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Mayor Brandon Johnson picked a consulting firm executive and former Chicago Public Schools employee on Thursday to join the Board of Education.
Sean Harden will be the seventh board member and will fill a spot left vacant by Rev. Mitchell Johnson, who served as board president for a week before resigning amid social media posts criticized as antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiracy-laden.
City officials did not immediately say whether Harden will serve as president of the board. But he might only be able to continue serving after a new partly elected board takes over in January if he is appointed to lead the board.
That’s because according to property records, Harden appears to own an apartment in the same part of the South Side’s school board District 6 as Jessica Biggs, who won the Nov. 5 election for District 6. Since the mayor’s appointees and elected members can’t live in the same subdistrict, Harden could only stay on as board president, since that appointee can live anywhere in Chicago.
Harden worked for the CPS from 2009 to 2011 as deputy CEO of community affairs under former CEO Ron Huberman, according to his profile on the social networking site LinkedIn. Before that, Harden worked for former Mayor Richard M. Daley from 2006 to 2008 as his executive assistant. The following year, he became deputy commissioner of human relations, a role in which he served until 2009, his LinkedIn page said.
Harden currently lists involvement with multiple consulting firms that focus on workforce development and real estate on his LinkedIn.
In a statement, Johnson called Harden “a proven leader with a bold vision for what education can achieve.”
“His deep ties to Chicago’s communities and his unwavering commitment to equity make him the ideal leader to shape a brighter future for our students,” the statement said.
At today’s official December school board meeting, Harden took the oath of office and made brief remarks.
“This is an incredible opportunity,” he said. “I’m looking forward to doing great things and moving the vision of the school board forward.”
Harden will be joining the board just weeks before the city’s first hybrid elected-appointed board takes office. That new board of 21 people will include 10 members elected for the first time on Nov. 5, and 11 others the mayor must appoint by Monday, including a board president who represents the city at large. City officials did not immediately say whether Harden will be one of the mayor’s 11 appointments.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
