December Chicago Board of Education meeting: Live updates

The Board of Education overseeing Chicago Public Schools’ December meeting is underway.

An hour before the meeting the Chicago Teachers Union gathered at the district’s administrative offices in Bronzeville demanding their four-year contract be settled before the Trump administration is sworn in. They are tying their contract demands to fears of changes on the federal level due to Project 2025.

Among the most salient topics during the meeting is a discussion on the district’s response to the planned closure of seven schools operated by the Acero charter network at the end of the school year, impacting approximately 2,000 predominantly Latino students, according to the meeting agenda. Whether ongoing political tension over the Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations will come to a head remains to be seen. The Board members recently appointed by union ally Mayor Brandon Johnson plan to discuss the negotiations in a closed session.

The outcome is being closely watched as the CTU continues to demand an immediate resolution and the district faces a deficit of around $500 million in each of the next five years.

District chief Pedro Martinez has maintained a firm grip on his job despite the mayor and the teachers’ union’s efforts to oust him, in part for his refusal to take on a hefty, high-interest loan to help fund their new CTU contract and a pension payment to the city. Since the November board meeting, support for Martinez has expanded, as a letter of support from school principals and local officials has swelled to roughly 700 signatures.

However, sources tell the Tribune that Martinez’s employment status is not expected to be discussed during the board meeting’s closed session.

The CTU rally began at 4 p.m. CST, followed by the board meeting at 5 p.m. CST. Thursday’s board meeting is the last time the body will convene before a new hybrid, partially-elected 21-member Board is seated in January.

Check back here for live updates from Tribune education reporters Sarah Macaraeg and Nell Salzman.

Chicago Teachers Union rallies minutes before Board meeting begins

4:49 p.m.

A CTU Rally is underway just minutes before the Board of Education’s December meeting begins.

In a Tuesday blog post, the union said it would rally to “press” Chicago Public Schools to settle a new four-year contract that would protect schools and students from the incoming Trump Administration. “The fact that Trump is projecting threats to schools, hospitals and religious institutions shows that he has no respect for education, safety or faith. Our school communities will keep each other safe and CEO Martinez and elected leaders need to join the effort,” according to the blog.
— Tribune Staff

5:00 p.m.

CTU members address contract talks before meeting

Before Thursday’s board meeting, CTU members dressed in red packed in a small room at the Bronzeville district building to highlight the critical role of their contract in safeguarding public education.

Teachers spoke about ongoing contract negotiations and said the district has taken too long to respond to their demands.

“Pedro, you need to put it in writing. That’s right, put it in writing. Or admit that you’re not willing to give our kids what they deserve,” said Rogelio Aguila, a second-grade bilingual teacher at Marquette Elementary School.

Jackson Potter, CTU vice president, hinted that there has been some recent progress made at the collective bargaining table but said there’s still room to go. He called the process one of “feast and famine.”

“Finally, six, seven months later, after our initial proposals, we finally saw some light at the end of the tunnel around some of the staffing demands. So that was progress. But it’s been delayed and denied,” Potter said.
— Nell Salzman

A seventh board member is sworn in at the top of the meeting

5:15 p.m.
In a surprise development, a seventh board member, Sean Harden, was sworn in moments after the board convened. Harden is filling the seat vacated by former board president Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, who resigned in late October after coming under fire for social media posts deemed anti-semitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial.
Check back for more information on Sean Harden.
–Tribune Staff

5:28 p.m.

CTU remarks to the board

Union president Stacy Davis Gates addressed the Board after members packed the auditorium, chanting “CTU.”

The alignment between the union’s contract proposals, the mayor’s transition plan and the district’s five-year plan should guarantee a “Yes,” Gates said of CPS’ response to CTU’s demands. Asking the district to finalize the agreement by Christmas, Gates said that the January inauguration of President Donald Trump necessitates “profound urgency,” given his stated plans to dismantle the US Department of Education, including its Title IX office, which protects students’ civil rights.

“Our queer kids, our transgender kids, our queer staff and faculty, transgender staff and faculty are going to need a document that will be backed up by all of these people who love Chicago,” she said. In a bulletin to members Wednesday, the CTU said that along with the union’s economic demands, its proposals include increased protections for vulnerable groups.

The union contract isn’t the only means to protect civil rights in the district, a CPS spokesperson said Thursday, listing 16 policies devoted to student and staff protections, ranging from religious freedom to human rights.

“We remain committed to protecting our staff and students’ rights and already have policies in place to protect our most vulnerable students and will continue to do all we can to ensure our schools are safe, welcoming and inclusive learning environments,” the CPS spokesperson said.

In an update sent to families Dec. 6 CPS quantified the current impasse, estimating the four-year cost of meeting the union’s recent list of narrowed demands at $3.5 billion.

Fact-finding hearings were scheduled to occur this month, as the next stage of formal mediation to resolve the contract. But the hearings, and a subsequent report of recommendations by the fact-finder, have been postponed at CTU’s request, according to the district.

The current Board of six Johnson appointees have also pressured Martinez to resolve the contract – a demand that’s prompted pushback among an assortment of stakeholders.

“This is important work and it’s critical that we continue to bargain in good faith to reach a fair contract that will support teaching and learning across our system,” the CPS spokesperson said Thursday.

–Sarah Macaraeg

5:34 pm

Concerns from Acero families

Caroline Rutherford, CTU’s charter division vice stood with a pack of students and addressed one of the most contentious issues in recent weeks: the closures of seven out of 15 charter schools in the Acero network. Board members have publicly criticized Martinez’s handling of the closures since the news was announced in early October, though the district does not have any legal obligation to keep the schools open.

