CPS 101: Inside the leadership crisis, school board shakeup, and upcoming elections

CHICAGO - Chicago Public Schools is the fourth-largest public school district in the country.

As of 2023, 323,000 students were enrolled in CPS. The majority are from communities of color – 47% identifying as Hispanic, 35% as Black, 11% as White, and 4.5% as Asian American.

There are 634 total schools. A handful of them are magnet and selective enrollment schools where students must test in. They are some of the highest-performing schools in the state.

CPS reported an 84% graduation rate for the class of 2023. According to the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, only 31% of third through eighth graders read at grade level, and only 19% met grade-level math standards.

Even if Chicago residents don’t have children in CPS, they still have a stake. Fifty-five percent of every property tax bill goes toward CPS, amounting to a total levy near $4 billion. Together with state money and federal grants, CPS’s total budget is nearly $10 billion.

However, it faces a $500 million budget gap that could grow as the Chicago Teachers Union bargains for raises in a new labor contract, and as federal COVID relief money runs out.

The structure of CPS

CPS is run by a CEO, a position currently held by Pedro Martinez. He was hired by former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and was recently asked to resign by Mayor Brandon Johnson, but he has refused. Above Martinez is a seven-member Board of Education, selected by the mayor.

However, the entire board resigned on Oct. 4 after what sources describe as relentless pressure from the mayor’s office and the CTU to fire Martinez for refusing to take out a $300 million short-term, high-interest loan. On Oct. 7, the mayor announced six new members that he intended to nominate as interim replacements.

So, you may ask, why is there suddenly an election? That’s because Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation, endorsed by the CTU, to move to a 21-member fully elected school board. But that doesn’t happen until 2027.

In 2025, the legislation calls for a 21-member hybrid board – 10 elected members and 11 appointed by the mayor, giving the mayor ultimate control for at least the next two years.

Districts and Candidates

After intense negotiations, lawmakers produced a school district map:

District 1: Includes the Far Northwest Side and O’Hare. The candidates are Michelle Custer and Jennifer Pierre. Read more about them here.

District 2: Encompasses much of Rogers Park on the North Side. There are four candidates and they include Ebony DeBarry, Margaret Cullerton Hooper, Kate Doyle, and Bruce Leon. Read more about them here.

District 3: Includes North Side neighborhoods like Lakeview and part of Lincoln Park. The candidates are Carlos Rivas and Jason Donas. Read more about them here.

District 4: Includes more of Lincoln Park. The six candidates are Karen Zaccor, Ellen Rosenfeld, Kimberly Brown, Thomas Day, Carmen Giosa, and Andrew Davis. Read more about them here.

District 5: Includes West Side neighborhoods like Lawndale. One candidate, Aaron Jitu Brown, is running unopposed. Read more about him here.

District 6: A narrow strip along the lakefront that encompasses parts of the South Loop and Bronzeville, all the way down to South Shore. The three candidates are Jessica Biggs, Anusha Thotakura, and Andre Smith. Read more about them here.

District 7: Covers the Southwest Side. The candidates are Yesenia Lopez, Eva Villalobos, and Raquel Don. Read more about them here.

District 8: Also on the Southwest Side. The candidates are Angel Gutierrez and Felix Ponce. Read more about them here.

District 9: Far South Side neighborhoods like Beverly and Morgan Park. The candidates are Therese Boyle, Lanetta Thomas, Lamont Raymond Williams, and Miquel Lewis. Read more about them here.

District 10: Further Far South Side, including South Chicago and Hegewisch. The candidates are Adam Parrot Schefter, Che "Rhymefest" Smith, Karen Norrington Reaves, and Robert Jones. Read more about them here.

The races have attracted significant funding from groups aligned with the CTU, hoping to place candidates on the board who will further the union’s agenda. Other outside groups representing business and charter school interests have also spent millions, aiming to place candidates on the board who will advocate for more school choice.

And that’s our CPS Elected School Board 101. Class dismissed!

Additional Resources

• The Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ partnered to create a comprehensive bio and candidate questionnaire of all the candidates, so you can learn where they stand on the issues. Click here for more.
• To learn more about the candidates, click here to visit Chalkbeat Chicago's school board election guide.

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