CHICAGO — The Chicago college board is assembly Friday to think about firing district CEO Pedro Martinez after months of hypothesis about his future pushed by a battle with Mayor Brandon Johnson.
A board agenda posted Wednesday night lists two agenda objects: approving Martinez’s termination and approving a settlement settlement. No different particulars are included.
The agenda says the board might vote on these issues at a later date. The particular assembly is scheduled for Friday night.
The vote will come three months after Mayor Brandon Johnson requested Martinez to resign, which Martinez has refused to do. Amid that pressure and questions in regards to the district’s monetary future, Johnson’s beforehand appointed board resigned en masse.
Martinez’s potential firing would come simply weeks earlier than a brand new 21-person physique made up of 10 elected officers and 11 mayoral appointees is seated. 4 of these appointees are present board members. Some elected members and different elected officers have requested the present board to withhold making main selections earlier than the brand new board is sworn in on Jan. 15.
In a Wednesday interview with Chalkbeat earlier than the particular assembly was introduced, Sean Harden, the mayor’s appointee to steer the college board, demurred when requested if Martinez ought to proceed to steer the district, saying it wouldn’t be applicable to get into personnel issues.
“The board will consider all of its management and make it possible for it’s targeted on delivering high-quality training for college kids,” he mentioned. “What you will be assured is that no matter choice is made, whomever is the chief, that particular person goes to have a spotlight and a dedication, and can have the ability to tangibly level to their deal with ensuring college students are first.”
Harden, a consulting agency govt and former CPS administrator, can be named board president at Friday’s particular assembly.
Martinez’s contract, which was amended in December 2022, permits the board to fireplace him for simply trigger – akin to prison exercise or “any improper act that’s opposite to the very best pursuits of CPS.” The board also can fireplace Martinez with out citing a purpose, however that will permit Martinez, who makes $340,000, to maintain his job for an extra six months, plus 20 weeks of severance, in line with his contract.
Over the previous a number of months, the mayor has declined to reply questions on Martinez’s future, citing it as a personnel challenge that will be inappropriate to debate in public. However the mayor’s workplace and Martinez have disagreed on plenty of points in current months, together with Johnson’s concept for CPS to take out a short-term mortgage to pay for pension obligations and labor contracts. These contracts embody one with the Chicago Academics Union, an in depth ally of the mayor, who was an organizer with CTU.
Negotiations have grown more and more tense between CTU and CPS in current weeks, with CPS unclear over the way it pays for the contract and CTU claiming Martinez has been a hindrance to a deal. The union has pushed for a contract deal by Christmas.
Pressure additionally grew in current weeks after the Acero constitution college community introduced it might shut seven campuses, impacting 2,000 youngsters and greater than 200 staffers who’re members of the Chicago Academics Union. The deliberate closures sparked rallies from households and the union, which has pressed CPS to soak up the constitution colleges. Whereas Acero is permitted to shut these colleges below its contract with CPS, Johnson pressed the district to create a “contingency plan” in response to the closures.
On Friday, the board can even transfer to direct the CEO to “create an in depth plan” to show 5 of the Acero colleges — Cisneros, Casas, Fuentes, Tamayo, and Santiago — into CPS-run colleges beginning within the 2026-27 college 12 months. At a board assembly final week, CPS officers mentioned they supported holding these colleges open and would take into account ultimately transitioning them into district colleges.
With Martinez out, the mayor might doubtlessly appoint a CEO who’s extra amenable to his concepts, together with taking out the short-term mortgage and extra rapidly closing a take care of the CTU.
However firing Martinez would even have vital political prices for the mayor — and trigger profound disruption mid-school 12 months to a district that has grappled with fixed management turnover for years.
Many aldermen have come out in vocal assist for Martinez, whom they’ve come to see as a bulwark towards the academics union’s unchecked affect over the district. Virtually 700 CPS principals and assistant principals representing about 80% of district campuses signed a letter urging the board to maintain the faculties chief in his job, arguing he has introduced succesful and collaborative management that resulted in tutorial beneficial properties and nationwide recognition for CPS’s pandemic restoration.
A Chicago native and former CPS chief monetary officer, Martinez was the superintendent of the San Antonio Unbiased College District when Johnson’s predecessor, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, tapped him to steer CPS in 2021. He steered the district throughout a turbulent time, as college buildings reopened for full-time in-person instruction after being shuttered through the top of the COVID-19 outbreak.
By some accounts, his tenure has introduced a measure of stability after COVID’s large disruption. His administration has touted knowledge displaying the district’s college students have recovered in studying quicker than most different districts throughout the nation, in addition to commencement fee, school enrollment, and different scholar consequence enhancements.
Throughout his roughly three years on the helm, Martinez presided over a major enlargement of its workforce, utilizing federal pandemic aid {dollars} to deliver on 1000’s of latest academics and assist workers. He additionally oversaw an overhaul of the district’s strategy to budgeting this spring that de-emphasized scholar enrollment; as an alternative, the district now supplies base staffing positions to all colleges and components in a faculty’s stage of scholar wants in budgeting for extra positions and assist.
Some college board members elected to a brand new hybrid board have joined aldermen and others calling on the outgoing college board to not take motion on Martinez’s submit till the partly elected board steps in come January.
A kind of elected members, Ellen Rosenfeld, voiced dismay at the potential of a Martinez ouster Friday — and urged the present board and mayor to face down.
“I don’t assume this instability is in the very best curiosity of our faculty system and our children,” she mentioned. “The elected college board needs to be concerned in all selections relating to our colleges, and we’re just some days shy of being sworn in.”
This can be a creating story.
Reema Amin is a reporter protecting Chicago Public Faculties. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org .
Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter protecting Chicago Public Faculties. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.
Chalkbeat is a nonprofit information website protecting academic change in public colleges.
Get a free print!
Assist us attain our aim of 900 subscribers by Dec. 31 to maintain and develop our protection and also you’ll get a free neighborhood print. There are 3 ways to qualify: Buy a new subscription, improve your present subscription or present a subscription. Don’t wait — assist Block Membership and we’ll ship you a print of your alternative!
Hearken to the Block Membership Chicago podcast:
