomas Wilburn

This story was created in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune. Editor’s note: Please do not republish.

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Karen Calloway is always hunting for more ways to bring in dollars for Kenwood Academy.

In recent years, the principal has rented out the South Side high school’s campus to churches, nonprofits, and sports leagues, and leaned on a new parent group to drum up donations. The effort to supplement what the school receives directly from Chicago Public Schools has paid off.

Kenwood spent $418,983 in outside money in fiscal year 2025, compared to a low of about $90,000 in 2021, according to an analysis by Chalkbeat and the Tribune.

At Kenwood, a predominantly Black high school where about half of the students are low-income, that funding has paid for athletic equipment and uniforms, student clubs and college tours.

“Regardless of the budget, as a principal, you should want to create other arms of revenue for your school,” Calloway said. “It’s being flexible and being nimble about how you use the funding that you have.”

Private fundraising has long been seen as a way to pad school budgets in wealthier communities, usually to pay for nice-to-haves, such as field trips and student clubs. But as the district grapples with growing financial woes, more Chicago schools have leaned on parent fundraising, rental income, cell tower revenue, and more to pay for essentials, including staffing.

In fiscal year 2025, district-run campuses spent a total of $48 million in independently raised revenue, the Chalkbeat and Chicago Tribune analysis found. That’s up 78% since 2021, when the district was newly flush with federal pandemic relief.

In an email, a district spokesperson said the total spent in fiscal year 2025 was $51.8 million, but could not explain the discrepancy.

North Side schools have remained dominant in bringing in this outside funding, but some higher-poverty South and West Side campuses such as Kenwood increasingly held their own. Across the city, principals say they appreciate the boost, even as they note playing landlord and overseeing fundraisers can siphon time away from efforts to improve instruction.

The district made some cuts to school budgets this spring to chip at a $732.5 million deficit, under pressure from billions in long-term debt and pension liabilities, aging infrastructure and state funding that remains short of what Illinois deems “adequate.”

“The district’s budget is getting close to the breaking point, so principals are hustling around for additional revenue, the district’s hustling around to buy additional savings and the long-term revenue sources are kind of tapped out,” said Nelson Gerew of the Chicago Public Education Fund.

Students walk outside Amundsen High School in 2017.

Larger schools say this funding is a lifeline

Until recently, Amundsen High School spent fundraised dollars on computer carts, classroom materials, and other nonessentials.

A decade ago, about 90% of Amundsen’s students were from low-income families and almost 60% were Latino. Then came an all-out effort to attract more families from the school’s well-to-do Lincoln Square neighborhood. The successful push has been a boon for Amundsen’s reputation and enrollment. It has also meant tighter budgets.

In 2024, the school — where roughly a third of students are now low-income and nearly half are white — lost federal dollars it used to receive for serving a high concentration of disadvantaged students. That year, CPS also adopted a new funding formula that, among other things, guaranteed minimum staffing for a growing number of campuses with smaller student bodies — the culmination of yearslong efforts to steer more resources to needier schools.

Facing a growing budget shortfall, Amundsen spent $894,000 in outside money in 2025, including fundraising, cell tower income, and grant revenue, for operational expenses such as partial staff salaries. That’s roughly 5% of its budget.

“We aren’t using [fundraising] because our kids need iPad 10s instead of iPad 9s,” said Bob Farster, a longtime Local School Council representative. “This isn’t frivolous. We’re not using it for things that aren’t 100% necessary.”

Historically in Chicago, parent fundraising has been a story of have versus have-not schools, a dynamic threatening to drive deeper inequity in a segregated district. Indeed, “Friends of” groups at the city’s premier selective enrollment schools, which tend to serve whiter and wealthier student bodies than the district as a whole, can pull in hefty amounts. Take Friends of Payton, which raised $786,000 for Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in 2023-24, according to the organization’s most recent tax filings, more than any other school in the district.

But the picture has become more nuanced.

Amid the funding shifts, school leaders, LSC members and parent groups at larger high schools like Amundsen — often in wealthier areas but drawing diverse student bodies — say outside revenue is helping to bridge budget gaps, paying for staff positions, pressing building repairs or other essentials.

Without independent revenue, one North Side principal who requested anonymity to speak candidly said, “I can’t make the numbers work.”

At about 1% of total campus budgets in 2024-25, this type of income that schools raise independently of what the district provides is still a small fraction of school spending overall. But it’s growing, and it accounts for a larger portion on some campuses, including 6% at Lincoln Park High School, the highest among CPS schools. This school year, 77 teacher and staff positions districtwide were funded through independent revenue, up from 67 in 2024-25.

Securing independent revenue can be time-consuming and uncertain, school leaders say. Renting out parking lots, auditoriums, and other school facilities often involves coming in on weekends and troubleshooting issues with vendors throughout the week, the North Side principal said.

Meanwhile, high-needs campuses on the South and West sides are stepping up their own fundraising.

Schools serving more low-income families hope to boost outside dollars

At Kenwood’s eighth grade graduation in the school’s courtyard earlier this month, graduates, parents and family members flocked to a booth piled high with “spiritwear”: $45 sweatshirts, $20 baseball hats, $10 tote bags, all with the school’s insignia rendered in ornate lettering. A winding line formed by the booth, manned by members of Friends of Kenwood.

RyAnn Nelson-Jaiyesimi, a 1998 graduate, held up a blue T-shirt with “alumni” scripted across the chest. She walked away with two for $20 each, adding that supporting the fundraiser was an easy decision: “We have kiddos from all different backgrounds, so I definitely think it’s important to give back.”

Volunteers bring out a rack of spiritwear to stock in the Friends of Kenwood Academy booth before the start of eighth grade graduation at Kenwood Academy on June 1, 2026, in Chicago.

Ramona Burress, a parent and former head of Kenwood’s Local School Council, helped revive the school’s parent fundraising group at the height of COVID, as many families struggled with access to food, housing, and technology needed for remote learning. Families kept it going after the pandemic’s fallout eased — and after Burress’ three children all graduated from Kenwood.

More recently, Burress joined an informal network of CPS “Friends of” group leaders, dominated by wealthier North Side schools where fundraising is “a well-oiled engine.” In a group chat and in-person meetings, she has gotten tips and ideas for how Kenwood could step up its fundraising efforts, such as a mini-grant competition to support student clubs and sports teams. Burress said the push has also spurred parent engagement at the school and sent a message to students that families and staff care about improving their experience.

At $55,000 last year, the group’s haul is still a fraction of what wealthier schools can raise. It’s also only about 13% of what Kenwood spent in outside revenue last year, income dominated by rental dollars. But the group wants to do more, tapping a network of loyal alumni and local businesses.

“The district is navigating real financial pressures,” Burress said. “Organizations like ours can help to close the gap. Ideally, we shouldn’t have to be here, but we recognize the need.”

The Chalkbeat/Chicago Tribune analysis showed Kenwood and other South and West Side schools serving higher-poverty student bodies have significantly increased the amounts of independently raised revenue in their budgets in recent years, often pulling a mix of rental, cell tower, student fee, and some fundraising income. Dyett High School for the Arts in Washington Park, Corliss High School in Pullman and Benito Juarez High School in Pilsen are among the 80 campuses on the South and West Sides that have tripled their outside spending dollars since 2021.

Overall, this type of spending went up by 40% at South and West Side schools since 2021 and accounted for almost a third of the total amount of independently raised revenue schools across the city spent.

In some cases, outside revenue has allowed such campuses to offer extras that have long been staples at wealthier schools. But increasingly, even as the district has shifted its funding model to prioritize higher-need campuses, some school leaders on the South and West Side say outside revenue has also helped shore up their budgets.

Gunsaulus, a Southwest Side magnet school serving largely low-income Latino families, spent a growing amount of cell tower revenue in recent years. Meanwhile, the school’s parent fundraising arm, Amigos de Gunsaulus, held an annual raffle to pay for field trips in the United States and South Korea all students take. But the group has also recently stepped up its efforts to raise more for campus needs, such as school supplies and arts programs.

Amigos has worked to adapt to its more limited fundraising prowess. Amigos used to host “dressdown” days, when parents could chip in $1 so their student wouldn’t have to wear the school uniform. But, says Vanessa Espinosa, the group’s president, Amigos did away with the practice because it felt unfair to low-income families.

The group has instead tried to emulate the annual fundraising galas and walkathons wealthier schools host, except its members target the school’s teachers and local businesses instead of their families — an approach that helped Amigos raise $166,000 in 2024-25, according to tax filings.

“We are conscious that our community has many limitations,” Espinosa said.

Increasingly, district leaders are noticing these schools’ fundraising efforts.

District officials push schools to get creative in raising revenue

In a district presentation the week school budgets were released this spring, principals were urged to tap any available dollars in the special funds containing parent fundraising, rental, and other revenue before appealing their staffing allocations.

The district has also more recently encouraged schools to rent out their facilities when possible and started taking a cut. Officials say this new “facility fee” helps offset some of CPS’ growing building maintenance expenses. The district said it will raise the fee for some schools this summer “to more accurately reflect actual building operating costs.” Schools hosting cell towers keep a third of that revenue; CPS redistributes the rest to all campuses, the district said.

LaToya Gray stands in front of the Friends of Kenwood Academy booth and straightens the graduation cap of her son, Jachin McGee, 13, who is graduating from eighth grade at Kenwood Academy on June 1, 2026, in Chicago.

A CPS spokeswoman told Chalkbeat and the Tribune that it takes a hands-off approach to school efforts to generate revenue independently and has a “neutral stance” on parent fundraising.

“While fundraising can play a role in finances at the local school level, it will not compensate for the nearly $3 billion in COVID-related funding allocated to CPS,” the district said in a statement.

Still, district officials have shown some interest in helping higher-poverty schools step up their game when it comes to securing outside revenue.

At Kenwood, Burress says she has met twice with the head of the regional office overseeing Kenwood and other high schools about replicating the school’s fundraising efforts on other South Side campuses. School board members have voiced interest as well. Gunsaulus’ Espinosa has also gotten inquiries from a network administrator and principals at nearby schools to present on launching a fundraising nonprofit without a pricey attorney.

Lauren Sartain, one of the authors of a 2023 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago study of CPS fundraising, cautions against relying too much on independently raised revenue.

“To think you can tap these dollars to support all students who have needs is simply not realistic,” Sartain said.

Still, school leaders and advocates said that they are grateful for these dollars — even more so amid this spring’s budget cuts. At Whitney Young, a coveted selective school on the Near West Side, Friends of Whitney Young money once supported building improvements and student groups. But this year, for the first time, the nonprofit will fund two teaching positions.

Friends of Whitney Young president Patricia Herrera put it simply: “We’re basically a lifeline now.”

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Kate Armanini is the education reporter at the Chicago Tribune.

Editing by Becky Vevea, Corilyn Shropshire, and Mónica Rhor; data analysis by Thomas Wilburn; visual presentation by Steve Rosenberg, Todd Panagopoulos and Susan Gonzales; engagement design by Ellen Przepasniak and Caroline Bauman; copy editing by Mónica Rhor and Robert Loerzel.

Editor’s note: This story was created in collaboration with the Chicago Tribune. Please do not republish.

In this fall’s Chicago school board elections, many voters may only have one candidate to choose from

2026-06-12T22:05:12+00:00

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For three decades, Chicago voters have not had a direct say in who represents them on the city’s Board of Education.

And many may not have much of a choice again this fall, despite an otherwise historic election in which all 21 school board seats are on the ballot in November’s general election.

That’s because 17 races could end up with just one candidate if challenges to their petition signatures are successful. That’s on top of the two seats up for election that have just one candidate.

This year, 28 candidates — more than half the current field of 51 candidates — are at risk of getting knocked off the ballot. The Urban Center, a pro-school choice, politically centrist organization, is behind at least 14 of those challenges.

Most of the candidates facing challenges — including four of the five people running for board president — could be wiped from the ballot due to a claim that the way they collected signatures violated election law. Most of The Urban Center’s challenges include this claim.

Known as a dual circulator argument, the challengers say that some people who helped candidates collect signatures were not allowed to do so because they had already circulated petitions for other candidates during the March primary election. Chicago’s school board races are nonpartisan and were not part of the primary.

If the electoral board agrees, they could make a single ruling that would result in thousands of voters across 14 districts having just one school board candidate on their ballot.

For candidates, fighting petition challenges can be time-consuming and expensive, which can cut into campaigning or cause them to withdraw from the race and leave voters with fewer choices. Election attorneys and challengers, however, say the process ensures candidates are following the law and are people who voters want on the ballot.

In 2024, 47 candidates filed to run, and 31 remained on the ballot.

In Chicago, petition challenges are often backed by powerful special interests as a tactic to narrow the race.

The Chicago Teachers Union was behind many of the challenges in 2024, when 10 of 21 board seats were up for election. This year, other special interests are employing the tactic.

Robert Sylvester, vice president of The Urban Center and chair of their political action group, told Chalkbeat and Board Rule his group is working with other political organizations and longtime elections attorney Mike Kasper on their challenges — more than half of which target candidates who are current mayoral appointees on the school board, have previously been backed by the union, or lean politically progressive.

“The democratic process is important to me and Urban Center,” Sylvester said in an interview. “We challenge to make sure people play by the rules.”

Asked if The Urban Center targeted candidates who don’t ideologically align with it, Sylvester said, “We challenged anybody we thought didn’t have the requisite signatures or that they didn’t follow the rules around the circulators.”

The basis for challenging candidate petitions

Candidates for school board running to represent the district they live in were required to collect between 500 to 1,500 signatures on a form known as a nominating petition. Those running for board president, which is a citywide office, were required to collect 2,500 signatures.

But there are very specific rules for what counts as a valid signature: Signers must be registered to vote at an address in the same district as the candidate, they cannot sign multiple petitions for the same race, and, though it may be obvious, the signature can’t be forged.

Victor Henderson, a newcomer candidate running for board president, is facing one of the more serious challenges: Two objectors have accused him or someone on his team of fraudulently altering his signers’ addresses in order to make the signatures valid.

A handful of objections are over more technical matters. For example, one objector claimed that current appointed board member Norma Rios-Sierra, who is running in district 3a, should be knocked off the ballot because she didn’t include a hyphen in her last name on her nomination paperwork. Candidate Marlo Bennet faces two challenges arguing they did not identify the subdistrict they’re running for and should therefore be disqualified.

Nearly two dozen challenges include the “dual circulator” argument and cite a part of election law that says “no person shall circulate or certify petitions for candidates of more than one political party, or for an independent candidate or candidates in addition to one political party, to be voted upon at the next primary or general election, or for such candidates and parties with respect to the same political subdivision at the next consolidated election.”

Another section of election law says that where applicable, the law also applies to nonpartisan candidates.

The point of the law is to prevent “political gamesmanship” or a “sore-loser” situation, such as someone switching to run as an independent in the same election season, said Ross Secler, an elections attorney and partner at Odelsen, Murphy, Frazier and McGrath, who cited previous Illinois Supreme Court rulings over the issue.

Secler, who is representing objectors in two challenges but is not making the dual circulator argument in either of them, said he doesn’t see how dual circulators violated the spirit of the law in this situation. The March primaries were unrelated to local school board races.

Normally, a challenge is resolved once a hearing officer reviews the case, issues a recommendation, and the electoral board takes a final vote on whether the candidate gathered enough valid signatures to be on the ballot.

Connie Anderson is running in district 10b and is one of the candidates facing the dual circulator argument. Anderson’s husband, Clifton, has also challenged the petitions of Anderson’s opponent, Rosita Chatonda.

Anderson is getting legal help from the CTU to defend her petitions — an offer CTU leaders made to all candidates shortly after challenges were made public.

“We are blessed that an organization came in and said, ‘We will help you even if we haven’t endorsed you because we believe in your vision,’” Anderson said. “We align in that way.”

During the 2024 school board races, the union was behind challenges against 19 candidates. A CTU spokesperson said the union did not back any challenges this cycle and could not immediately confirm which candidates the union has offered legal help to.

Julie Metea, a spokesperson for the Electoral Board, said that attorneys involved in cases with the “dual circulator” argument asked the Electoral Board to rule on the issue once instead of having several different hearing officers decide on individual cases.

Metea said that the board is tentatively planning to hold one hearing to decide on this issue, but that isn’t final.

Candidates who escaped challenges breathe sigh of relief

Several candidates facing these objections didn’t return calls or declined to comment on the record about their cases.

Some current and former candidates said they escaped challenges because they did a lot of research or didn’t rely on paid circulators, who candidates pay per signature.

Jennifer Custer, a current elected board member who is running for board president, escaped a challenge, meaning she’s guaranteed to be on the ballot.

“We made sure to just check everything before we even started petitions and make sure that we were following the law,” Custer said in an interview.

When Anthony Hargrove ran for school board in 2024, he largely relied on a paid circulator who was tasked with securing 500 signatures. Then, Hargrove faced a petition challenge and was knocked off the ballot after many of his signatures were deemed invalid. Last time, it cost the father of four expensive attorney fees and time to fight the challenge.

Chicago elections, he said, can feel “like a frat that’s really, really impossible to get into.”

Hargrove is running again this year for district 5a on the West Side, and he changed his strategy for getting on the ballot. He got advice from retired politicians. He read the law. He said he didn’t pay anyone to collect signatures, and instead, he, his wife and others spent evenings and weekends knocking on doors and attending community events to collect hundreds of more names than he needed. Then he went to the county building to make sure his signatures were valid.

Last week, after repeatedly refreshing the Board of Elections website, he saw that no one had challenged his petitions.

“It was like, ‘Oh my god, I made it. Oh my god, I’m a candidate,’” Hargrove said.

Isaiah Pinzino and Norah D’Cruze contributed to this report.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Maureen Kelleher is the founding editor for Board Rule. Contact Maureen at maureen.boardrule@gmail.com.

CPS CEO Macquline King testified before Congress. Here are 3 key takeaways.

2026-06-10T23:27:27+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King’s summer is already off to an unconventional start — testifying in front of Congress just a few months after officially landing the superintendent role.

The Republican-led U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing Wednesday morning where King answered a litany of questions on the district’s policies on gender identity, sex education, abortion, and religious freedom. It’s the latest in an ongoing saga that has placed CPS under federal scrutiny for its efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

CPS has had an especially strained relationship with the Trump administration over the past year and a half. Two months after Trump took office, conservative groups filed federal Title IX complaints with the U.S. Department of Education, alleging CPS’ LGBTQ protections violated the anti-discrimination clause. Then in September, federal officials pulled magnet school grant funding. The district is also under investigation by the Office for Civil Rights for its Black Student Success Plan — an initiative meant to improve conditions for Black students and teachers — for alleged race-based discrimination.

“Whether it’s building community partnerships, advocating for our schools or testifying before Congress as she’s done today, we applaud [Dr. King’s] unwavering commitment to keeping students and families at the center,” Chicago Board of Education President Sean Harden told reporters after the hearing Wednesday.

Alongside King, two other superintendents spoke before the committee — Maria Su from San Francisco Unified School District and Aaron Spence from Virginia’s Loudoun County Public Schools. All three school districts are located in largely Democratic-leaning areas and implement progressive policies.

But King’s appearance was under different circumstances from Su and Spence. The committee ordered King to answer its questions in person by subpoenaing her last month. King acknowledged the legal order in her opening statements, attributing it to “complicated scheduling issues and some underlying privacy concerns.”

Earlier this week, America First Legal filed federal complaints to the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Justice calling for investigations into each of the school districts in question. The organization, co-founded by White House senior advisor Stephen Miller, largely focused its grievance on issues regarding gender and sexuality in schools.

Questioning lasted for about three hours. Here are the noteworthy takeaways from King’s testimony.

King’s testimony style? An even tone with brief responses

Heading into Wednesday’s hearing, it was no surprise that King was called to testify on the district’s policies. Chicago already found itself in the hot seat about a year ago when Mayor Brandon Johnson was called to testify in front of Congress about the city’s immigration laws.

King’s testimony approach wasn’t nearly as combative as previous exchanges between the district and the Trump administration. Instead, King kept a steady tone and took several opportunities to affirm that CPS values parental input.

She kept most of her answers concise, and at times, didn’t answer “yes” or “no” to questions she was asked to do so. King answered many questions by saying: “CPS is in compliance with Illinois state law.”

“Dr. King emphasized that CPS policies are rooted in law, the District’s mission and values. Above all else, Dr. King emphasized the District must always prioritize the best interests of students and their families,” CPS said in a written statement after the hearing.

Those blunt answers sometimes elicited frustration from Republicans, who cut King off a few times. It also led to several reprimands about CPS’ academic performance and massive budget deficit.

“CPS has shown it is far more interested in sidelining parents and advancing radical gender ideology than ensuring students can read, write, and perform math at grade level,” said Republican Rep. Mary Miller, Illinois’ sole member on the committee.

