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The varsity board that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed earlier this month amid a dramatic management shakeup met for the primary time Thursday. However following months of district turmoil, it was a largely uneventful assembly at which the seven new members had been sworn in and reviewed the agenda for subsequent Friday’s assembly.
All eyes had been on the brand new board to see if it would take motion to take away Chicago Public Faculties CEO Pedro Martinez amid an more and more public conflict between the faculties chief and Johnson over navigating the district’s and metropolis’s monetary challenges. Your entire earlier board made up of largely Johnson appointees resigned earlier this month, reportedly following stress to oust Martinez.
However on Thursday, the brand new board made no open transfer to take away Martinez from his job. After the general public portion of the assembly, the brand new members met behind closed doorways for about half-hour to debate personnel issues, however rapidly adjoined the assembly after rising from that closed session. Personnel actions usually must go on the board’s agenda at the very least 48 hours earlier than a gathering.
At Thursday’s assembly, the Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, former government director of the Creating Communities Mission, turned president of the brand new board, and Mary Gardner, a West Facet group organizer, took on the function of vice chairman.
Johnson praised the mayor, decried disparities in instructional outcomes that Black college students face, and mentioned the district should handle the pensions of its former staff — presumably a reference to a $175 million fee for non-teaching employees pensions that has pitted the mayor towards Martinez.
The brand new members collectively recited the usual oath of workplace on the assembly’s begin, vowing to advertise the free expression of opinion by fellow board members, shield pupil and worker privateness, and respect the pursuits of metropolis taxpayers as they “set the course for Chicago Public Faculties.”
Board members made temporary remarks after their oath, invoking their experiences as district college students and fogeys and, in some instances, voicing admiration for Johnson and his imaginative and prescient for public faculties. Member Michilla Blaise famous that the brand new board has already grow to be intensely politicized, however she promised to convey calm and concentrate on the board’s vital work.
“We’re right here for the youngsters and for the households,” she mentioned. “We’ll be certain that the stage is ready for greatness.”
The Johnson administration has mentioned the board changeover was a part of an orderly transition to a brand new partially elected board in January, made up of 11 mayoral appointees and 10 members that Chicago voters will elect on Nov. 5. However Martinez’ supporters have voiced concern that Johnson changed a board unwilling to fireplace the CEO with new members ready to take away him from his publish roughly three years after former Mayor Lori Lightfoot employed him.
The mayor and the CEO have clashed over a Johnson request for the district to tackle a short-term, high-interest mortgage to cowl the price of a lecturers contract the district is now negotiating in addition to the non-teaching employees pension fee to a metropolis fund. Martinez has argued that the district should discover a solution to steadiness its finances with out taking over extra high-cost debt, and he has insisted the town ought to cowl that pension expense because it has prior to now.
Extra not too long ago, each Martinez and the lecturers union have pitched the thought of utilizing Tax Increment Financing Funds — {dollars} meant to incentivize improvement in some components of the town — to assist steadiness the district’s finances. But it surely’s not clear how a lot urge for food for such a transfer exists on the Metropolis Council. A number of aldermen addressed the brand new board Thursday, saying they wished to work collaboratively with its members; one, Nicholas Sposato, burdened that the district wants stability and continuity, an argument Martinez supporters have usually made.
The mayor’s workforce has argued the brand new board members will get a head begin on board service and convey some expertise to the partially elected board in January. However a number of the new faculty board members may find yourself serving solely briefly. That’s as a result of Johnson appointees should reside within the reverse half of the district from the place elected board members reside. If that’s not the case, the mayor should change them.
He and different members peppered district officers with quite a few questions on a slew of latest insurance policies and contracts on this month’s agenda.
The board heard from a string of oldsters and lecturers at a few of seven Acero constitution faculty campuses slated to shut on the finish of the college yr, in addition to from officers on the Chicago Lecturers Union, which represents Acero educators. Acero introduced the closure plans affecting roughly 2,000 predominantly Latino college students earlier this month.
Union officers requested the board and district administration to intervene with Acero to push back the closures and — if they will’t cease them — to take over the campuses and preserve them open for at the very least one other faculty yr. They invoked a decision banning faculty closures for 3 years that the previous board accepted at its final assembly, arguing it ought to lengthen to constitution faculties as effectively.
“CPS should do proper by these college students if Acero is unwilling to,” mentioned Jennifer Conant, the CTU’s constitution division chair.
Following months of sharp criticism of the district CEO by union leaders, Jackson Potter, the CTU’s vice chairman, once more took intention at Martinez. He complained the CEO had not responded to a union letter asking about his plan for intervening and voicing a insecurity in his response. He referred to as the deliberate closures “a disruptive, merciless determination” made with out enter from households, employees, or group members.
Martinez mentioned he came upon in regards to the closures the identical day that folks did, and that he’s talking with Acero leaders to grasp the scenario higher.
“We’re very involved,” he mentioned.
Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter masking Chicago Public Faculties. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.