Acero executives did not respond to student, teacher and parent concerns at a board meeting Wednesday night. They did not show up at a board meeting on Dec. 4, and made no signs of appearing Thursday night.

“It has been over two months since the announcement and these schools that these schools may potentially close, and we’ve been fighting every single day for our students,” said Rutherford.
— Nell Salzman

5:40 p.m.

Union disputes

“Who are we, 73!” chanted audience members as Dian Palmer, president of Service Employees International Union 73 stepped up to the podium to address the board.

There has been an ongoing dispute about whether special education classroom assistants should be incorporated into CTU’s contract as teachers assistants. SEIU 73 is threatening to sue the district over a Chicago Teachers Union proposal that it says would effectively take those jobs from SEIU and give them to CTU.

Palmer said President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to dismantle the Department of Education make protections for special education assistants even more important.

“SECAs provide valuable behavioral, emotional and physical support to special education children,” she said. “Now is not the time to add flexibility to special education services.”

Troy LaRaviere, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, stepped forward as a another voice in the fray of unions that have spoken up against CTU’s proposals. CPAA has clashed with the teachers union over some proposals such as teacher planning time and curriculum changes.

“We can’t put students first if we put the people who serve them last,” LaRaviere said. “Please know that my critiques are never personal.”
— Nell Salzman

6:30 p.m.

Urgency

Students, parents and teachers touched on a variety of issues, from busing to safety. Many referenced the change in presidency as a reason to get a contract across the finish line.

“The day after Trump was implemented, I had an immigrant student cry for 15 minutes in fear that he was going to be transported … I’m not a counselor,” said Jeannine Woods, a kindergarten teacher at Haines Elementary School in Chinatown. “One of the most important things our contract does is stand against dangerous national policy policies like Trump’s project 2025 which threaten our students’ rights.”

—Nell Salzman

6:34 p.m.

Critiques of the Board

CTU voices largely dominated on the floor at Thursday’s evening meeting, and when others spoke, they were often met with boos heckles from the crowd.

“Boom Pedro, get out the way!” those seated in the crowd would shout.

Charters have long been inequitably funded, said Laurie Turner, chief of political affairs for the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. When charters lose enrollment they lose funding, just like other public schools, said Turner.

“Charter schools are nonprofit organizations governed by volunteer board members. Anti-charter folks have used privatization language for years, even though charters have been started by teachers’ families, community groups, and local nonprofits,” Turner said. “There are no billionaires to save us.”

Former Board Vice President and parent of two CPS students Sendhil Revuluri, who resigned in December 2022, urged current members to work constructively with Martinez.

“Our students, their families and our whole community deserve a Board that prioritizes students above all else. An effective Board can’t let adult concerns overshadow what matters most – our kids,’ he said, urging the Board to focus on improving outcomes for students, as its primary responsibility.

Revuluri alluded to the political gridlock that’s marked recent proceedings, in which current Board Vice President Mary Russell Gardner last week grilled Martinez on his efforts to resolve the CTU contract. The focus on students “must be reflected in the Board’s… meeting agendas, the questions you all ask and your evaluation of the CEO,” Revuluri said.

“Important decisions should not be rushed… and they require training,” he said, criticizing the recent postponement of training meant to prepare incoming members elected in November before they’re seated next month.

— Sarah Macaraeg & Nell Salzman

7:00 p.m.

Elected Officials

Several aldermen addressed the board: Ald. Nicole Lee, 11th; Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th; Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd.

Lee touched the status of Martinez’s job, which has been an elephant in the room for months.

“To be clear, I’m in full support of CEO Martinez continuing to lead CPS, and I know that I’m not alone,” she said.

Waguespack echoed her point, asking the current board to wait until the ten elected members join the board in January to make any high-level personnel decisions.

“I feel strongly that a change in leadership shouldn’t be rooted in political interests, but in interest of doing what is best for our students,” he said.

Three incoming School Board members, who were elected in November, addressed the current Board, critiquing the delay of their onboarding and reiterating multiple winning candidates’ prior request that no significant action be taken before they are seated in January.

Carlos Rivas — who won in District 3 — objected to the cancellation of next week’s onboarding training.

“Looks like we’re playing positive politics again with our children,” said Rivas, whose district includes Acero Schools’ Carlos Fuentes Elementary School, one of seven schools that the charter operator has decided to close at the end of the school year.

Another location slated for closure, Sandra Cisneros Elementary School, falls in District 8, which will be represented by Board member-elect Angel Gutierrez come January.

“Refrain from making decisions until the new hybrid Board comes together,” he said, encouraging members to honor the wishes of the voters who elected him. “We want to create the best school system, collectively together.”

Che “Rhymesfest” Smith said he’d like to go forward with the training to ensure the new board members are prepared when they are seated.

“Let’s embrace this historic election, and let’s embrace one another and let’s move forward in a new era of education for Chicago public schools,” Smith said.

7:50 p.m.

No resolution for Acero charter schools; closed session begins

Before the board voted to close out the meeting with a private, closed session, CPS’ Chief Portfolio Officer Alfonso Carmona explained four routes the Board could take to address the impending closure of seven schools operated by the Acero charter school network. Among them are integrating the roughly 2000 mostly Latino displaced students into other CPS schools and a plan that includes spending $1.6 million in CPS capital expenditures to keep some of the Acero schools open.

With no formal resolution to be voted on, the fate of the Acero students remains… unresolved.

The meeting adjourned at 10:01 p.m.
— Tribune staff