Chicago’s New School Board
The Chicago Board of Education is changing. In January of 2025, there will be a 21-member Board of Education. Ten members of the board will be elected, and ten members will be appointed by the mayor. The mayor will also appoint the school board president. This hybrid board will be in existence for two years, after which all members of the board will be elected rather than appointed.
Illinois state legislators have been designated to create a map of 20 school districts. State law says that a ten-district map must be drawn by July of 2023. As of today, the legislators have drawn a draft map consisting of 20 school districts with input from the public. The League supports electoral maps that are compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population and consistent with the Illinois Voting Rights Act.
Who will be on the school board? Citizens who want to be on the board will have to collect 250 signatures from registered voters in their district. These petitions will be submitted to the Board of Elections. A candidate for board president will need to collect 2500 signatures. School board members cannot be employees of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) or employees or owners of companies that have contracts with CPS. Board members cannot hold other elected offices. There continues to be questions about school board member qualifications—can someone who works for CPS quit that job and instantly run to be a board member?
There are also concerns about the election, as only US citizens are allowed to vote in school board elections or run for office. This would disqualify many public school parents from voting. The law does call for a creation of a non-citizen advisory board appointed by the mayor, but does not list the powers or responsibilities that organization would have.
LWV Chicago conducted a study comparing elected and appointed school boards in 2016. The concerns we had with an elected school board included the following:
Big money can determine elections
With too many agendas, the board may lack focus
Board members could micromanage the administration and not understand complex budgets
Qualified individuals can be reluctant to subject themselves to the difficulties and expense of an election campaign
The League will continue to follow and report on Chicago’s road to an elected school board. If you’re interested in learning more, consider joining LWV Chicago’s Education Committee. Email league@lwvchicago.org to get involved.