Mayor Johnson faces first school board pick as its president, Miguel del Valle, announces exit

CHICAGO - Chicago Board of Education President Miguel del Valle is stepping down this week, leaving a key vacancy for Mayor Brandon Johnson to fill early in his term.

Appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, del Valle’s four-year term expires Friday after he led the board through multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, gun violence that affected Chicago children and heavy protests against the district’s contract with the Chicago Police Department for armed officers in dozens of high schools.

Announcing his departure at his last board meeting Wednesday, del Valle thanked Lightfoot for the chance to oversee Chicago Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest school systems.

"It’s been quite a challenge, but I feel like I’ve been up to the challenge," del Valle said. "It’s really been an honor, having served in the General Assembly, and having chaired the Senate education committee, and having been involved with education issues. Prior to becoming a legislator, I was an advocate, I was a community organizer."

Johnson thanked del Valle in a statement Wednesday, calling him an "unwavering advocate for community schools."

"Board of Education president is a taxing position that is challenging even in the best of times, but President del Valle has navigated numerous challenges with patience and understanding of the passion around public education in our city," Johnson said. "I wish him the very best in his retirement."

The mayor’s attention must now quickly turn to a vacancy that can help shape his education agenda. Del Valle’s replacement could be the first of several school board appointments for Johnson. No other board resignations have been announced, but it is customary for previously appointed board members to step down with the election of a new mayor. In 2019, the entire school board resigned to allow Lightfoot to appoint a new one a month into her term.

Jason Lee, Johnson’s senior adviser, said unlike Lightfoot, Johnson has no plans to replace the entire school board. But he wants to prioritize parents, educators and "people who share his vision for public education, which is fully-funded neighborhood schools for every child."

"Serving on the board is difficult," Lee said in an interview. "A lot of people have done their service and they’re ready to pass the baton. So that creates natural openings. And then, whoever has expressed any interest in staying — that’ll be evaluated. It’s not really about sweeping people out. It’s about getting to better outcomes."

Are there current school board members whom Johnson would like to keep?

"There could be. I’m not an expert on all of the perspectives of those on the board. But it’s certainly possible," Lee said.

Johnson’s first school board appointments are likely to be among his last as the transition begins to an elected school board. A partially elected board with 11 appointed members and 10 elected ones will be seated in 2025. And a fully elected 21-member board will take over in 2027.

But Lee said the temporary nature of the appointment won’t make the vacancy or vacancies more difficult to fill. It might even be an "attraction," he said.

"Serving on the board is a serious commitment," Lee said. "Folks do it because of their commitment to the city, their love for children like the mayor has. Maybe some folks will be interested in a shorter stint, where they could serve and move on."

Del Valle, 71, is one of two of Lightfoot’s original seven appointees who lasted four years. He said Wednesday he’s seen plenty of challenges for CPS over his years in education work and he’s often "wondered whether we were headed in the right direction." But today he sees the district partnering with the Chicago Teachers Union and community organizations to better help students. Del Valle said his short time working with Johnson — a longtime CTU organizer and former CPS teacher — has shown a bright future.

"I have found him to be very collaborative and responsive, and I don’t think anyone can question his commitment and his dedication to the Chicago Public Schools for obvious reasons," del Valle said.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez praised del Valle for his work, noting that, "Our board members are volunteers, and you do this work because you not only serve as leaders, but you’re also selfless, always trying to look out for our city and our district."

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"It is priceless, the service you provide to our district and our community," Martinez said.

Del Valle, who has three grandchildren who attend CPS, is a former mayoral challenger, former City Clerk and the first Hispanic person ever elected to the state Senate. He served as chairman of the Senate’s Education Committee and as co-chair of the Senate Select Committee on Education Funding Reform.

As school board president, students demonstrated outside del Valle’s house at the height of the school police protests in the summer of 2020, chanting for an end to the CPD contract while he led a school board meeting from within his home during the virtual times of the pandemic. He voted to renew the police contract.

More recently, del Valle has warned of fiscal challenges quickly approaching the school system that is out of its darkest days of financial trouble but could yet return.

In March, he previewed his departure by saying, "I’m not gonna be here much longer, But we are going to make sure that whoever is the mayor of the city of Chicago … is fully briefed" on an impending $628 million deficit in 2026. He worried this board would set up the city’s new elected board for failure. A partially elected 21-member board will be seated in 2025 followed by a fully elected board in 2027.

"We hope that the next mayor will call [Springfield leaders] and say, ‘Guys, it’s time for us to get real on this. You’ve stalled long enough,’" del Valle said then. "The work to get there has to begin now. Now. Now is the time."