Most Republicans focused on gender identity and sexuality, while Democrats pointed to other issues

All three superintendents fielded questions on school rules related to gender identity and sexuality. For CPS, policies about transgender students’ sleeping situations for overnight field trips and their ability to use the locker room for the gender they identify with came under fire.

“If a student is transitioning and they have gone through the eligibility process and it has been approved according to Illinois policy, that would be considered on a case by case basis,” King said, when pressed by North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx on transgender girls being allowed to sleep in the same room as cisgender girls.

Republicans also raised concerns about Chicago’s sex education curriculum teaching about puberty blockers, as well as school staff calling students by a different pronoun or name than they use at home. Several referenced recent actions by the U.S. Supreme Court that expanded a parent’s authority over their child’s education as evidence that the school districts in question Wednesday were not complying with federal laws.

The Democratic committee members used their time to bring up other issues in education they saw as more pressing: budget cuts, immigration enforcement, and school shootings. Several Democrats also apologized to the superintendents for some of the fiery statements made by Republican lawmakers.

“You know what you do, you’re good at what you do,” said Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat from Connecticut. “Do not be intimidated by this committee.”

May Day protests scrutinized

One topic that got fewer mentions in committee — but more in-depth answers from King — was the district’s approach to May Day.

In an agreement last month between the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS, the city’s schools stayed open that day and provided a full day of instruction, which included lessons on civic engagement and labor.

As part of May Day, CPS approved and provided transportation for 40 field trips — with about 2,200 of the district’s 315,000 students involved. Some of those trips was to a downtown pro-labor, anti-Trump rally, which was called into question during Wednesday’s hearing.

King defended CPS’ handling of May Day, saying it was part of the district’s goal to “engage students civically.” When asked if field trips would be approved for protests aligned with conservative causes, King emphasized that the day of instruction was “not a politically slanted event.”

“The curriculum was expansive and there were options,” King said. “The curriculum was still decided at the school level, and so were the field trips.”

King also tentatively agreed to a lawmaker’s demand that the district investigate a May Day field trip permission slip that said students would “engage in political advocacy.”

Reema Amin contributed to this report.

Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

CPS eighth graders will take a new, longer high school admissions test

2026-06-04T18:14:00+00:00

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Starting this fall, Chicago Public Schools’ eighth graders will take a longer and different standardized test to help determine where they get into high school.

In an email to principals and a letter to families of rising eighth graders, district officials said students will take the PreACT 9 Secure in October in place of the old High School Admissions Test — known as the HSAT. The new test is a precursor to the ACT exam that Illinois high school students are required to take and is used for college admissions.

All CPS eighth graders take the exam during the school day and private school students take it on a weekend. Their scores can determine whether they get into the high school of their choice outside of their neighborhood. The new test will still be administered on Oct. 7, and there are no changes to the timeline for the high school admissions process for next school year.

The exam will be two-and-a-half hours long versus the hour-long HSAT. In addition to English language arts and math, the PreACT 9 includes sections on reading and science. Additionally, unlike the current HSAT, the exam won’t be offered in languages other than English.

CPS says the new exam will allow families and teachers to receive “meaningful information” about student performance as they enter high school — something the HSAT didn’t do, according to the letter to families.

Districts can use the PreACT 9 “for program placement, high-stakes, or accountability purposes while giving students practice with taking the ACT,” according to the ACT.

The district also said the new test will allow more kids to prepare because it’s a widely used test that has “free or low-cost” prep materials, and it has “greater confidence” that this exam won’t be glitchy like the HSAT has been in recent years, requiring make-up tests. It’s not clear if the school board will discontinue its contract with the company that produces the old HSAT exam.

In its letter to families, CPS did not say that the exam won’t be offered in other languages but did explain that change in a letter to school leaders.

In the letter to principals, CPS said its data show that students who took the test in another language “performed LOWER than English Learners who took the test in English with accommodations.”

Gabriel Paez, a seventh and eighth grade bilingual teacher at Haugan Elementary School, told Chalkbeat he was upset to learn the exam will more than double in length and is “disheartened and distraught” by the lack of non-English options for the new exam.

In his experience, he said, English learners who are newer to the country and are still getting used to standardized testing tend to take the exam in their native language, while longtime English learners tend to take the exam in English with accommodations — which could explain some of the data CPS is citing in its letter to school leaders.

“In the past, it was common to say and to think that English-only was the only right way, and now it sounds like the district is going backwards in time and pushing forth the narrative that having this very important exam in multiple languages harmed our English language learners,” said Paez, who also chairs the bilingual teacher committee for the Chicago Teachers Union.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Dozens of Chicago school board candidates could get knocked off the ballot

2026-06-04T16:31:47+00:00

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More than half of the 51 people who filed to run for one of 21 seats on the Chicago Board of Education may not make it on the ballot.

That’s after 28 potential candidates had the validity of their petition signatures challenged.

Petition challenges allow registered voters in a candidate’s district to challenge the validity of signatures on their petitions. If the Chicago Board of Elections invalidates enough signatures, it can remove a candidate from the list. This year’s deadline to certify the ballot is Aug. 27.

Four of the five people hoping to be elected at-large to serve as school board president are at risk of being removed. Jennifer Custer is the only unchallenged candidate and will secure a spot in that race.

All nine of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s appointees currently serving on the school board running to keep their seats are facing challenges to the validity of their signatures. Two elected members aligned with Johnson — Aaron “Jitu” Brown and Yesenia Lopez — have also had their petitions called into question. Johnson’s appointed school board president Sean Harden is not running for election.

Elected incumbents Therese Boyle, Ebony DeBerry, Angel Gutierrez, Carlos A. Rivas Jr., Ellen Rosenfeld, and Che “Rhymefest” Smith escaped challenges and will all be on the ballot in November. Both Rosenfeld and Gutierrez are running unopposed in district 4b and 8a, respectively.

Only two of 21 races — in districts 2a and 4a — are currently guaranteed to have more than one candidate. Incumbent Ebony DeBerry and Bruce Leon, who ran in 2024, went unchallenged and are set to compete in 2a, while Ellen Sherratt and Angel Alvarez made it on the ballot in 4a. Hector Morales could survive a challenge to compete in 2a, as could 4a incumbent Karen Zaccor.

Surviving a petition challenge can require an attorney and take multiple weeks. The time-consuming and costly nature raises questions about ballot access for less resourced candidates. Removing political opponents through petition challenges has also been held up as an example of old-school, Chicago-style politics and were famously used by former President Barack Obama during his first campaign for state senate in 1996.

Chicago school board candidates were required to collect 500 to 1,500 valid signatures from voters in their districts and those running for board president had to collect 2,500 signatures from registered voters in Chicago.

In 2024, 47 people filed to run, but only 31 candidates remained by election day.

This November’s election marks the first time all 21 seats on the Chicago Board of Education will be up for election, ending 30 years of mayoral control. Since 2024, the board has been half-elected and half-appointed.

Becky Vevea is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Chicago. Contact Becky at bvevea@chalkbeat.org.

Dozens of Chicago seniors were forced to change schools this spring. Here’s how one got his diploma.

2026-06-03T20:37:38+00:00

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Jonathan Escobar sat among roughly 350 students in royal purple caps and gowns waiting to walk across the stage at Carl Schurz High School as hundreds of relatives and friends periodically erupted in cheers.

Just two months ago, Escobar and about 70 other kids seated around him hadn’t expected to graduate from the Irving Park high school — because until this spring they attended other schools.

Jonathan Escobar, who was forced to leave his old ASPIRA high school after it closed in the spring, holds up his diploma from Schurz High School

Those schools — run by the ASPIRA charter network — abruptly closed midyear, forcing more than 500 students like Escobar to transfer after ASPIRA said it had run out of money. The Chicago Board of Education officially shuttered ASPIRA Business and Finance and Early College high schools in April.

Schurz received the most ASPIRA transfers — roughly 250 – and 73 were in their senior year.

They had to get used to new teachers, new classrooms, and new classmates. Up until his last week, Escobar was unsure he’d pass every class.

The experience could become more common as Chicago’s charter schools experience financial turmoil and declining enrollment, which have resulted in multiple closures in recent years.

Leaving was a ‘big disaster’

Escobar enrolled at ASPIRA Business and Finance because his older sister had gone there, and the school was known to prepare kids for the real world, he said.

He liked his teachers at the school, including Juan Elias, who taught finance and entrepreneurship classes at ASPIRA.

Elias said the school’s final days were “eerie as hell.” Students like Escobar, who Elias taught as a sophomore, were no longer there to stop by his classroom and say hello.

“I saw the tears, uncertainty, especially with our students that needed the most support,” said Elias, who protested the closures. “I saw a lot of stress.”

The two ASPIRA campuses that closed enrolled a total of about 570 students at the start of the school year. By late-March, CPS said more than 500 had transferred out to about 20 district schools, and nearly half had picked Schurz. Another 70 went to Roosevelt and 50 went to Kelvyn Park, CPS said at the time. Ten of the kids went to other charters.

Escobar decided to transfer to Schurz, about a 15-minute drive from his home, because he knew of a classmate already there. The Chicago Teachers Union pushed the district to keep as many students and teachers together as possible.

Having to leave his old school like this was a “big disaster,” Escobar said later.

Schurz principal Heidy Moran had said it was “unprecedented” for her school, which enrolled roughly 1,000 students before the ASPIRA kids came, to welcome this many new students at once. The school created a team of staffers who organized events and initiatives to help ease the new kids in.

Former ASPIRA teacher Juan Elias greets his former students who graduated from Schurz High School.

A mixed transition process

On his first day at Schurz in March, Escobar was nervous about not knowing his new teachers or students and navigating a new building.

Then he saw some ASPIRA students he had known since elementary school and felt some relief. He wasn’t alone.

Some Schurz staffers said the transition went well for some students. Several had even joined sports or clubs.

There were signs, however, that others were struggling.

“Every day I receive emails from my former students asking for help and guidance when I should be receiving emails asking about recommendation letters and exciting updates,” said Stephanie Diaz, a former counselor at ASPIRA Business and Finance, during a Chicago Board of Education meeting in early April. “Others are writing to me about transfer options for next year because they feel like they don’t belong there yet.”

In his first few weeks at Schurz, Escobar wished he could go back to ASPIRA.

Escobar, who describes himself as a shy person, would have lunch with old classmates, and they would crack jokes or talk about their old teachers. But mostly, he kept to himself. He said he didn’t have time to join clubs.

After the closures, Elias began working as a substitute in CPS. During one stint substitute teaching at Schurz, a couple of former ASPIRA students spotted him in the hallway and “sprinted” toward him to say hello. It was a sign, he thought, of how much they missed their old school.

