New hybrid Chicago Board of Education to be seated amid financial crisis, increased discord in CTU talks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The new hybrid Chicago Board of Education will be officially seated on Wednesday—amid heated contract talks between the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union involving elevated name-calling by the union.
The current seven-person Chicago school board, with members all selected by Mayor Brandon Johnson, will switch Wednesday to 20 board members and a president.
Half of the new members were selected by voters this past fall, while the other half were selected by Mayor Brandon Johnson.
They inherit a district with ongoing teachers' union contract negotiations, and a district chief executive officer, Pedro Martinez, who was fired at the end of last year by the board recently appointed by Mayor Johnson. Martinez, however, remains on the job for another five and a half months.
The new board also inherits a financial situation at a tipping point for CPS. The independent watchdog group the Civic Federation said in a report issued this week that an Illinois state takeover of the district's finances may become a reality if the new board does not jump in and act smart—fast.
The Civic Federation said in its report released Monday that this year's CPS budget is structurally imbalanced. The group said a confluence of financial challenges jeopardizes the district's ability to provide the quality education necessary to prepare Chicago students for success.
The report calls for rightsizing a district that has ballooned in size, and developing long-term financial plans is critical to avoid a state takeover.
Civic President Joe Ferguson said a new school board with members who have never sat together before needs to get cracking right away to avoid state takeover.
"You should embrace that reality," Ferguson said, "and if you're not embracing that reality immediately, then probably we are heading down a path in which there's going to be some form of intervention that may be needed."
Ferguson said early signals from the board—even as its members are sworn in on Wednesday night—will be critical in determining if they can avoid the massive landmines in their path.
As for those contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union, they continue to drag on. This week, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates had to walk back some disparaging and offensive comments she made about schools CEO Martinez.
WBEZ reported that Davis Gates last week compared Martinez to a special education student who couldn't be suspended. It outraged several community groups—not the least of which were those who assist children with special needs.
On "Chicago Tonight" on WTTW-Channel 11 last night, Davis Gates apologized for those comments.
"I am extraordinarily embarrassed," she said. "It does not reflect my values or my body of work. I am deeply sorry for it."
With a struggle already with $9.3 billion in outstanding debt, a heated back-and-forth with the teachers' union, and a drastic change to how the Board of Education is structured all happening simultaneously, CPS is at a crossroads—as are the 323,000 Chicago kids who rely on it.
