Mayor Johnson doubles down on CTU, CPS CEO Martinez as schools wait in limbo

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Jason Major said one of his jobs as principal of Dever Elementary is to shelter his school from the chaos going on within the district. As the second half of the school year begins, Mayor Brandon Johnson continues to defend his handpicked school board's December 20 decision to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez. Martinez's contract allows him to stay on for another six months.

"The vision that I have is aligned with the Board of Education, with my office, as we continue to lead the way to transform our public schools in Chicago," Johnson said.

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The vision is similar to CPS's Five Year Plan, but the mayor has refused for several months to specifically answer why he wants Martinez out. Their relationship soured when Martinez would not take out a $300 million short-term high-interest loan to pay for the new contract with the Chicago Teachers Union.

"Every single parent wants their child to go into a fully functional, high quality public education system," is also Johnson would say.

The mayor repeated that statement several times when asked about the loan and how to pay for a new CTU contract during a one-on-one interview with ABC7 political reporter Craig Wall.

One costly item and a sticking point between CTU and CPS is the demand for an extra 30 minutes of teacher prep time. Currently, teachers get 60 minutes.

"That would be really challenging to figure out in a school I did the math, we would need four more teachers just to be able to cover that at this school, and that's just my school," Major said.

READ MORE: Salary, prep time sticking points in CPS, CTU contract talks

In addition, principals say more prep times means less time with students. Major hopes a compromise can be worked out. In the meantime, he was one of nearly 700 CPS principals and assistant principals who signed a letter urging the school board not to fire Martinez.

"We've had stability in the district, and a clear message that's been consistent for years, and we just want to see that continue," he said.

Tuesday afternoon, CTU gave an update on contract negotiations, claiming progress has come to a halt. The union blames Martinez for the delays.