Schurz High School students celebrate graduating by throwing streamers into the air.

Ready to move on

By late April, Escobar was talking to his new Schurz teachers more. He thought his classes were easier than at his old school. He liked when students would work on assignments together in class.

“I’m almost done with high school,” he said in an interview with Chalkbeat about a month after transferring to Schurz. “Just trying to focus.”

By May, graduation was getting closer. But Escobar, who has a learning disability and is entitled to extra support in the classroom, was having a hard time in physics.

The class was difficult to understand. He worried he was at risk of failing and not graduating if he didn’t do well on the final exam.

Escobar said his counselor helped him get some extra attention in the class.

The help paid off: Escobar passed the physics final, bumping his grade to a 76. He got As and Bs in the rest of his classes.

On graduation day, Elias, Escobar’s former ASPIRA teacher, stood in the back of the Schurz auditorium to cheer on his former students. He clapped and yelled when their names were called, then rattled off some facts about each person: Steven was in National Honor Society. Dayana won second place during a Shark Tank competition for ASPIRA students. Oscar loves the Chicago Bears.

After the ceremony, former ASPIRA students spotted Elias and wrapped him in big, tight hugs. One student picked him up.

Later, Elias saw Escobar outside and gave him a high-five. Elias said he was proud of him, and Escobar thanked him.

Of the 156 former ASPIRA seniors who transferred into district-run schools, 154 were cleared to graduate as of this week, according to a CPS spokesperson, who noted that official graduation totals are typically finalized at the end of the summer.

Jonathan Escobar poses for a photo with his mother after graduating from Schurz High School.

After months of longing and adjustment, Escobar, holding his diploma in his left hand, said he was happy to be done. He is planning to enroll in community college.

But something unexpected had also happened: He said he’s going to miss Schurz, where the classes felt easier and his teachers cared about him.

“It was a good school with good people,” Escobar said of Schurz the day after graduation.

About 70 students are expected to attend a voluntary graduation ceremony Saturday for former ASPIRA kids at Lane Tech High School.

Escobar isn’t planning to attend, even though months ago he wished for such an event. He said he is ready to move on.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Amid charter sector turmoil, Chicago school board delays charter school renewals

2026-05-29T13:10:00+00:00

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After a lengthy and tense debate about oversight of charters, the Chicago school board postponed Thursday a decision on renewing six of seven charter schools or networks serving 8,300 students until after the end of the school year.

After two years of intense charter scrutiny and relatively brief renewal terms, district officials this year touted a new process for monitoring charters and also recommended longer renewals. They wanted most schools to get four-year contracts, with one, Academy for Global Citizenship, earning a seven-year renewal recommendation. The Acero network was cleared for a five-year renewal on the heels of its announcement last school year that it would close seven campuses and the school board’s unprecedented decision to absorb five of them.

District officials said the longer renewals will cut down on red tape, while a new process of sizing up all charters midcycle and flagging nascent financial issues before they escalate will make for stronger oversight. But school board members aligned with the Chicago Teachers Union — the charter sector’s fiercest critic — pointed to a stretch of intense fiscal turbulence and closure announcements in Chicago’s charter sector to argue they had more outstanding questions and wanted the new process to have more teeth.

Some held up Acero as an example, arguing that what they described as an abrupt announcement in fall of 2024 that campuses would close at the end of that school year should count against the network.

“An accurate sense of finances has been eluding us, resulting in harm to students and costs to the district,” said board member Karen Zaccor, who moved to table the renewal votes.

But other board members praised the new process and argued the board should trust the expertise of the district’s evaluation team.

“We can’t keep moving the goalpost because the data, the process, or the recommendations do not produce the political conclusion someone wanted from the beginning,” said board member Angel Gutierrez, who was elected with strong backing from charter advocates.

Superintendent Macquline King and board President Sean Harden, who both usually abstain from weighing in on board debates, took the unusual step of pleading with board members to approve the contracts and continue to work closely with district officials on fine-tuning the oversight process. King noted thousands of largely Black and Latino students would wrap up the school year without certainty about their schools’ future.

“We’ll cause instability and concern,” an unusually emotional King said. “For us, it may seem like, ‘It’s just two weeks.’ For a child, this can be a lifetime.”

But in tabling the decisions until a June 10 meeting in a 11-to-8 vote, board members signaled they had no intention of denying the renewals but rather just wanted leverage to push for more CPS oversight. The University of Chicago Charter School eventually got a four-year renewal on a technicality.

The board did amend the contract for Urban Prep Academy for Young Men to wind down its Bronzeville campus and consolidate its operations on its Englewood campus. That charter was among several that appealed to CPS for a mid-school year cash advance to make payroll, and the district said the merger will help stabilize the school’s finances. Another charter, Rowe Elementary, is also merging its two campuses into one building.

For Chicago charters and contract schools, recent years have brought a string of fiscal implosions. Following the unprecedented move to save the Acero campuses, the district also came to the rescue of the Chicago High School for the Arts, a contract school, when its board announced last fall its financial model was no longer sustainable.

CPS steered additional dollars to EPIC Academy, a South Side charter high school, so it could finish up the school year before closing permanently. And the district scrambled to accommodate displaced students when it closed two high schools in the ASPIRA charter network after months of financial turmoil.

Charter advocates have argued that underfunding by the district, along with citywide enrollment declines, precipitated these crises. But critics of the sector said financial missteps contributed and argued that CPS officials should have done more to see the closures coming.

Members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson or elected with backing by his allies at the CTU hold a majority on the board and have embraced shorter renewals. Last year, a majority of the 16 schools up for renewal received two-year terms.

At the Thursday meeting, Jennifer Conant, the CTU’s charter division chair, argued for keeping renewals shorter, saying some of the schools on this year’s renewal list are budgeting in a way that fails to reflect their declining enrollments — “magical thinking” that she said contributed to EPIC’s and ASPIRA’s closures. But at the same time, she said Acero’s move to close campuses last school year — a decision the network said was necessary to adjust to enrollment drops — should disqualify it from a five-year renewal.

“If that has no effect on their renewal length, you are sending an invitation to more charter operators to do the same,” Conant said.

Meanwhile, several students at Chicago Collegiate Academy argued the school should get five more years. They said the school has worked to stabilize its finances and is moving to a new building that will allow for student growth in the fall.

“A four-year renewal does not reflect where our school is headed,” said honors student Laila Cruthurd. “It’s a limit.”

The advocacy group Illinois Network of Charter Schools criticized the trend of shorter terms, arguing it forces charters to expend too much energy and resources on frequent, time-consuming renewals. Andrew Broy, the network’s executive director, said this spring’s longer renewals are a step in the right direction. He also praised some aspects of a new framework for evaluating charters that the district used this spring, in which charters’ academic performance carried more weight.

But he decried the late date of the renewals that he said makes it harder for schools to plan for the coming year and said a behind-the-scenes push to shorten the contract terms reveals an anti-charter bias on the board.

Conrad Timbers-Ausar, the district’s acting chief portfolio officer, touted what he described as an extensive, data-driven process for evaluating charters and the district’s new financial early warning system, flagging issues such as spending that exceeds budgeted amounts. He compared it to checking in on students’ academic performance throughout the year rather than waiting to fail them on a final exam.

“This is not a rubber stamp process, and it’s not just a compliance exercise,” he said.

Chicago Collegiate Charter School, Chicago Mathematics and Science Academy, Christopher House Charter School, and Intrinsic Charter School would have received four-year renewals.

In other business, the board backed a resolution calling on state lawmakers to pursue progressive sources of additional revenue to raise more money to schools. That vote came after a lengthy and heated debate of an ultimately unsuccessful amendment member Che “Rhymefest” Smith proposed that would have also called on the city to steer more revenue from a special tax program to spur development to CPS.

In remarks to the board at the start of the meeting, superintendent Macquline King said cuts to school budgets her team proposed earlier this month reflect state and federal revenue haven’t kept up with the district’s rising expenses.

”It breaks my heart to deliver the budgets I had to deliver,” she said.

This story has been corrected to reflect the eventual approval of the University of Chicago Charter School’s renewal.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Here are the 51 people who filed to run for Chicago Board of Education

2026-05-27T16:39:54+00:00

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Fifty-one people are running for a seat on Chicago’s Board of Education this fall — the first time city voters will elect all 21 members.

Candidates had to file petitions with signatures from voters in their district by Tuesday night to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.

This November’s election will complete Chicago’s transition to an elected school board, ending 30 years of mayoral control in the nation’s fourth-largest school district.

All 10 of the people elected in 2024 are running for re-election and two face no challengers. Ellen Rosenfeld and Angel Gutierrez are the only candidates in 4b on the North Side and 8a on the Southwest Side, respectively. All current mayoral appointees besides Board President Sean Harden are running to keep their seats. Several ran unsuccessfully in 2024.

Harden, who was appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2024, has long said he wouldn’t run in this year’s election.

Five people are running for the citywide position of school board president: elected board members Jessica Biggs and Jennifer Custer, Chicago Teachers Union political director Hilario Dominguez, former appointed board member Sendhil Revuluri, and attorney Victor Henderson.

But there’s no guarantee that all 51 current candidates will make it onto the ballot. That’s because of petition challenges, which allow registered voters in a candidate’s district to challenge the validity of signatures on their petitions. If the Board of Elections invalidates enough signatures, it can remove a candidate from the list. Candidates for board president must collect 2,500 signatures of registered voters in Chicago; all other candidates must collect 500 to 1,500 signatures of voters in their districts.

The challenge process, which typically runs about six weeks, can also be time consuming and involves hiring costly attorneys, which can push newer or less resourced candidates out.

In 2024, more than 45 candidates initially filed to run for school board. By the fall, 31 candidates remained due to petition challenges or people withdrawing on their own.

The deadline to object to a candidate’s petitions is June 2. The Board of Elections will finalize the ballot in late August.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board elections kicks off with the first day of candidate filing. Who is trying to run?

2026-05-18T18:23:03+00:00

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The first step toward Chicago’s historic school board elections is officially underway, as candidates lined up early Monday to file paperwork to enter the races.

By 8:30 a.m., a line of more than 20 people buzzing with excitement to file paperwork had already formed in downtown Chicago. Some hopefuls were accompanied by family or campaign staff, while others clutched their documents alone.

But showing up to the Board of Elections site wasn’t just about submitting paperwork in a punctual fashion. Many of those early risers were after something they see as an added bonus: Those who arrive by 9 a.m. on the first day of candidate filing are entered in a lottery to be the first name listed on November’s ballot.

