Miguel del Valle stepping down as Chicago Board of Education President as term expires
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago Board of Education president Miguel del Valle announced Wednesday he will be stepping down from his post when his term expires at the end of this week.
"I want to thank the mayor, Mayor Lightfoot, for giving me this opportunity four years ago. It's been quite a challenge, but I feel I've been up to the challenge," del Valle said at the start of Wednesday's school board meeting. "It's really been an honor."
Appointed as board president by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2019, just weeks after she took office, del Valle is the first member of the school board to leave after Mayor Brandon Johnson was elected this year.
Before joining the school board, del Valle was an Illinois state senator from 1987 to 2006, serving as vice chairman of the Education Committee for many years. In 2006, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed him City Clerk, and he was elected to a full term in 2007, stepping down in 2011 to run for mayor after Daley left office, finishing third in a six-way race.
During his time on the school board, del Valle helped lead the Chicago Public Schools through the COVID-19 pandemic, with schools going remote for nearly two full school years.
"I thank President del Valle for his leadership of the Chicago Board of Education and for a long career in public service, where he has been an unwavering advocate for community schools," Johnson said in a statement. "Board of Education president is a taxing position that is challenging even in the best of times, but President del Valle has navigated numerous challenges with patience and understanding of the passion around public education in our city. I wish him the very best in his retirement."
Johnson will now be tasked with picking del Valle's successor, his first major appointment at CPS since taking office in May.
CPS will soon begin transitioning to an elected school board. Legislation passed by he Illinois General Assembly and signed by Gov. JB Pritzker in 2021, over Lightfoot's objections, calls for the creation of a 21-member school board starting in 2025 – starting with a hybrid board of 10 members who will be elected in November 2024, and 11 members appointed by the member.
The board will then become fully elected in 2027, with voters electing 11 members to replace the mayor's appointments, including the board president, in 2026.
The Chicago Teachers Union, for which Johnson served as an organizer before his election as mayor, supported the switch to an elected school board.
