Chicago school board members don't show up for City Council hearing on CPS turmoil
CHICAGO (CBS) -- What happens when City Hall calls a meeting, but those invited don't show up? In the case of a Chicago City Council committee meeting to discuss the mayor's recent shakeup of the school board, aldermen shifted their focus.
The City Council Education Committee invited current and incoming members of the Chicago Board of Education to testify about the ongoing turmoil at Chicago Public Schools, but when no school board members showed up, the hearing instead focused on CPS budget woes.
The school district has a more than $500 million budget shortfall, and while the City Council has no oversight over the CPS budget, aldermen were able to ask schools CEO Pedro Martinez about the district's finances.
But they had really wanted to have the opportunity to talk to the school board that didn't show up.
"CPS board members past and present were invited. They declined to come to the meeting; some in fear of being able to continue to do the work that they do, and their different perspectives. The new board said to me that they just weren't prepared," said Education Committee Chair Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th).
The meeting was originally set to address the looming resignations of all seven current school board members, and Mayor Brandon Johnson's appointment of six new board members. Aldermen wanted to question incoming and outgoing school board members about the mayor's shakeup of the board, but none of the members showed up.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said it's not surprising school board members weren't ready to face aldermen'
"One of the reasons that the new members refused to appear was that they, quote 'weren't prepared,' end quote – which has become a recurring theme with the Johnson administration. We are constantly being told that they haven't done their homework and they aren't ready to answer questions, but I think a lot of CPS parents deserve answers to questions right now," he said.
Aldermen have suggested the resignation of the entire current board was related to the mayor's conflicts with 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.
With no school board members showing up, the focus of the meeting shifted to an opportunity for aldermen to ask Martinez about the CPS budget, but every single one expressed frustration and disappointment at the school board's absence.
"I think it's an absolute sham that they haven't showed up. The taxpayers as well as the the City Council really want to hear directly from the school board members," said Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd). "I think, first of all, the board members – the new board members – need to be held accountable, and right now they're skirting accountability, and they're hiding behind the mayor. I think it's important for the mayor to get out of the way, and let taxpayers hear from the people who are going to make choices that will cost them pretty dearly in the long run."
"I think it's even more important that we hear from the newly appointed board members, some of which we're not sure are even qualified to serve, and so the fact they chose not to appear is incredibly disappointing, and I think taxpayers should be pretty upset about that," Reilly said.
As for the CPS budget woes, aldermen spent six hours grilling Martinez about the district's finances.
Taylor urged her colleagues to focus on solutions for the school district, rather than Martinez himself.
"I want us to talk about solutions, because I ain't heard none. I hear everything else, but how we're going to get this budget together, and let's not act like this is all on Pedro. It was Barbara Byrd-Bennett. It's been everybody. It was Paul Vallas," Taylor said, referring to two of Martinez's predecessors. "Let's not act like CPS' budget deficit is new. It's not. It's been going on for over 30 years that I know of."
Johnson did not attend Wednesday's meeting. Last week, aldermen called on him to convince board members to show up for the meeting to race their questions, but Johnson said aldermen instead should go to a school board meeting to raise their concerns.
Asked for a response to Wednesday's committee meeting, the mayor's office issued the following statement:
Mayor Johnson has been clear in his vision for public education, where schools are fully staffed with social workers, counselors, psychologists and psychiatrists, and resources are distributed equitably throughout the city. We have seen the chaos caused by school closures and layoffs, so our focus remains on moving forward out of the turmoil of the past and investing in our children, and transforming our district so that every single family across the city has the school that they deserve.
It's unclear if or when school board members will agree to testify before City Council members about the school board shakeup.