For the first time, all 21 members of Chicago’s Board of Education will be up for election. It’s the last step of a multi-year process — kickstarted by the state legislature — to transition away from having Chicago’s mayor appoint members to the board. Chicagoans got a taste of that shift in 2024 when they voted for half the board’s members. Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed the remaining 11 members, including the board’s president.

Candidates are vying for seats representing 20 districts across Chicago, in addition to another spot for president of the board. Term lengths vary by district, with some expiring every two years while others — including the board president — last four years.

People running for a school board need to collect between 500 and 1,500 valid signatures from voters who live in the hopeful candidate’s district. In the case of the Chicago Board of Education president, candidates need at least 2,500 valid signatures. Not all candidates who showed up Monday will end up on the Nov. 3 ballot, as they can be challenged on the validity of their signatures and possibly disqualified.

Candidates walk inside the Chicago Board of Elections Supersite in downtown Chicago to file paperwork on Monday, May 18, 2026.

From Monday’s showing, the races are already shaping up to showcase a mix of familiar faces and newcomers. The contest for school board president so far includes former board vice president Sendhil Revuluri, and current elected board members Jessica Biggs and Jennifer Custer.

Several current board members — some who are facing election for the first time — submitted their candidate paperwork in hopes of continuing to represent their district come November. Other current board members already had campaigning experience under their belt.

Collecting signatures for this year’s election was much easier for Anusha Thotakura, who represents District 6A, because her district is much smaller than when she first ran in 2024. Another big difference Thotakura has noticed is the engagement from Chicagoans in the race.

“Before, a lot of people in the city didn’t even know we had a school board or what the school board did,” she said. “And now, more people know about what’s going on. They have issues they want to get involved with, and a lot of that is sparking this increase in participation.”

Realtor LaPamela Williams, who filed to run in District 5A, poses for a portrait inside the Chicago Board of Elections Supersite on Monday, May 18, 2026.

For others waiting in line, winning election would mean the first time serving on the board. Personal experience in Chicago schools was the primary motivation for LaPamela Williams, a realtor looking to represent District 5A. Growing up, Williams said her mother sent her to a high school outside her neighborhood so she could get a better quality education. Williams doesn’t want other families to continue having to make that choice.

“I want to see a different run school system, especially in my district,” Williams said.

The filing period ends May 26. That’s when another long line of candidates will likely form to snag the last spot in the ballot order, which is also determined by a lottery.

Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at mseminera@chalkbeat.org.

CPS CEO King subpoenaed to appear at congressional hearing on parental rights, ‘legal abuses’

2026-05-13T23:16:14+00:00

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A U.S. House committee has subpoenaed Chicago Public Schools’ CEO Macquline King to appear at a hearing focused on “attacks on parental rights, inappropriate content, and legal abuses” in American schools.

Rep. Tim Walberg, a Michigan Republican and the chairman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, notified King about the subpoena in a Wednesday letter. It comes about three weeks after the committee first invited King to testify at a hearing titled, “Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America’s Schools,” according to the letter.

Citing scheduling conflicts and an ongoing Office for Civil Rights investigation, King originally declined the committee’s invitation. That hearing was originally scheduled for June 3, but King is now being subpoenaed to appear on June 10.

During the second Trump administration, the district has been under federal scrutiny for compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX, as well as student privacy laws.

Chicago Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

King’s appearance before Congress would thrust Chicago Public Schools into a national spotlight at a time of intense scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Education. The department pulled funding last year from CPS, claiming the district had violated civil rights and sex-based discrimination laws with its plan to boost outcomes for Black students and its policies supporting bathroom and locker room access for transgender students.

Superintendents from San Francisco and Loudon County, Virginia are also expected to appear at the hearing. Both districts have been under scrutiny for progressive policies.

Similar hearings have provided a platform for Republican lawmakers to grill leaders from more liberal communities and institutions. Last year, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other Democratic mayors forcefully defended their sanctuary policies before a congressional committee. University presidents were called by Congress to testify about antisemitism on campus in 2023.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon criticized Chicago about two weeks ago after the Chicago Teachers Union and the district agreed to let students take pre-approved field trips and learn about labor history or civics on May Day.

Walberg’s committee first reached out to King April 16, one week after news that the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS were at odds over closing schools on May 1 — something King opposed.

King responded April 20, declining the invite because of a scheduling conflict and that her testimony would be limited because of the federal government’s civil rights and Title IX investigations into CPS.

The committee then offered six other dates in June, according to Walberg’s Wednesday letter. But CPS General Counsel Elizabeth Barton again cited the ongoing investigations as a reason why King “would not be able to discuss CPS’s policies in detail or share any substantive insight into the process of creating or adopting those policies.”

“We do not believe it would be helpful or informative to the Committee for Dr. King to participate in this hearing given those constraints,” Barton wrote, per the committee’s correspondence Wednesday. “For that reason, she must respectfully decline the Committee’s invitation to testify.”

Neither reason “warrants (King) not participating in the hearing,” Walberg wrote in Wednesday’s letter.

In a separate statement, Walberg said this is the first subpoena during his one-and-a-half-year tenure as chair and does “not take this action lightly.”

“However, the constant refusal to provide testimony blocks the Committee from doing its job of conducting oversight and further deepens mistrust in our education system,” Walberg said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago school board members voice concern about school budget cuts and debate state funding resolution

2026-05-13T21:38:11+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools’ newly released, leaner campus budgets cast a shadow over a Wednesday meeting of the school board when members debated a resolution calling on state lawmakers to steer more money to schools.

Several board members invoked the proposed budgets in arguing for the resolution, which would push legislators to explore progressive sources of new revenue that could buttress school district budgets. But other members questioned whether passing a resolution would be an effective way to make the district’s case in Springfield, where lawmakers have signalled skepticism that the state can help more amid its own intense budget pressures.

Earlier in the day, a half dozen board members aligned with Mayor Brandon Johnson also held a press conference calling on state lawmakers to send more dollars to schools and taking aim at a “megaprojects” economic development bill Johnson has vocally opposed. They argued that the proposal, which would back a new Arlington Heights stadium for the Chicago Bears football team, would siphon resources away from schools. A statement from these members called the district’s planned cuts “severe.”

During the meeting’s public comments section, district officials got an earful from labor leaders on the proposed school budgets. Kia Banks, who leads the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said the union will fight assistant principal cuts and other reductions. She said many school leaders were taken aback by their budgets after delays in their release.

“What we saw was disappointing, frustrating, and sad, and it’s actually self-defeating,” she said, arguing leaner budgets could spur more families to leave the district.

District leaders sent school budgets to principals Tuesday that district officials said would increase special education funding but reduce some teacher, administrative, and support staff positions. Officials would not say by how much funding they are steering directly to school is shrinking compared with last year or how many positions overall might be cut.

But in a memo to school board members, district officials estimated that the school budget shifts would make a $96 million dent in a CPS deficit leaders have pegged at $732 million.

The district is eliminating assistant principals at schools with fewer than 250 students and slightly increasing the student-teacher ratios it uses to allocate teachers to school. Some schools will also likely see reductions in academic interventionists, instructional coaches, and other roles.

CPS leaders presented the changes as a responsible response to the moment: The district added almost 10,000 educators, support staff, and other positions since 2019 as enrollment plunged by 45,000 students. The budget swelled by some $2.6 billion, to more than $10 billion, in the same period. The federal COVID aid that in part powered that increase is now gone, and the $1 billion in additional state revenue CPS received in recent years still leaves the district well short of the state’s calculation for “adequate” funding.

Board members debate funding resolution

At the Wednesday meeting to review the agenda for the board’s regular meeting later this month, some board members argued that the state funding resolution introduced by member Anusha Thotakura was an answer to the district’s precarious fiscal moment. Thotakura said she had worked on bringing it in front of the board for months — and this month’s timing could not be more apt.

She said facing a gaping deficit and “drastic cuts” felt like a “recurring nightmare,” with no progress in securing additional state funding. She cited proposals to raise taxes on wealthy Illinoisans or large corporations as examples of progressive solutions to the state — and district’s — fiscal woes.

“The purpose of this resolution is to bring attention to the needs of our students and, while there are only a few weeks of the legislative session in Springfield, to show a united front and a force among us as leaders in Chicago that we want progressive revenue to support our students and their families,” Thotakura said. She added, “In this final stretch, we have to do more.”

Said board member Jitu Brown: “United, we can shake what we need from Springfield.”

But other board members said that although they might agree with the spirit of the resolution, it would do little to further the district’s Springfield agenda. One board member, Jenni Custer, voiced disappointment that the board had never voted on a clear, unified legislative agenda for this spring’s session. She decried governing by resolution instead.

Board member Ellen Rosenfeld agreed, calling board resolutions “performative governance.” She said everything has to be on the table to solve the district’s structural deficit, from lobbying the state to possible furloughs for CPS staff, which she said would save millions of dollars per day.

“Resolutions really have little to no long-term implications,” she said. She added, “Going down to Springfield and yelling at them and telling them what we’ve told them already doesn’t seem to be that effective.”

Labor leaders bash school budgets

At the same time, labor leaders who addressed the board signalled their members are keeping track of how board members navigate the fiscal challenges ahead of historic school board races this fall.

Banks of the principals union noted that all 21 seats on the school board will be up for grabs in November, and pointed to a recent survey, in which the union’s members said a key criteria to support board candidates would be their ability to line up additional revenue for the district.

Stacy Davis Gates, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union, also called on district leaders and board members to step up efforts to bring in more city and state revenue. She questioned the district’s decision to assume just $100 million in revenue from a special property tax program to spur development, just a fifth of what CPS received last year — and said CPS should be actively working to ensure more robust support.

“The budget as announced yesterday is unsatisfactory and dead on arrival,” she said.

She also questioned why all school board members did not join the Wednesday press conference to advocate for more progressive revenue from the state. And she said the district cancelled a group of teachers’ lobbying trip to Springfield previously scheduled for this week.

Under a May Day agreement CPS and the union struck last month, the district had committed to give the day off with pay to as many as 65 CTU members to lobby lawmakers. But the district said Wednesday that CTU provided a list of seven educators but did not meet the five-day advance notice spelled out in the agreement.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools tightens staffing in school budgets amid massive deficit

2026-05-12T22:00:00+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools will likely steer less money overall to its campuses for the 2026-27 school year, though it will cap educator layoffs at each school and significantly boost special education funding, district leaders said Tuesday.

