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Five people are currently in the running to become interim Chicago Public Schools CEO, including multiple people within CPS and a candidate from within the mayor’s office, according to several Chicago Board of Education members.
The contenders don’t include the mayor’s chief of staff, who was reportedly being considered but is not on the list of people the board plans to interview, Chalkbeat has learned from board members who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss private conversations. Chalkbeat was unable to confirm the name of every candidate.
The board must decide in less than a month who will replace outgoing schools chief Pedro Martinez.
Board members will interview candidates starting this week and plan to vote on an interim CEO by the time Martinez leaves June 18.
The district’s temporary leader will serve until a permanent replacement is found. That person will immediately be handed the difficult task of closing a half-a-billion-dollar deficit to balance a roughly $10 billion budget for next school year.
Earlier this month, district officials said they’re creating a budget plan that assumes CPS will receive $300 million from either the city or the state — both unlikely scenarios. The mayor and labor groups have slammed the hopeful budget plan. If those dollars don’t come through, schools could see significant cuts later this summer ahead of the 2025-26 school year.
In February, the board unanimously passed a resolution requiring both the interim and permanent CEO to have a superintendent’s license. The board also unanimously passed a resolution in April laying out a commitment to consider public feedback as it chooses a new CEO. While such a resolution isn’t required, the board said in a statement that it “believes it’s important to formally express its unity and commitment to a collaborative approach.”
The board plans to host community meetings in each district and will also interview teachers, students, principals, staff, union leaders, and “community partners,” according to the April resolution. The board will publish online a summary of the feedback it receives.
The board scheduled district meetings from 6:30-8 p.m. May 15 through June 5 to gather feedback about what a permanent CEO should be like. Each meeting is open to anyone in the public. The remaining meetings are:
- District 6B: May 27 at National Teacher’s Academy, 55 W. Cermak Road.
- District 6A: May 28 at Pritzker Elementary School, 2009 W. Schiller St.
- District 4: June 2 at The Nettlehorst School, 3252 N. Broadway.
- District 10: June 5 at Marsh Elementary School, 9822 S. Exchange Ave.
In a lengthy job description, the board laid out the qualities it wants to see in the district’s new leader. The wish list calls for a candidate experienced in public education who can make good on the goals set in CPS’s five-year strategic plan, achieve financial sustainability, has “political acumen” and can navigate city and state politics, build a strong leadership team, and work with the community.
About 50 people attended a meeting Thursday held in District 7 on the Southwest Side at the Arturo Velasquez Westside Technical Institute. Attendees discussed several questions, including what skills are most important for a CEO to have and what are the most important areas of improvement for their schools.
Alma Advisory Group, which is helping run the CEO search, helped organize and run the meetings, including Thursday’s. Alma barred the media from observing or recording those roundtable discussions.
Before the meeting started, teacher Lucy Murguia said she attended the meeting because she wanted to learn more about the CEO search. Murguia, who teaches at Farragut High School, said she wants the new district leader to have teaching experience.
“Sometimes people with that position have not been in a classroom, so it would just be nice if they knew what teachers go through,” Murguia said.
Mayor criticized for role in interim CEO search
The search for the interim leader, however, has already drawn some heat.
At least one board member — President Sean Harden — had floated the idea of hiring the mayor’s chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas as the interim, according to multiple board members. As of earlier this week, Pacione-Zayas’ resume was not included in the list of people the board would interview for the job, board members said.
Earlier this month, the Chicago Tribune reported that Harden, who was appointed by the mayor, was attempting to pave the way for Pacione-Zayas to become the interim choice by getting board members to change the resolution requiring the interim CEO to have a superintendent’s license. Pacione-Zayas has a doctorate in education policy but does not have that license.
The news led some to criticize Mayor Brandon Johnson and Harden, saying they were trying to install someone to lead the district who would carry out Johnson’s agenda. The mayor, who supported the establishment of an elected school board, still appoints a majority of people on the Board of Education. He will lose that power during the next election cycle in 2027, when the board will be fully elected.
In a brief interview last week with Chalkbeat, Harden did not comment specifically on efforts to hire Pacione-Zayas but said he wanted to ensure that the board doesn’t limit itself when looking for someone to fill in temporarily. He said the board’s goal is still to have a permanent leader with “the sincere appreciation and understanding of the classroom.”
“I actually think it’s pretty wise of the board to assess where it is now and to determine that we have to give ourselves room and flexibility to address the demands of today, and we can do so without it compromising our value system,” Harden said. “What we need on June 19 is someone who can walk straight in, create the landscape for us to bring in the next leader and be successful.”
Multiple board members said they still want the interim choice to have a superintendent’s license.
Anusha Thotakura, a mayoral appointee who co-sponsored the superintendent’s license resolution, said the board is “looking at folks who have superintendent’s licensures, and unless there is a strong case to be made about why we would need a wider candidate pool, I think many board members are committed to the resolution.”
Elected board member Jennifer Custer said they’ve garnered “some really strong candidates,” most of whom already work for CPS. She said she felt CPS candidates are “probably a good thing considering they have knowledge of the institution.”
“We’re just hoping we can find the best person to fill in in the meantime,” Custer said.
Asked if she’s confident the board will have someone in place by the time Martinez leaves, Custer said, “Yes.”
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
