Mayor Johnson appoints Rafael Yáñez to fill final vacancy on Chicago Board of Education
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Brandon Johnson has picked the final member of his new Chicago school board, after the entire seven-member board stepped down earlier this month.
Rafael Yáñez, a hate crime investigator with the Chicago Police Department, joins six other new board members Johnson appointed to replace the former board.
The new board is scheduled to meet for the first time on Thursday at an agenda review meeting ahead of the next Chicago Board of Education meeting on Nov. 1.
All seven previous board members resigned on the same day earlier this month, and Johnson named six replacements just days later. Yáñez will fill the final open seat.
The mayor's shakeup of the school board comes as voters in Chicago will get the chance to elect 10 members of a new 21-member board that will take office in January, replacing Johnson's appointed board. The mayor will select 10 other board members, plus the board president.
Some of the mayor's recently appointed school board members may be chosen for the new hybrid board in January.
Critics of the mayor's school board shakeup, including many aldermen, have suggested the resignation of the previous board was related to Johnson's conflicts with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, who has opposed the mayor's push for CPS to take out a $300 million high-interest loan to support pensions and raises, when CPS is facing a $500 million deficit for the 2025 contract year.
Martinez has claimed Johnson asked him to resign, but the mayor has denied that.
Asked Tuesday if he has asked the new board to fire Martinez, Johnson did not answer, saying only that "they're tasked to carry out the vision that I have for public education in this city."