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The search for Chicago Public Schools’ next top leader is ramping up.
Chicago school board members are preparing to begin interviews with CEO candidates, staying on track to meet a goal of choosing a new schools chief by the end of 2025.
District leaders and the head of the consulting firm helping with the search say the opening at the helm of the country’s fourth largest district has drawn a strong pool of contenders, even as some were scared off by recent leadership turmoil and the complex politics of the job. More than 85 people have applied for the job, and the district’s search firm expects at least a few more might yet get in the running.
One of those soon-to-be applicants is the district’s interim CEO, Macquline King, according to a CPS official with knowledge of her plans who requested anonymity to discuss them openly. When asked earlier about her interest in the permanent job, the former CPS teacher and principal said she had not decided but was focused on her interim responsibilities. She declined to comment for this story.
In the coming weeks, the school board will start interviewing about 20 top candidates prescreened by the Chicago-based firm, Alma Advisory Group. Over several rounds of interviews, they will zero in on a smaller group of semi-finalists, and eventually three to four finalists with the credentials and mettle to steer a district with a $10 billion budget and 45,000 employees. Only one frontrunner will be publicly announced before the board takes a vote to hire that applicant, likely in December.
The district launched the search earlier this year following the firing without cause of former CEO Pedro Martinez, who had clashed with Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies at the Chicago Teachers Union over dealing with CPS’s fiscal challenges.
The next district leader would have to navigate the district’s transition to a fully elected 21-member school board, looming budget deficits, declining enrollment, and clashes with the Trump administration over diversity, equity, and inclusion, among other challenges. But that leader also gets to build on recent academic momentum that has brought improvements in the district’s graduation rate and a post-pandemic recovery that gained some national notice.
“It’s fair to say this position is not for the faint of heart,” said Monica Santana Rosen, the CEO of Alma. “There are leaders out there who would be strong contenders who’ve said, ‘No, thank you.’”
But, said Rosen, the challenging, high-profile position is also a major draw: “We’re feeling really good about the quality of the applicant pool.”
Jessica Biggs, who chairs the board’s search committee, said applicants include people who have worked for CPS or served as superintendents or in senior education leadership roles elsewhere.
“It’s really a unicorn, the person who is the right fit for this job,” Biggs said. “There are really a handful of people across the country who are well suited to do the job.”
Board members were trained recently on interview protocols and will conduct second round interviews in the coming weeks, followed by a semifinalist and finalist round.
Neither the school board nor Alma will release candidate names before the finalist is announced.
“The tension here is wanting to make sure we attract the best talent, and sometimes the best talent can’t let the spaces where they are currently know they are looking to leave,” Biggs said.
The board is weighing a community panel that could include students, teachers, and other residents and would interview the finalist confidentially before a public announcement, Rosen said.
In any case, Rosen noted the district solicited extensive community input before kicking off the search. It hosted community roundtables in the spring to collect feedback about what the public wants in the next schools chief, hosted focus groups, conducted a survey, and shaped its job description based in part on that input.
“We feel confident that community voice will be a part of the process,” Rosen said.
Earlier this year, State Sen. Robert Martwick, an architect of Chicago’s transition to an elected school board, wrote the board president, Sean Harden, to argue that state law gives the mayor the final say in picking the next top district leader through 2027 when a fully elected board is in place. But following guidance from the district’s legal team, the current hybrid school board is planning to vote on the CEO.
“We embrace the fact that the mayor is an important leader who appoints 11 of the board members and his voice and perspective really matter in this process,” Rosen said, adding that the search committee is keeping Johnson in the loop, and he’ll get to interact with the frontrunners.
In March, the school board passed a resolution requiring its next leader to hold a superintendent’s license, saying the district needs someone with extensive background in education to steer it. CPS is one of relatively few large districts that have a CEO rather than a superintendent at the helm.
Rosen said that finding the district’s next top leader is a priority for school board members, who see it as an important part of their legacy.
“We really want to get this right,” she said.
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.