At an embargoed press briefing, officials declined to spell out the amount by which school budgets might shrink overall or the number of teachers and staff positions on the chopping block. They said these numbers are in flux as principals who received their budgets today have roughly a month to appeal their allocations — and as CPS leaders press state lawmakers and the city for more funding. But in a memo to school board members, Emila Zoko, the acting chief budget officer, estimated school budget shifts would result in about $96 million in savings.

The district crafted school budgets during its most financially uncertain spring since before the pandemic, when it is facing a deficit officials now estimate at more than $730 million. For years, CPS poured federal COVID relief dollars and additional state funding into its schools, opening almost 10,000 new positions since 2019 even as enrollment dropped by 45,000 students. But with almost $3 billion in pandemic aid now expired and only a modest state funding boost for the coming school year, the district must grapple with intractable realities, leaders said.

All schools will still staff a minimum of 10 teachers, but the district is increasing by one student the student-teacher ratios it uses to allocate additional educators. For some campuses, that would mean fewer teachers, though no elementary school will lose more than four educators and no high school more than six. The district will also no longer staff assistant principals at schools with fewer than 250 students — a move the CPS principals union estimated will result in about 120 lost positions and vowed to fight in a letter to members.

The district had committed to staffing an assistant principal in every school when it shifted to a new school budgeting approach in 2023 meant to deemphasize enrollment and better support high-needs schools — goals district leaders stressed they continue to uphold. But that formula’s minimum staffing requirements are becoming more challenging in a cash-strapped district with both enormous schools and a growing number of tiny ones.

But district officials said the district will hire more special education teachers and support staff as the number of students with disabilities continues to increase. It will also add 60 new cluster classrooms — for students with more significant disabilities — across the city.

“Despite all the challenges, we’ve created a budget that successfully meets the moment we are in,” said CPS CEO Macquline King.

Illinois has increased the amount of funding it steers to CPS by roughly $1 billion in recent years. But according to the state’s own calculation of “adequate” funding, CPS remains about $1.6 billion short.

The district budgeted with a deficit estimate of $732 million, which assumes CPS will not chip in to a city pension fund covering its support staff as Mayor Brandon Johnson has insisted in recent years. It also assumes an influx of $100 million from a special tax fund for development, or just a fifth of a record amount CPS received last year — a decrease some local experts consider unlikely.

District leaders stressed CPS is also contending with a major rise in expenditures, driven by upkeep for aging school buildings, labor contract costs, and servicing CPS’s massive debt.

Last year, the district mostly held school funding steady in its $10.2 billion budget, even as it made $272 million in reductions to its central administration and departments. It also shrunk the number of custodians, crossing guards, and cafeteria workers in a bid to keep the impact of its cost-cutting away from the classroom.

Officials said Tuesday that they are planning to trim centralized expenses and support positions once again. But they clearly signaled there will also likely be cuts to teaching and student support staff, including possible reductions to the number of academic interventionists and instructional coaches — two types of positions CPS embraced to speed up post-pandemic recovery.

“Very much like last year, everything is on the table,” King said.

Some principals told Chalkbeat they braced for some staffing cuts because of enrollment dips at their schools and the large deficit, so they were not caught off guard. Others said the losses were much worse than they anticipated, though in some cases the teacher layoff caps helped preserve some educator positions that would have been cut otherwise. One principal said an enrollment bump of just a few students yielded an extra teacher for the school.

“These formulas are not nuanced,” the principal said. “They are large stepping stones without much fine-tuning.”

Principals have until June 9 to appeal their staffing allocations and finalize their budgets. Then later in the summer, the district will unveil its overall budget, which includes centralized expenses, pension, and debt service costs in addition to the campus budgets. The school board must vote on that districtwide budget by Aug. 29 at the latest. Officials said CPS will also hold community engagement sessions on the school budget in the coming weeks.

District and Chicago Teachers Union leaders are lobbying state lawmakers for more state funding. The demise earlier this spring of a millionaire’s tax proposal in Springfield that would have brought $400 million more for CPS dimmed some hopes for additional dollars.

But the union and others argue all is not lost. In fact, the school board is slated to vote on a resolution this month calling on the state Legislature and the governor to give the district more resources. Lawmakers and Gov. JB Pritzker have signaled that amid major pressures on the state’s own budget, they’re unlikely to send more help to CPS.

“We continue our conversations with lawmakers to make sure they understand what our students need and what’s at stake,” King said.

She said that the additional educators and support staff CPS hired since 2019 were a wise investment, noting the district has bounced back academically post-COVID faster than others: “The progress of our students is evidence that our additional staff did a tremendous job.”

In a statement, Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter blamed the district’s budget predicament squarely on state legislators and Pritzker.

“There is wealth in Illinois,” Potter said in the statement, “and there are solutions on the table in Springfield to fully fund our schools, make the ultra-rich and large corporations pay their fair share.”

Chalkbeat Chicago reporter Reema Amin contributed to this report.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools cut hundreds of custodian jobs last year. Staff say their schools are dirtier.

2026-05-11T10:00:00+00:00

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Last summer, as the district faced a massive budget deficit, Chicago Public Schools cut nearly 500 custodian positions, or close to one-fifth of full-time staffers who cleaned schools, and ended all private custodial contracts.

Then, three months into this school year, complaints rolled in through a district survey of 168 principals and 423 custodians: Three-quarters of principals indicated they didn’t have enough custodians on staff to meet their cleaning needs, and at least 40% asked the district for more staff. Nearly two-thirds of custodians said their tasks were difficult to manage given the size of their buildings and the number of people on their team.

The survey responses from late November, obtained by Chalkbeat through a Freedom of Information Act request, are a window into how the custodial staffing changes have impacted school cleanliness — and the potential challenges ahead in maintaining hygienic environments for kids and staff. Many custodians signaled that they were not equipped to clean schools well. Principals said they were picking up trash and cleaning spills or vomit. A few schools had new pest issues.

“It is so disappointing to observe the current state of custodial service and resource availability at our school, as it directly impacts our students’ well-being and basic dignity,” wrote one principal.

“I have never experienced anything like this in my 14 years in CPS,” they said.

Studies have shown links between school cleanliness or air quality, student health, and attendance. One study found that higher levels of contaminants on student desks were associated with student absences for gastrointestinal problems.

Some people are pushing for change now: SEIU Local 73, the union that represents CPS custodial workers, said the issues highlighted in the fall survey remain today, and it wants the district to hire more custodians.

But that’s a tall ask for a district that’s planning a budget with a $700 million deficit and may be looking at cuts to schools this year without any additional revenue.

The district, which as of April employed about 2,200 custodians, said that it took the survey results seriously and, in response, implemented two rounds of custodial shift changes at schools. More than half of principal respondents said they were satisfied with responsiveness with the district’s facilities management office.

“The District continues to utilize feedback from students, staff and families as a guide to ensure school buildings are safe and welcoming environments,” Evan Moore, a spokesperson for CPS, said in a statement.

District defends cuts to custodial staff

Before the custodial changes last year, CPS directly employed 1,375 full-time custodians — who are represented by SEIU Local 73 — and also contracted out to seven private custodial companies, whose roughly 1,250 workers were represented by SEIU Local 1, according to a district memo last year. CPS’ contracts with those companies came after the district severed ties in 2024 with Aramark, which had for a decade helped manage janitors and cleaning supplies but had been sharply criticized for failing to keep schools clean.

The district’s layoff plans last year meant cutting the 1,250 privately contracted custodial jobs and then filling roughly 750 of those positions.

Both unions protested against the district’s plans, which were estimated to save the district $40 million. At the time, CPS’ chief operating officer Charles Mayfield said direct district oversight, coupled with better training and a mobile app for custodians to upload information about the rooms they’ve cleaned, would help the district ensure schools were clean. Bringing custodial services in house helped meet a district goal to move away from privatized services, CPS said.

Responses to the district’s fall survey, which came two months after the custodial changes went into effect, told a different story.

Custodians, principals describe difficulties with keeping buildings clean

Custodians reported finding it difficult to clean all types of school spaces with less staff and raised concerns with a later start time in the morning — providing a shorter runway to complete certain tasks before kids and staff get in. CPS noted that shifts ranged across schools and started as early as 4 a.m. before the custodial changes. Now, no shift starts sooner than 5 a.m. or ends later than 11:30 p.m.

Many custodians expressed concerns in the survey about being the only custodian on staff during the day, making it difficult to complete tasks or respond to multiple calls for help. One custodian said they’re now the only person on their shift cleaning the two-building campus.

At Walt Disney II Magnet in Irving Park, custodian Johnny Jones, who has worked for CPS for 35 years, said his start time changed from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., about a half-hour before other staff and students get in. Unlike previous years, there’s no longer a second custodian who joins him.

The school eventually hired an additional custodian for the night shift, which helped get the building ready for the next morning, Jones said. But it can still be difficult to fly solo during the day, he said. He might be cleaning up a spill in the lunchroom and get a call for soap in the girls’ bathroom. Depending on the importance of the task he’s handling — for example, spills can be a safety hazard — a new task may need to wait until the second shift starts.

Keeping the building clean is personal for Jones, who thinks about wanting clean spaces for his own grandchildren, and he wishes the district would give schools more autonomy over shifts.

“Do I want my kid going to a dirty building? Do I want my baby using an unclean bathroom?” Jones asked. “Absolutely not.”

Principals noted various spaces in their schools that are now dirtier, such as classrooms, student bathrooms, and hallways, and many noted that the result is unclean and unhygienic spaces for students and staff.

Several principals reported having to pick up trash or clean up spills on their own. Some said cleaning tasks have fallen to other educators and, in at least one case, students. And a few noted new issues with rodents or cockroaches.

“I feel that the communication, quality of cleaning, and the lack of staffing has put a huge strain on the school resulting in unclean, unsafe conditions for students and teachers alike,” one principal wrote in the survey. “Teachers are having to clean their own rooms in addition to their already large workload.”

One principal said fewer staff custodians has resulted in a “consistently filthy” building, contradicting a CPS goal to provide “a joyous and equitable learning environment.”

“It cannot be a joyous place for scholars or staff when the school is dirty and unsanitary,” they wrote.

As CPS brought on hundreds of new hires, some initial onboarding problems may have impacted staffing, including technical issues that resulted in some custodians not being paid. The district said it has since resolved the problem and issued more than $916,000 in back pay to custodians. But the lack of pay initially led many custodians to not report to work or quit, said Trumaine Reeves, SEIU Local 73’s CPS division director.

