Mayor Brandon Johnson debuted his new Chicago Board of Education on Monday, his latest move to wrest back control of the Chicago Public Schools systems after weeks of strife between him and embattled CEO Pedro Martinez.
Following Friday’s dramatic announcement of all seven board members’ resignations, Johnson sought to wipe the slate clean at a South Side news conference in which he rolled out their replacements until a new 21-member hybrid board is installed in January. But the noise surrounding last week’s stunning shakeup has hardly died down, with condemnation continuing to pour in from City Council, including Johnson’s progressive allies, as well as Springfield.
Johnson announced only six nominees to the board Monday: Olga Bautista, a Southeast Side environmental activist; Michilla Blaise, a longtime political consultant and current chief of staff for Cook County commissioner Frank Aguilar; West Side activist Mary Gardner; Rev. Mitchell Johnson; Debby Pope, Chicago Teachers Union staffer; and Frank Thomas.
Johnson’s remarkable power struggle with Martinez and his own appointed school board erupted after contentious budget talks this summer, ultimately leading to all board members opting to resign rather than side with him. The disagreement stemmed from Martinez and the board’s refusal to take out a high-interest loan to cover a pension payment and part of the upcoming contract for the Chicago Teachers Union, a close political ally of the mayor’s.
Martinez said in September the mayor asked him to step down, which he refused. The schools’ chief can only be forced out by the board. Now that the first iteration of Johnson’s Board of Education has been purged, the path to fire Martinez — and take out the $300 million loan — looks clearer than ever.
Johnson, before running for public office, spent years as CTU organizer and won the 2023 mayoral race after campaigning on a platform of transforming public education. However, this year’s contract talks with the CTU have stalled as the district and union’s wish for more state funding from Springfield continues faltering.
Facing a large CPS budget deficit this year as pandemic funding ran dry, the mayor’s team pitched the loan but Martinez refused, saying it would be fiscally irresponsible.
Over the weekend, following the Board of Education resignation announcements, more than 40 aldermen agreed with Martinez. They posted an open letter blasting the mayor’s handling of the situation and warned against the loan.
The group also demanded Johnson convene a hearing before the end of the month and before any new appointments to the CPS board are made.
Meanwhile, state Rep. Ann Williams, a Chicago Democrat who was the architect behind the elected school board bill championed by Johnson and the CTU, issued her own statement hinting that Springfield may get more involved.
“This inserts a level of uncertainty and instability into our schools that is extremely concerning,” she wrote Saturday. “The level of state oversight necessary for the district will be informed by the decisions made by this Mayor and his administration in the coming weeks and months.”
The CTU released a statement Friday following news of the mass resignations in which it condemned Martinez’s leadership: “Unfortunately, this news reflects the ongoing instability created by the district’s CEO. While we finally have a mayor working to transform our schools, this CEO continues to say ‘no’ to progress.”
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