Chicago Board of Education meets after president resigns over controversial posts

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Board of Education met Friday, just one day after the resignation of its newly appointed president.

The mayor asked Rev. Mitchell Johnson to resign Thursday after a Jewish publication exposed dozens of antisemitic, misogynistic and 9/11 conspiracy social media posts.

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The remaining board members aimed to conduct the Friday meeting, whose agenda included policies on enrollment, student transfers, student religious practices and various other contracts, as normal even as the acknowledged the resignation.

"The outgoing president has spoken to his postings on FB he explained them he was contrite, he was asked to resign and he did," said board member Frank Thomas.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said he did not know about the posts his appointed school board president had made.

"And as a Jewish labor leader, you know, certainly, I think you got to have really high standards and examples for leadership in this district," said Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter.

Potter said it's unfortunate the posts were not discovered sooner. When the mayor was asked multiple times this week if he was aware of Rev. Johnson's controversial posts before appointing him, the mayor did not answer. However today, the mayor's office is confirming he did not know and there was a disconnect in the vetting.

"I know Brandon Johnson personally. That's not his values. I don't know what the vetting process was, but, you know, hopefully whoever did it, they get their money back. Because clearly, it was not thorough," Potter said.

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The mayor asked Rev. Johnson to step down after Governor JB Pritzker and 40 city council members did the same, While the mayor says he will proceed promptly to choose the next school board president, some Chicago Public Schools parents say the vetting process must be a collaborative and include the city council.

"We learned this past week that the mayor cannot be left alone to decide who's going to be the president of the school board, it's a $9.9 billion budget, there needs to be a team effort in appointing this person," said CPS parent Sherri Hoke.

School board member Debbie Pope, who is Jewish and lost many family members in the Holocaust, said the goal of the ne school board is to focus on students from all backgrounds.

"I think it's important we put our ideologies aside and focus and children and their wellbeing and them feeling safe and comfortable in our schools," she said.

The mayor did not give a timeframe on when he plans to name Rev. Johnson's successor. The board has one more meeting before the end of the year. Its January meeting will include 10 newly elected board members.