The Chicago Board of Education has identified multiple finalists for the next CEO of Chicago Public Schools, according to three sources familiar with the situation.
The board picked finalists during its Wednesday meeting in its closed session, the sources said. One of the sources said the board is advancing three people; the other sources declined to specify a number. A second source said there’s a small chance that the board may decide to add applicants to the finalist list.
In a previous interview with Chalkbeat, appointed board member Norma Rios-Sierra said the board had a goal of identifying at least three finalists.
All sources, who requested anonymity to share private discussions, declined to reveal finalist names. One source described the finalists as “very strong,” and another said they have experience leading large urban districts.
The board passed a resolution last year saying the next CEO must have a superintendent’s license.
“What seems to be moving forward is keeping with the timeline and by this spring, being able to name someone and give them an offer,” said one of the sources, adding that an eventual pick likely wouldn’t start until the summer.
The next round of interviews and an eventual pick for CEO could happen as soon as within the next month, but an exact timeline isn’t yet clear, two of the sources said.
The district has been without a permanent leader since former CPS CEO Pedro Martinez left last June. Macquline King has been serving as interim since and applied for the CEO job but didn’t advance to a finalist round.
The process has so far been bumpy. The search appeared to be coming to a close last winter before multiple news outlets revealed finalist names kept under wraps — New York City schools chancellor Meisha Porter and current Denver superintendent Alex Marrero. After Marrero appeared to drop out, the board began interviewing more candidates. But last month, the board’s search firm Alma Advisory Group parted ways with the district.
In late February, a small group of elected members — including elected board member Jessica Biggs, who chairs the search committee — accused the mayor’s office and its allies of derailing the search, which the mayor’s office has denied. Those board members have advocated for keeping King in place until a new fully elected school board is sworn in next January.
Some of the candidates earned a majority of support to be advanced as finalists but did not get unanimous backing, which some board members also raised concerns about, one source said.
In a statement, the Chicago Board of Education office said “there are no updates to provide at this time.”
Sources said Harden and board office staff did not outline or present specific next steps on the search during the Wednesday meeting, but their understanding is that finalists will interview with board members and the mayor.
Originally, the board had created a community panel that would also interview finalists, but it wasn’t clear among the sources if such a panel will still conduct interviews.
The mayor’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
