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Sendhil Revuluri, a former vice president of the Chicago Board of Education under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, announced Wednesday that he will run for board president in next year’s election.
Revuluri, who is also an education consultant, is the first person to announce he’s running for school board president in the 2026 election, when 21 school board seats will be up for election. In last year’s inaugural school board races, 10 seats were elected; the mayor appointed people to the remaining 11 seats, including the role of board president.
The board president presides over the board and after Jan. 15, 2027, will have voting powers just like any other board member, according to state law. Currently, the president only votes to break a tie. The current board president leads meetings, discussions with board members on various issues facing the board, and helps craft meeting agendas.
Rumors have floated for months about who is considering throwing their name into the race for school board president. Candidates are not able to circulate petitions to get their names on the ballot until Feb. 24, 2026. Those running for president must collect 2,500 valid signatures from Chicago residents registered to vote in the city by May 26, 2026. All other school board members must collect between at least 500, but no more than 1,500 from who live in and are registered to vote in their district.
Revuluri said he was hopeful about the new, hybrid board when it was sworn in and has been in touch with current board members. But he decided to run after feeling like the current board focuses only a “very small fraction” of time on district goals or academics.
“What I’ve seen this year since they were seated in January has convinced me that we need different leadership,” Revuluri said in an interview with Chalkbeat. “We need leadership that’s going to focus the board on student learning and on board work, rather than getting involved in political actions and district operations, and that’s really why I’ve decided to run.”
This year, the school board has navigated a gaping budget deficit, clashes with the mayor’s office, the looming closure of several charter schools, and the searching for a new CEO.
He detailed some of his ideas for effective governance in a piece he wrote for Chalkbeat Chicago before he stepped down at the end of 2022, shortly after Mayor Brandon Johnson was elected.
Revuluri said his vision for an effective school board involves having a CEO selection and evaluation process that the board is aligned on and adopting a budget “if and only if there’s clear and compelling evidence” that it will improve student learning.
In addition to improving student achievement, Revuluri said in a press release that he wants to “stand up to special interests,” who he defined as groups that focus primarily on adult-centered needs rather than student priorities.
Asked if he was referring to organizations such as the Chicago Teachers Union and the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, who were among the biggest campaign spenders in last year’s election, Revuluri said both are among groups that “have engaged in rhetoric and advocacy that’s really put adult interest and adult comfort first.”
Revuluri served on the school board during the 2019 CTU strike and the 2022 CTU walkout over COVID safety protocols.
Asked if he would decline campaign donations from special interest groups, Revuluri said he’ll “welcome support from anyone, any people, any groups who agree” with putting “student learning first.”
Lightfoot appointed Revuluri to the Board of Education in 2019, and he served on the board as CPS navigated the coronavirus pandemic and remote instruction. From 2018 to 2022, Revuluri was the managing director for strategic development at investment firm PEAK6 Capital Management, according to his LinkedIn page and biography online.
Before that, Revuluri worked at the University of Illinois at Chicago for roughly seven years, with most of that time helping to lead the Suburban Cook County Mathematics Initiative, which was meant to improve mathematics education across 40 public school districts.
Revuluri also worked for CPS’ Office of Mathematics for one year as an instructional specialist, according to his LinkedIn page. Before that, he was the math department chair at a New York City high school in the Bronx.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
