Chicago Public Schools canceled its upcoming monthly board meeting — previously slated for Thursday — and is rescheduling its next meeting for Dec. 12, more than a month after 10 candidates will be elected to make up half of a new, partially elected, partially appointed school board.
On Monday Mayor Johnson’s deputy mayor for education, youth and human services stepped aside, as was first reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, adding to the turmoil between the mayor’s office and school district that has been brewing in recent weeks.
CPS announced the change to the meeting schedule last Thursday and has since updated its website to reflect the next meeting date in December. The monthly meetings are where the Board of Education votes to discuss and approve measures and renew contracts. The meetings also provide an opportunity for members of the public to comment on issues in the district to the board.
The mayor’s deputy mayor for education, Jen Johnson, assumed her position in 2023, after having worked as the Chicago Teachers Union’s chief of staff. The leave of absence is because of health issues, Crain’s reported.
The deputy mayor for education’s resignation and the cancellation of the October meeting are the latest developments in what has proved to be an eventful and tumultuous month for the mayor’s office, school board and district.
After all seven Board of Education members resigned earlier this month, Mayor Johnson filled all but one of the seats, just a few days later – and a month until a historic school board election will transition the city to a partially elected and partially appointed board.
Johnson announced the appointees at a tense press conference, during which he also defended his decision as part of his progressive agenda. Recently, some progressives in the City Council have expressed concern with his leadership, particularly with the recent CPS drama.
The recent board controversy arose from the district’s budget woes of the summer. After months of putting up a united front to lobby Springfield for more funding for the district, cracks began to develop between the mayor’s office, teachers union, board and district over the district’s budget deficit. As tensions rose, Johnson asked CPS CEO Pedro Martinez to resign over Martinez’s refusal to take on a high-interest loan to fill the gap.
So what’s next?
CPS did not immediately respond to requests for comment about its plans in light of the canceled meeting.The district has not released how the canceled meeting will affect the activities of the newly appointed board.
Chicagoans will vote for their district’s elected school board member in just two weeks, which will replace Johnson’s appointed board. The other half of the new 21-member board, plus the board president, will still be appointed by Mayor Johnson. The new board will assume their positions in January.
And as for the mayor and Martinez?
Johnson appears to be standing his ground about his plans for the city’s future, despite the concerns at City Hall and several recent defeats, namely the failure of the Bring Chicago Home referendum in March — which promised to fund homelessness services through a real estate transfer tax on property sales above $1 million — and his decision not to veto a City Council ordinance aimed at continuing the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system.
District CEO Martinez is up for a performance review in January, where he could be voted out by the Board of Education. If fired without cause, he would stay in the position for a six-month “transition period” and receive severance pay. If fired “for cause,” Martinez would be terminated immediately. Whether the board pursues either of these options will likely be partially determined by who voters select to represent their district on the school board in the Nov. 5 election.
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