At one Southwest Side high school, where the custodial staff was cut by one-third, a teacher has noticed that trash often is not picked up overnight and sneaker scuffs aren’t cleaned off the floor. Those details can make a difference for how comfortable both students and staff feel in the building, he said.

The teacher, who asked for anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak with the press, said veteran custodial staffers who have always been good at their jobs tell him that they now feel stretched.

There are a myriad of challenges that teachers face at his high school, such as supporting students with a lot of needs. Navigating those difficulties, then walking into a dirty classroom “just really hurts your soul,” he said.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.

A Chicago school board investigation failed to uncover source of media leaks

2026-05-08T16:04:03+00:00

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A controversial monthslong investigation failed to uncover whether any school board members leaked the identities of CEO finalists and other information to the media.

In November, school board President Sean Harden hired a law firm to find out who revealed the identities of two finalists for district CEO. He later expanded the scope of that inquiry to include a leak alerting a reporter to a December special meeting to adjust a property tax levy the day before it was announced. The investigation by Salvatore Prescott Porter & Porter has drawn criticism, particularly when it came to the special meeting, which was public and scheduled shortly before the winter holidays to discuss a tax increase.

Harden told Chalkbeat Friday he feels the investigation was worthwhile in setting up a shared understanding of how to conduct board business — even if it did not yield the identity of any leakers. He said the leaks damaged trust on the board and with the public, resulted in social media posts and coverage lacking sufficient context, and allowed board members gearing up for board elections in the fall to “curry favor” with reporters.

He said he doesn’t yet have the final law firm invoice, but believes the inquiry cost about $25,000.

“I feel this was the right thing to do,” he said. “Hopefully, this will be an investment the community can benefit from.”

But one school board member running for board president in November, Jessica Biggs, condemned the inquiry as “petty politics at the expense of taxpayers and the public trust” in a Friday post on X.

“This Board should be focused on student achievement and growth,” she wrote. “This ‘investigation’ is an example of everything that is misguided about our current leadership.”

The disclosure of the CEO finalists — one of whom immediately distanced himself from the search — was seen at the time as a move that scuttled the national search process and led to additional months of seeking a top leader. Board members had signed nondisclosure agreements in a bid to encourage applications by leaders in other large districts, who might be reluctant to advertise their interest in leaving their current posts. Ultimately, the school board hired the interim CEO, Macquline King, whom members had enlisted to fill in last summer.

Released by the board office Thursday evening, the law firm’s report says there was insufficient evidence to find the source of the leaks, noting the refusal by multiple board members, including Biggs, to turn over their personal cell phones for examination. Two of the 21 board members, Che “Rhymefest” Smith and Ellen Rosenfeld, declined to cooperate with the investigation entirely and did not speak with the attorneys. Two reporters the firm asked to interview — WBEZ’s Sarah Karp and Paris Schutz, at FOX at the time — also refused.

A search of more than 9,000 emails and other documents also did not uncover any clues.

The report does include a summary of discussions the lawyers had with board members about the motivation behind the leaks. Members offered differing takes on what might have spurred the disclosures.

But, the report said: “Whatever the motivation of the leaks, all witnesses agreed that the leaks made the Board look divided and untrustworthy. Relatedly, many witnesses commented on the tension and distrust within the Board between the appointed and elected members.”

The report also discusses the possibility that someone other than a board member leaked the CEO finalists’ identities.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools campus budget could bring cuts amid massive deficit

2026-05-06T16:59:30+00:00

Data analysis by Thomas Wilburn

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Edgardo Ramirez, the father of two students at Chicago’s Saucedo STEAM Magnet Academy, is bracing for the release of the school’s budget in the shadow of a massive districtwide budget gap.

The school, which has largely bucked the enrollment declines plaguing the district, serves about 920 mostly low-income Latino students in the Little Village neighborhood. After years of relative budget and staffing stability, Ramirez, the head of Saucedo’s Local School Council, worries the campus could take a painful hit.

He dwells on what the school might lose: One of the two bilingual coordinators who have guided his English learner children? Or one of the two counselors who helped his older daughter earn a seat at the competitive Jones College Prep High School?

Chicago Public Schools is gearing up to unveil school budgets as early as next week amid deep financial uncertainty. After roughly a decade of largely holding the line or even boosting school budgets with now-expired federal COVID aid, the district could be forced to send less directly to its roughly 500 campuses.

In recent weeks, CEO Macquline King has floated a worst case budget deficit of up to $1 billion. A source with knowledge of the situation told Chalkbeat the district is planning with a gap of about $700 million in mind. Unlike the worst case scenario, that number assumes an influx of some revenue from a special city taxing program meant to spur development — and no CPS contribution to a city pension fund that covers CPS support staff and city employees. Even so, school level cuts, that source said, are “inevitable.”

CPS and teachers union leaders are still lobbying state lawmakers for more funding, noting the district remains about $1.6 billion shy of what Illinois considers “adequate” funding and, unlike other Illinois districts, shoulders the bulk of its teacher pension costs. But extra help might not be on the way from Springfield. There, some lawmakers have questioned thousands of new hires CPS made as enrollment continued to dip in recent years — positions district leaders have argued helped propel academic recovery post-COVID and fill longstanding staffing gaps.

“It’s a really anxious time,” said Kia Banks, the head of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association. “We are bracing ourselves this time for impact that might hit closer to the classroom.”

The moment is putting to the test a school budgeting approach the district introduced a couple of years ago while it was still relatively flush with federal pandemic relief. It was meant to deemphasize student counts and help higher-need schools by guaranteeing minimum staffing numbers regardless of school size and allocating additional dollars based on an Opportunity Index that factors in student demographics and other metrics.

But in a district with both enormous schools and a growing number of tiny campuses, CPS is now forced to figure out how to make its need-based formula work in much leaner times. CPS high schools with 500 students or more — many of them in better-to-do communities though often serving diverse students from multiple ZIP codes — now get well less than half of the almost $35,000 per pupil that smaller high schools receive on average.

It’s a gap that has widened markedly since the new formula’s 2023 introduction, a Chalkbeat analysis showed. And with numerous small schools that already get the minimum staffing CPS set, some at larger schools such as Saucedo worry their campuses might absorb more of the pain.

CPS presents a districtwide budget after the school budget release, likely sometime in June, that its school board must approve. In a statement, the district said it has worked closely with city and state leaders to get a clearer picture of the CPS’ financial outlook.

“As we have in recent prior years, we will look to prioritize students and in-classroom learning experiences,” the district said.

School budget cuts loom in CPS

The district had aimed to get budget amounts to school leaders earlier this spring, and to some principals, the release in mid-May is cutting it too close to the end of the school year in early June.

“The anxiety doubles when you have to wait so long, especially when the school year ends so early,” said one elementary principal, who like other school leaders who spoke with Chalkbeat requested anonymity to discuss budgets candidly.

The delay stung in part because earlier this spring, CPS moved up the deadline for most end-of-year school spending by almost a month. That forced some school leaders to scramble to dedicate remaining dollars — or return them to the district. Principals at the time told Chalkbeat the district appeared bent on sweeping back more unspent school dollars to help with its budget woes. The district has since said that it’s on track to end this school year about $45 million in the red.

The district said the earlier deadline, which also applied to central office and departments, gave CPS more fiscal clarity and helped encourage school leaders to focus any remaining spending on “critical needs.” The message to schools and departments: “Every dollar counts.”

Banks said the earlier deadline was challenging, but at the same time, the district under King has collaborated with the union and sought more input on budgets than ever before.

Nelson Gerew of the Chicago Public Education Fund said additional cuts to central office and districtwide departments will be harder following the reductions of about $270 million that CPS made last summer. Even if the district cuts central costs aggressively, that still leaves more than $200 million in cuts that likely need to come from school budgets, he said.

He said some school-based positions the district created with COVID aid to power its post-pandemic academic recovery, such as interventionists and academic coaches, might be especially vulnerable.

Financial pressures test the district’s budget approach

At Saucedo, Ramirez, the LSC chair, says he is grateful that the school gets two counselors, two bilingual coordinators, and two security guards. But in a school with more than 900 students and high needs, these key staff members are already stretched thin. Still, he worries that as a larger school with more than one of each position, Saucedo could be a budget cut target.

“One of my big worries is that we could lose positions, which would affect the quality of education here,” he said.

He is also concerned the campus might have to cut its free after-school programs, including academic ones focused on reading and math recovery.

Over the years, school leaders have noted that large schools with opportunity indexes that suggest lower needs face special budget pressures: In a large school, low-income students might represent a smaller portion of all students but still be a sizable group. Under the formula, these schools tend to get relatively lean administrative and support staffing.

Now, some principals at larger schools, especially selective enrollment and magnet campuses, worry the cuts might affect them disproportionately.

“All of us are bracing for cuts,” said another elementary principal. “How could there not be? The money has to come from somewhere. Robbing Paul to pay Peter is what it feels like at this point.”

Gerew of the Chicago Public Education Fund noted that about a fifth of elementary schools are at the district’s minimal staffing floor, meaning there’s little or no room in their budgets for cuts.

“The district is almost certainly committed to retaining the foundational level of support for small schools,” he said. “Thus, if savings have to be made, they have to come from larger schools.”

Banks, of the district’s principals union, countered that small schools have their own struggles with lean staffing, and they usually can’t count on parent fundraising in the way larger schools in wealthier communities can.

The needs-based district budgeting approach was designed to buoy schools that have lost enrollment in part because they were underfunded in previous years.

At Manierre Elementary on Chicago’s North Side, Mykela Collins, a Local School Council member and mother of a third grader, said smaller schools don’t feel immune amid the budget uncertainty. The school serves about 260 mostly low-income Black students, a number that has remained stable in recent years. Collins worries about cuts to after-school programs and possible layoffs after years with no staff losses.

“It’s scary,” said Collins, who traveled to Springfield earlier this spring to lobby for more school funding with the advocacy group Kids First Chicago. “We really don’t know what to expect.”

Charter school officials are feeling the anxiety too, said Andrew Broy of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. The state is poised to increase its calculation for the per-pupil funding charters receive, based on CPS per student spending in district-run schools two years ago. But the district withholds money from charters to help cover pension and debt costs — contributions charter advocates have decried but that the district says are a part of sharing districtwide expenses.

“If these contributions are increased, it could be a net loss for charters,” Broy said.

Hal Woods of Kids First said an added wrinkle to the budget complexity is that all seats on the school board are up for grabs in November, and many current board members will run. He wonders if that might make them more averse to signing off on school budget cuts and perhaps even push them to revisit high-interest borrowing — an idea a majority on the board rejected last summer because it would swell the district’s already massive debt burden and drive up costs in the longer run.

