School Board, Mayor Johnson are failing as city leaders
Chicago Public Schools is no stranger to crises. Having navigated numerous budget shortfalls and leadership disputes in the district, I recognize that tough decisions are inevitable. Financial challenges and potential school closures are not new news for a district that has also suffered from declining enrollment.
What is new — and deeply concerning — is the lack of transparent, responsible dialogue among leaders and with the public.
On Wednesday, the current Board of Education scheduled a special meeting for 5:45 p.m. on the Friday before a holiday break, which is also the Jewish Sabbath. The agenda includes appointing a new board president, discussing Acero charter schools — and deciding on the future of Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, including the possibility of a separation settlement or termination of the first permanent Latino CEO of CPS.
These matters carry serious financial, cultural, ethical, and legal consequences for the nation’s fourth-largest school district. Normally, decisions of this magnitude would involve open discussions, multiple briefings, media updates, and community outreach efforts.
Instead, these critical issues are being fast-tracked — set for discussion at an unusual time, without any genuine public engagement or transparency.
Newly elected board members, scheduled to take office in January, have continued to criticize this course of action.
They’re right. Refusing to engage in open dialogue, scheduling last-minute special meetings during the holiday season and bypassing opportunities for collaborative problem-solving is an abdication of these board members’ duty and responsibility to serve our young people and all the stakeholders of CPS.
It reflects a failure of leadership when it matters most, and our students and families, and all Chicagoans, will bear the consequences.
The young people in Chicago deserve a united front, with the Board of Education, CPS leadership, and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration working together to put children first. We need leaders who confront crises with clarity and purpose while respecting the democratic processes that ensure good governance.
It’s time to set politics aside, listen to one another, and focus on what truly matters: students learning in schools. Teachers, principals and families look to city leaders and the board for direction. When leadership fails to provide a vision and makes decisions with only their interests in mind, it creates uncertainty and disruption throughout every school in Chicago, and our City.
Our children’s futures depend on us getting this right. I urge this lame-duck Board of Education to stand down. I ask the new hybrid Board of Education to take a stand and insist on the visionary leadership and responsible governance our children and families deserve.
Jesse Ruiz has served as vice president of the Chicago Board of Education and interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools. He has also served as former deputy governor of Illinois for education and chair of the Illinois State Board of Education.
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