Looking ahead to Chicago's Feb. 24 elections, leaders from the city’s education community discussed making seats on the Chicago Board of Education elected positions during a Sunday episode of WTTW/Channel 11’s “Chicago Tonight” program.
Voters in 38 Chicago wards next month will have an opportunity to weigh in on whether they support an elected Board of Education.
The board has been appointed by the mayor for more than 140 years, according to Chicago Tonight host Eddie Arruza. Discussions about moving to an elected school board have gained momentum in recent years as the Chicago Teachers Union and other have expressed dissatisfaction with Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s management of Chicago Public Schools.
Linda Lenz, publisher and founder of the education news organization Catalyst Chicago, said the issue boils down to the mayor’s hard-headed leadership style.
She argued there has been “dissatisfaction with Mayor Emanuel’s plans and how he conducts business, which is pretty direct without – at least visibly – taking the pulse of people out in the field and understanding how parents and teachers and folks in schools would react to his policies.”
Lenz said the CTU is the “strongest force” in favor of an elected school board, but that there are parents all over the city who are “really unhappy” with CPS’s current governance structure.
Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruiz argued there is no need to reform the current system. He noted that elected members of local school councils work closely with the board and offer valuable insights. While the individual members of the school board cannot be voted out of office, Ruiz contended that the fact the mayor faces regular elections adds an additional layer of public accountability for the board.
Ruiz assured Arruza that the current system does not leave board members sheltered from public feedback, noting the board regularly receives comments from the public.
“We hear the feedback from proponents at school board meetings; when I go to a grocery store and get stopped by a neighbor; when I have my own niece – up until recently who was a Chicago Public Schools teacher – give me an earful at a family barbecue,” he said. “We get feedback, we get accountability, and we’re human – we respond to it.”
-Tom Butala