Some newly elected school board members told the Tribune Tuesday that next week’s training sessions — scheduled to prepare them to join the Chicago Board of Education — were abruptly postponed without explanation.
After receiving news of the postponement, the new board members expressed frustration with the late notice and their lack of the appropriate background to jump into high-stakes board meetings when they will be seated in January.
“I’m ready to do the work that I was elected to do, and I want to learn what I need … to do it right with integrity and honesty, transparency, accountability,” said new board member Ellen Rosenfeld of District 4.
A historic school board election in November brought in board members from ten freshly drawn school districts across the city. Those ten victors will be seated in January when the current 6-member board expands to 21 members. Over half of the new board will be appointed by the mayor.
Three of the ten newly elected officials said they were looking forward to preparing to tackle important issues, such as monthslong contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union.
“This board seems intent on getting the CTU contract done before we take office, which I think is a mistake,” said Carlos Rivas, who won in District 3. “Hopefully we can just set something up, even if it’s not an official CPS board orientation, to at least begin the process of onboarding. Just understanding how the district runs.”
Training for the elected members was scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 16, through Thursday, Dec. 19. Because the new members have varying degrees of experience with CPS, the training sessions were supposed to provide a basic background on the district’s structure and governance, board members said.
According to documents obtained by the Tribune, the Google Calendar event for the four-day training was canceled Tuesday and updated with a note that the district would “follow up by early next week with relevant updates related to the training and orientation.”
Asked for comment Tuesday, the district did not immediately respond. CPS officials also didn’t answer whether the training was intended for just newly elected members or the entire body to be seated in January.
In a stunning shakeup in October, the previous 7-member school board, appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, resigned en masse. Johnson quickly appointed new officials to the roles, raising concerns at the time over whether they received the proper vetting and training. Tuesday’s news came two days ahead of the current board’s monthly meeting where status of union negotiations and the professional fate of embattled district chief Pedro Martinez remain unclear.
Some elected members said Tuesday they had already arranged childcare and taken time off from work to accommodate the large chunk of time it would take to learn the ropes of budgeting and leading the nation’s fourth-largest school district.
“It’s very disruptive,” said District 8 winner Angel Gutierrez. “You’re planning your time. It’s trying to figure out with my wife, what day she is going into the office, aftercare and all that.”
