Chicago City Council group, CPS parents concerned amid mayor's plan to appoint interim school board

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Candidates continued to campaign Saturday for elected Chicago Board of Education positions in the upcoming November election amid news of the entire current board's plans to resign.

CPS school board candidates and Chicago City Council members are also reacting as Mayor Brandon Johnson is expected to appoint a temporary board who will be willing to act on his wish to oust CPS CEO Pedro Martinez.

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The office of Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Friday that the entire Chicago Board of Education will resign.

Messages left by ABC7 for the school board president and multiple board members have not been returned, so ABC7 hasn't heard directly whether the board members resigned in protest or were forced out.

"To see them all resign is like stunning," CPS parent Petros Voutsanesis said. "I'm extremely troubled by that."

Similar worries were raised by others as well at Saturday's CPS school board candidate forum. The mass resignation of the school board comes as, for the first time, people can vote for members of Chicago's first-elected school board.

The candidate forum event was on of several hosted by educational advocacy group Raise Your Hand, and coincidentally comes as all seven school board members are expected to step down.

"It's all about the budget. It's all about the money," said Ed Donnellan, who attended the forum.

The mayor is moving quickly to name new board members. That will happen Monday morning, but the appointments would only last for a short time. The board will be partly elected next month.

"This is obviously a pivotal moment," said Cassandra Kaczozha with Raise Your Hand. "We helped to fight for the elected school board, so we want to see this be a successful endeavor for Chicago."

A group of Chicago City Council members sent a statement statement to the mayor Saturday, voicing their disagreement with his naming of interim school board members.

The alderpersons' letter, which was signed by 36 of 50 city council members, read in part, "the city council must also convene... before any new appointments are established. A school board full of lame-duck appointees carrying out only a few months of a term is not what is in our best interest."

Johnson's office released a statement Friday, saying: "Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the Chicago Board of Education are enacting a transition plan which includes all current members transitioning from service on the Board later this month. With the shift to a hybrid elected and appointed Board forthcoming, current Board members and Mayor Johnson understand that laying a strong foundation for the shift is necessary to serve the best interests of students and families in Chicago Public Schools. Together, Mayor Johnson and the Board fulfilled many objectives of the Johnson Administration's vision for Chicago's public schools, including shifting away from inequitable student-based budgeting, completing the change to a school safety model that does not rely on school resource officers and focusing on Black Student Success. Their partnership also improved special education services, increased charter school accountability in the renewal process and embarked on a new five-year strategic plan that emphasizes continued progress, investing in neighborhood schools and expanding the Sustainable Community School model in lieu of school closures. None of the members leaving the current Board planned to continue onto the hybrid Board, and none are running for election. With the unprecedented increase in Board membership, transitioning new members now will allow them time to orient and gain critical experience prior to welcoming additional elected and appointed members in 2025."

The mayor turned on Martinez in part because he and the school board refused to take out a short-term high-interest loan to pay for a new teachers contract and pension payments that CPS shifted to the city.

The Saturday letter from the group of city council members expressed disagreement with the city taking out such a loan.

In the meantime, Martinez, who is under contract, has no plans to step down. He said a new school board must find "cause" to fire him.

A CPS spokesperson issued a statement Friday, saying, "CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, on behalf of his leadership team, staff and students, extends his sincere gratitude to the members of the Chicago Board of Education for their service. School Board members are dedicated, civic-minded public servants who are not paid for their work. They each have spent countless hours volunteering their time, lending their considerable expertise and experience to support our system and our more than 325,000 students. School Board members review thousands of documents each year and spend additional time researching, asking questions, and offering input before voting on major decisions, including the District's annual budget, and just last month, the District's five-year strategic plan, 'Success 2029: Together We Rise.' These Board members in particular advocated for equity, emphasizing our collective responsibility to better serve all students but especially students with disabilities and those in neighborhoods that have been historically under-resourced and who remain furthest from opportunity. We extend special thanks to Board President Jianan Shi and Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland for their leadership. Vice President Todd-Breland is the only remaining Board member who has served through the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath as the District worked to restore services and successfully lead academic recovery efforts. We understand news that the seven-member Chicago Board of Education plans to resign later this month may concern our families and staff. CEO Martinez and his leadership team, principals and staff, remain focused on teaching and learning, continuing the great momentum we've seen in students' academic gains and performance over the past two years."

Earlier this week, Johnson said he did not ask anyone to do anything, but when asked to clarify that statement Wednesday, the mayor was tight-lipped.

"I don't ever discuss personnel issues," he said. "I find it to be highly offensive, irresponsible and raggedy, and I don't do raggedy."

However, Johnson made it clear that all of his leaders must share his progressive agenda to transform public education.

"I was elected to fight for the people of the city and whoever is in the way, get out of it," he said.

Martinez issued the following statement Friday to CPS staff, families and supporters: "Earlier today, all seven members of the Chicago Board of Education announced that they plan to resign their positions in the very near future. I want to take this opportunity to thank all seven of these individuals for their vision and their leadership - Board President Jianan Shi, Vice President Elizabeth Todd-Breland, Mariela Estrada, Mary Fahey Hughes, Rudy Lozano, Jr., Michelle Morales, and Tanya D. Woods. I am sincerely grateful to each one of these dedicated, civic-minded public servants who have volunteered their time, their expertise, their experience, and their energy to supporting our system and serving more than 324,000 students. School board members - who are not paid for their work - review thousands of policies and proposals each year and spend additional time researching, asking questions, and offering input before voting on major decisions, including the District's annual budget, and more recently, the District's five-year strategic plan, 'Success 2029: Together We Rise,' which this board approved just 19 days ago. I want to salute these Board members in particular for their steadfast dedication to ensuring greater equity in our system, emphasizing our collective responsibility to improve the quality of education for those who are furthest from opportunity. I want to extend my special thanks to Board Vice President Todd-Breland, who has been a board member since 2019, for her leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic and in the aftermath. She worked to restore services and lead academic recovery efforts that have yielded some of the biggest gains among large urban districts. I know that families and staff may have concerns about what this means for the future of our District. Please know that regardless of the makeup of the Board of Education, my team and I remain focused on the work: robust teaching and learning, building on the great momentum we've seen in students' academic gains, and continuing to realize our vision of a District where every student has a rigorous, high-quality, and joyful learning experience.

Late Friday, some community leaders and elected officials called on Governor JB Pritzker to intervene in what they call a CPS crisis. The governor's office said he does not have the legal authority to do so.