The Chicago Board of Education is split over whether the interim schools’ chief should come from City Hall or the school district.
The appointment to the high-profile role is time-sensitive, as outgoing Chicago Public Schools’ CEO Pedro Martinez is set to leave his position on June 18. The interim chief will lead the district through the start of the next school year, after which a permanent replacement will step in.
Whether the next superintendent comes from the city or the district is significant because whoever steps in will immediately face an uphill battle in settling the books for fiscal year 2026, which begins on July 1. CPS, in its preliminary planning, is relying on $300 million from the city and state.
The list of five candidates, which includes three CPS employees and two from outside the district, circulated among board members on May 19. The school board interviewed them this week. They will likely narrow down the list to one candidate to be voted on at next month’s board meeting, board members said.
The only city employee that is being considered alongside the four other candidates is Macquline King, Chicago’s senior director of educational policy, several board members told the Tribune. King was a CPS principal for more than 15 years before taking a job with city government, according to her LinkedIn profile.
One candidate from within the district is Alfonso Carmona, chief portfolio officer, board members said. Carmona was heavily involved in laying out plans for seven of 15 charter schools that announced closures last fall. The Tribune is not identifying the other three candidates as the interviews are still in progress and some currently hold positions elsewhere.
The 21-member, partly-elected, partly-appointed school board that will vote on the interim superintendent includes individuals aligned with Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teachers union organizer, and others who aren’t. That dynamic has led to contentious votes on matters ranging from personnel issues to boiler maintenance.
How those tensions will shape the interim appointment process remains to be seen.
The board needs to act because CPS can’t operate without someone in place to lead, said Anusha Thotakura, of District 6, which stretches from the Loop to Washington Park, in an interview with the Tribune. Thotakura was appointed by Johnson.
“It’s a quick turnaround and a really difficult process,” she said.
Opening the school year is no small task, said Therese Boyle, an elected, independent school board member from District 9 on the South and Southeast Sides.
“We need someone with the familiarity of the moving pieces that exist. At a high level,” she said.
Long-term community input
Meanwhile, the interim selection process is unfolding alongside a series of community meetings for the permanent CPS chief, which began on May 15 and will run through May 28. The district is holding the meetings in hopes of centering the voices of parents and residents who live in the neighborhoods where CPS schools are located, in large districts drawn over wide swaths of the city.
Facing a significant deficit, voters and parents generally oppose large borrowing, according to a survey conducted by Embold Research from April 18 to 23 among 1,126 registered voters in Chicago, released by the Chicago Public Education Fund on Wednesday.
District officials are doing everything they can to avoid cuts and layoffs. But about two-thirds aren’t confident that CPS is spending its money well, the survey found.
That sentiment was echoed by some at the National Teacher’s Academy near the South Loop Tuesday evening, where people gathered at fold-out tables to discuss their concerns for the future of their children’s education and their priorities for the district’s next leader.
More financial disclosure from CPS could reveal opportunities for efficiency and areas for investment, said Chester Jones, a 37-year-old Bronzeville homeowner with a 5-year-old at Ida B. Wells Preparatory Elementary School.
“There is always this theme of ‘We need more funding,’” Jones said. “I don’t know if that’s the case. I don’t know that it’s not the case, but I think comprehensive audits would show us where our priorities are.”
Jones also has a 2-month-old son. The father of two said he moved to Bronzeville from the South Loop to settle with his family, and he’s planning on 20 more years with CPS.
A deficit
The district already has an estimated deficit of over $500 million, without accounting for a highly disputed pension payment for non-city employees that City Hall used to cover before CPS assumed responsibility for it several years ago.
CPS successfully deferred its responsibility to the city for the disputed $175 million pension payment last fiscal year, but financial experts say it could still be incorporated into the 2026 fiscal year budget, amassing even more debt on top of hundreds of millions already owed.
Over the past few months, city leaders have floated big borrowing proposals to fill the gap. Martinez adamantly opposed those suggestions, saying they were fiscally irresponsible.
The Tribune reported earlier this month that the school board president was rallying support for Cristina Pacione-Zayas, the mayor’s chief of staff, to serve in the interim role. But Pacione-Zayas doesn’t have a professional educator license with a superintendent endorsement, a credential required under a resolution the board passed unanimously in March.
A few weeks later, Chalkbeat Chicago first reported that the school board had a new list of five candidates for the interim role, all of whom have superintendent endorsements.
Champions say the switch from CEO to superintendent is more than a formality — that it ensures the person who is chosen to guide the district through a pivotal transition has the legal authority to lead and a proven track record in education.