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CHICAGO - Chicago is holding its first school board elections on Tuesday, a key step as the city transitions from a mayor-appointed school board to one elected by voters.
Results will begin to display after polls close at 7 p.m.
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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. J.B. 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.
CPS 101: Inside the leadership crisis, school board shakeup, and upcoming elections
Before Chicago casts its first vote on a school board, go inside the city's public school system. What's working? And what's not? This is CPS 101.
The shift starts with Tuesday's election, with 10 elected members and 11 mayoral appointees, including the board president. Two years later, voters will have a say in all 21 races. The board president would be elected at large, while 20 others would represent districts determined by legislators.
Questions still loom about how the new board, triple the current size, will govern.
The multi-year transition has been rife with conflict. Mayor Brandon Johnson named an entirely new board in October after all seven members resigned amid an escalating fight over control of CPS.
Johnson has been trying to oust the district’s CEO, Pedro Martinez, who was named to the job in 2021 by Johnson’s predecessor, then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer, has clashed with Martinez, including over how best to close gaps in the district’s nearly $10 billion budget. Martinez has refused to resign, citing the need for stability in the district.
CPS 101: Diverse candidates and their key priorities in the Chicago school board elections
Chicago's elected school board candidates include educators, lawyers, activists, CEOs, and mothers of special needs children. It will be the first time in Chicago history residents have elected school board members.
Many of Tuesday's candidates are parents, advocates and former educators making their first foray into politics, navigating a steep learning curve with little name recognition or cash.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.