“I wonder whether with CPS classroom cuts on the table, people start having a different take on borrowing,” Woods said. “But you have to give people the full picture. If you take out a loan to stave off classroom cuts, what does that mean for future fiscal years?”

Chalkbeat Chicago reporter Reema Amin contributed to this report.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools marks May Day after tense debate over canceling school

2026-05-01T19:53:57+00:00

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For all the intense debate and controversy over May Day in Chicago Public Schools this year, the start of the school day Friday at Burbank Elementary was low on drama.

Eight teachers and five staff members called in sick overnight — a fairly typical number for the 95-employee Northwest Side school, which was able to quickly line up substitutes for all but two elective classes. Meanwhile, students in grades 6 through 8 spent part of the morning writing letters to elected officials on topics such as homelessness, gun laws, and immigration in a nod to a district push to encourage student civic engagement.

Districtwide, CPS officials said about 13% of its teachers were absent amid a national “day of no school, no work, no shopping” — about 3,320 absences in all, compared with 2,615 per day on average for this week, including Friday. Most requested the day in advance as the district had asked. CPS, which employs about 43,000 people, enlisted more than 2,600 substitute teachers and about 940 support staff subs to fill in for absent employees. Central office staff deployed to help out at 76 schools.

The district approved about 40 May Day field trips for 2,200 of the district’s 315,000 students, including some to a Union Park pro-labor, anti-Trump rally, where protestors also called for more school funding. The Chicago Teachers Union, one of the protest’s organizers, had demanded that the district close schools for May Day.

After some tense back-and-forth, the district and the union agreed to make Friday a day of civic engagement for students. Schools stayed open for a full day of instruction. But the district committed to back lessons on labor and civics and to provide transportation so students at up to 100 schools could participate in the downtown rally and other activities.

The district said high school attendance was slightly down on Friday while elementary and middle grade attendance remained stable. About 72% of high school students attended compared to 75% last Friday.

Some parents and advocates voiced dismay that the cash-strapped district chose to chip in for student participation in a political rally and questioned whether classroom May Day lessons would verge on partisan indoctrination.

On Friday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon criticized the district’s handling of May Day on X, calling it “a dereliction of duty.”

“There’s never an excuse for diverting taxpayer dollars away from students and into political agendas,” she posted.

But the district had stressed that principals would only allow students with signed parent permission forms to attend field trips and would only approve instructional materials that “provide diverse perspectives rather than advance any particular viewpoint.”

At Burbank Elementary, science teacher Caroline Hallendorff pitched reviving a project she had premiered with her students in 2017, when they wrote to electeds about the first Trump administration’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords. The students got responses from President Donald Trump and Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, making the experience a memorable lesson in civics.

Other educators at the school and Burbank Principal Edward Collins rallied around the idea. This time, middle grade students could pick any topic for their letters, which they handwrote in class to “make it very clear it’s not some AI thing,” as Hallendorff put it.

Science teachers Caroline Hallendorff speaks on Friday, May 1, 2026, with students in her science class at Chicago's Burbank Elementary who wrote letters to elected officials for a special May Day project.

Student Daniel Gutierrez, for example, wrote to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson urging him to open more homeless shelters after seeing more homeless people on drives across the neighborhood with his family. In research he did before putting pen to paper, Gutierrez found out life expectancy can be up to 30 years lower for people who experience homelessness.

“This lesson made me really focus on the problems of today that are important to me,” Gutierrez said.

The experience of navigating the day and the run-up to it varied across the district. Some principals told Chalkbeat

Burbank Elementary student Oscar Jaramillo, front, and Daniel Gutierrez. worked on letters to elected leaders as part of a schoolwide project to spur more civic engagement by students on May Day 2026. Oscar wrote to Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin urging him to push for more gun restrictions and Daniel wrote to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson with a request to open more homeless shelters.

Friday that they had few absences and a largely normal school day. One principal said roughly half of teachers on that school leader’s campus took the day off, including some calling out overnight on Friday.

The district had directed principals to reject day-off requests if they meant schools would be too short-staffed to function normally Friday.

At one West Side school, a student “Peacewalk” in the neighborhood was on, then off after an initial district rejection of the plan, then on again. Ultimately, the district did not reject any field trips after reviewing transportation, safety, and chaperone plans. CPS said officials reviewed field trip plans into the early morning hours Friday and ultimately provided yellow buses for 25 of them, with the city offering public transit cards to other students. The district said it would tally costs later this month.

At Burbank, Collins said no teachers or staff requested the day off in advance though some called out overnight. Thanks to a stable of regular substitutes — many of them retired Burbank teachers — the school was able to fill most last-minute absences. However, two “special” classes — art, music, and physical education — would have to be made up next week.

Student attendance was down to 85% Friday from about 92% on average, but Collins was not sure to what extent May Day affected that number. No one approached Collins with a request to plan a field trip, and he heard from relatively few parents about the day. All of them just wanted to verify that school would happen Friday.

Hallendorff said she would mail all the letters students wrote Friday.

“I love the fact that students had this opportunity to think about what’s important to them,” she said, “and to express those feelings.”

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Chicago Public Schools gears up for May Day protest

2026-04-30T18:03:11+00:00

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Chicago Public Schools officials say they feel confident schools will be fully staffed Friday amid Chicago Teachers Union push to embrace a national “no school, no work, no shopping” day of protest.

The district did not say how many teachers and staff members requested the day off to participate in May Day activities. But it said it is on track to enlist enough substitutes from a pool of almost 10,000 to cover any absences. The district previously said it might deploy some central office employees to help out at short-staffed schools.

CPS also said officials are reviewing about 45 May Day field trip requests, and so far none have been denied.

The union had pushed to cancel school Friday so students and educators could participate in an afternoon pro-labor, anti-Trump administration protest downtown. But district officials balked at the demand, insisting that May Day should remain a full day of instruction and end-of-school-year activities as designated in the CPS calendar.

The union and district struck an agreement to enable teachers and students to take part in the protest, to provide bagged lunches and transportation to the event for up to 100 schools, and to encourage lessons on civic engagement that morning. But more recently, the district has stressed repeatedly that employees must request the day off with enough notice — and must secure approval from their principals for any materials they use to teach about May Day.

These directives have generated tension with the CTU. The union has insisted that its members have academic freedom to select teaching materials that day without school leaders’ pre-approval. This week, district leaders said principals would only allow materials that “provide diverse perspectives rather than advancing any particular viewpoint.”

Recent meetings between district officials and principals have been dominated by discussion of navigating staff absences and materials for May Day, with school leaders bracing for a day with lean staffing. In a post Wednesday on its website, the union implored its members to join protests and rallies.

“We need you there — because we’re taking on the billionaires who are underfunding our schools, shortchanging our communities, and imperiling democracy,” the union’s leadership team wrote in the message.

But CPS said that schools are fully prepared for the day.

“We do feel confident we’ll be able to cover any absences,” a district spokeswoman said.

The district said previously it aims to have a solid estimate of staff absences at least 48 hours in advance of May Day, but it did not immediately provide that number in response to a Chalkbeat request.

Teachers are preparing for a day focused on civics

Nationally, most urban districts are remaining in session Friday. In North Carolina, multiple districts, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg, announced closures this week as they braced for widespread teacher absences. School in Madison, Wisconsin, was also cancelled for May 1.

CPS said schools that submitted May Day field trip requests had to provide safety plans with transportation arrangements, chaperone assignments, and other information. It said officials have agreed to review some requests that came after a Friday deadline, but that some principals have since cancelled field trip plans.

“School leaders have the autonomy and authority to determine if a proposed field trip meets educational and safety standards,” the district said.

In an email to members last week, CTU urged teachers to alert their union representatives if requests for field trips, curriculum, or days off are denied.

At one North Side school, staff and the principal worked together to decide on lessons related to labor and May Day, said music teacher Kat Zamorran, who is part of several union committees.

Zamorran asked students this week about various roles that made a recent school concert possible, such as security staff and teachers. She then broadened the conversation to talk about the jobs kids notice in their daily lives and telling them that May Day is a holiday to celebrate labor.

“It’s kind of nice to ask, ‘Well, do your parents have a job? What do your parents do when you go to school?’” Zamorran said. “That kind of opens it up for kids.”

In one of Zamorran’s classes, students made art that thanked people for their work. One student drew a picture for her mom, thanking her for caring for her. Another made a poster thanking the school’s custodians for cleaning the stage.

Zamorran said her school doesn’t have a field trip planned, but students may hold a small parade outside toward the end of the day.

Parents have varying takes on May Day protests

The district has stressed that only students with signed permission slips from their parents would be able to go on school-sponsored field trips to the Grant Park protest or other May Day events.

Though the district and the union said their agreement struck an admirable balance, some parents and advocacy groups have continued to voice discomfort with the district’s embrace of a politicized event. Others have welcomed the opportunity for students to engage in civic advocacy.

One group of parents, organized in part by the pro-school choice organization Urban Center, described the union’s push as a form of political indoctrination of students. Some of those parents, flanked by Bill Quinlan, the attorney representing former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez in his ongoing lawsuit against some Chicago Board of Education members, attended a school board meeting last week to express their concerns.

Other parents have more mixed feelings.

Princess Shaw, whose 7-year-old daughter attends DePriest Elementary School in the Austin neighborhood, said she didn’t support cancelling classes on May 1 because she and other working parents wouldn’t have child care options. Shaw helped write a letter that the West Side branch of the NAACP distributed to some board members, asking them to keep school open.

She is relieved that classes will be in session.

“May 1 is for my kid to go to school,” said Shaw, who was recently elected to sit on the DePriest Local School Council.

Still, she supports older students who have parental permission to attend a protest as a learning opportunity on Friday and likes the idea of teaching kids about labor history and civic engagement.

About one week before CPS reached its agreement, the Local School Council at Logan Square’s Brentano Math and Science Academy unanimously approved a resolution supporting the idea of a May 1 “Day of Civic Action” after a request from some teachers, said Andrew Yankech, one of the parent representatives on the LSC.

Yankech said he supports the idea of protesting on Friday due to his school community’s concerns over federal education and social service funding cuts, as well as more aggressive immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump. The latter has created “a climate of fear” for some Brentano families, especially for those whose relatives have been stopped or arrested by immigration agents, he said.

Those challenges were “front of mind for me,” Yankech said of his decision to support the resolution.

Yankech’s daughter will stay home Friday. Her parents have tasked her with writing an essay about the history and significance of May Day and the labor movement.

Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.

Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.