Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday cautioned against upheaval at the Chicago Board of Education as it faces mounting pressure over whether to fire embattled Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.
Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event, the governor said the seven-member body should stay intact.
“I hope people don’t resign. I don’t know why they should or would at this point,” Pritzker said, noting some new members will be elected to the board in November. “At minimum, let’s elect those new members.”
Pritzker’s brief remarks were his latest show of concern over a standoff between City Hall and CPS leadership.
Martinez said Mayor Brandon Johnson asked him to resign after he refused to take on a high-interest loan to cover a pension payment for CPS retirees as well as the upcoming Chicago Teachers Union contract. The schools chief said he refused to step down, setting up a game of chicken with City Hall.
Regarding Martinez’s statements that the mayor asked him to resign, Johnson on Monday said, “I didn’t ask anybody to do anything.” That came after multiple public appearances in the last week where the mayor dodged questions on how Martinez lost his support. Johnson instead said he doesn’t discuss “personnel issues” before speaking broadly about the need to “transform this school district.”
The mayor also Monday denied asking board members to resign if they were not willing to vote to fire Martinez.
Pritzker’s comments on Tuesday addressed the precarious situation the current school board members face, saying he “would hope that their number one consideration is what’s best for the students, and for their parents and families.”
And “stability, getting a contract done — those are two very, very high priorities. Let’s get past this contract negotiation as best, as best they can, with the resources that are available to do that. It’s always a compromise,” Pritzker said.
The governor has mostly sought to stay out of the fray when it comes to the evolving tensions between Johnson and Martinez, but Springfield remains a relevant piece of the puzzle as CTU lobbies for more state funding and works through stalled talks with its ambitious next contract. Pritzker has thus far thrown cold water on the $1.1 billion ask that the union says is mandated by the state’s school funding formula.
Chicago Tribune’s Jake Sheridan contributed.
