Mayor Brandon Johnson fills last vacancy on Chicago School Board
CHICAGO - Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his appointment to fill the final vacancy on the Chicago Board of Education on Tuesday.
Johnson’s appointment of Cydney Wallace to represent District 8 along with Angel Gutierrez, who was elected last year, now completes the 21-member hybrid board.
It’s the first time the city has had a board consisting of members who were elected.
The board consists of 10 members who were elected last November and 11 members appointed by the mayor, including the board president.
Newest member
What we know:
Wallace is a parent in the Chicago Public Schools and a native of the city's South Side, according to Johnson's office.
"Her deep roots in Chicago fuel her passion for advocacy and equitable opportunities for families and students," his office said.
Who is on the Chicago School Board?
Board members:
Sean Harden serves as the president of the Chicago Board of Education.
He was tapped by Johnson to lead the board back in December.
Harden, a native South Sider, has decades of experience working for the city, holding the title of deputy CEO of community affairs for CPS and director of workforce development for the city.
District 1: Ed Bannon (appointed) and Jennifer Custer
District 2: Debby Pope (appointed) and Ebony DeBarry
District 3: Norma Rios-Sierra (appointed) and Carlos Rivas
District 4: Karen Zaccor (appointed) and Ellen Rosenfield
District 5: Michilla "Kyla" Blaise (appointed) and Aaron "Jitu" Brown
District 6: Anusha Thotakura (appointed) and Jessica Biggs
District 7: Emma Lozano (appointed) and Yesenia Lopez
District 8: Cydney Wallace (appointed) and Angel Gutierrez
District 9: Frank Niles Thomas (appointed) and Therese Boyle
District 10: Olga Bautista (appointed) and Che "Rhymefest" Smith
What does the board do?
The backstory:
Chicago’s Board of Education — which passes a $9 billion budget, confirms a CEO and approves policies and contracts — was created by state legislators in 1872. After many versions, a seven-member board was instituted in 1999.
America’s third-largest city has long been an outlier with a mayor-appointed board overseeing Chicago Public Schools, and it took years of advocacy and legislative squabbles to reach this point.
In 2021, a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker phased out a seven-member board of mayoral appointees for a 21-member hybrid board until 2027, when a fully-elected board will take office for four-year terms.
The multi-year transition has been rife with conflict. Johnson named an entirely new board in October after all seven members resigned amid an escalating fight over control of CPS.