Chicago's School Board Ballot Nearly Final

Yesterday, the Chicago Board of Elections upheld decisions to keep four school board candidates on the ballot, and knocked off one candidate who ran in 2024 as a write-in.

The list of school board candidates now stands at 44, and the ballot is nearly final. Incumbent board members Karen Zaccor (4a) and Michilla Blaise (5b) will stay on the ballot, as will challengers Claudia Peralta (1a) and Connie Anderson (10b). 

Candidate Kernetha Jones was removed from the ballot, in part because her nominating petitions did not specify her district. In 2024 Jones ran as a write-in candidate in district 5a.

Although half a dozen candidates’ rulings are being appealed in Cook County Circuit Court, those appeals rest on the claim that signatures are invalid because partisan circulators passed petitions in the primary before circulating in the nonpartisan school board races. State election law says that people cannot pass petitions for candidates of two different parties in the same election cycle, which is known as dual-circulation. 

The Chicago Board of Elections decisively rejected that argument in its rulings. Legal precedent says the dual-circulation rule does not apply to nonpartisan elections. Chicago’s school board elections are nonpartisan.

The appeals are scheduled to be heard in court on August 20.

Budget Updates

Layoffs prove hard to undo. In a webinar for families last night, CPS leaders said the $100 million in anticipated state revenue the board earmarked for reversing layoffs wouldn’t be enough to bring back all the staff that were let go.

“The $100 million is supposed to come from the state of Illinois, but it has not yet been promised to the district,” said Acting Chief Budget Officer Emila Zoko. “Even if we do receive the $100 million, it will not be enough to reverse all of the staff reductions that were included in the originally proposed budget.”

Still, central office staff are working with principals to decide what their most critical staffing needs are, and reaching out to laid-off staff to see if they are interested in returning. “Some staff will be returning to previously held roles,” said Acting Chief Talent Officer Jerry Taylor. But principals will not have to reopen their budgets. In a LinkedIn post, Heather Anichini of the Chicago Public Education Fund explained that schools also won’t have to rewrite their schedules.

The Chicago Tribune reported that CTU sent a letter to district leaders last week calling for impact bargaining to ensure all layoffs are rescinded. The union questioned the idea that $100 million is not enough to restore all the lost staff.

But it’s not just about the money. Some laid-off staff have likely found new jobs, some of which may not be in CPS or even in education. And some may have taken jobs in other CPS schools. Laid-off teachers in one school often end up filling vacancies in another. Undoing all the staffing moves this close to the start of school is difficult. 

State school funding gap widens. As Capitol News Illinois reported, data released late last week show that Illinois has lost ground in its effort to bring all schools to an adequate level of funding. Despite an additional $350 million going to schools for 2026-2027, fewer school districts will be fully funded this year than last year. And the amount of additional money needed to bring schools statewide to adequate funding now stands at $6.8 billion, up from $4.8 billion three years ago.

Three main factors are widening the gap: rising costs, more students identified as low-income, and a decrease in revenue from one corporate tax.

WBEZ reporting noted that the news would also bolster the argument that Springfield should be directing more dollars to CPS. By the state’s calculations, CPS now receives only 70% of the funds it needs to reach adequacy, down from 73% last year and 79% the year before.

SEIU 73 demands answers. On Monday, the leadership of SEIU Local 73, which represents about 16.000 nonteaching staff in CPS, sent a letter to Superintendent/CEO King and the 11 Chicago school board members who approved the budget amendment that added $150 million of anticipated state revenue. The letter called on the board members to come to the August 27 board meeting with a written backup plan in case the state money does not materialize. Among other questions, they asked for the total cost of reversing all layoffs, the drop-dead date when midyear cuts would occur if the state money does not come through, and what cuts and layoffs would happen at that time.

SEIU 73 leaders also wrote to Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and to 15 state legislators who represent Chicago, asking for their commitment to getting CPS the $150 million in state funds during the fall veto session.

Millionaires’ tax ballot question goes to the school board. Among the items on today’s agenda review meeting, the Chicago Board of Education will discuss whether to place two advisory referendums on Chicago’s November ballot. One would ask Chicagoans if they support a state tax on millionaires to support K-12 education funding across Illinois.The other would ask voters whether they support new fines on owners of undeveloped city land as a way to give CPS more money.

In July, Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced a nonbinding referendum about a millionaires’ tax during a City Council committee, but the committee rejected it. “It seems like we are doing what Johnson couldn’t do in City Council,” said Board Member Carlos Rivas (3b).

Movers & Shakers

Also at today’s agenda review, the school board is expected to vote to appoint as many as four new chiefs, including a new chief talent officer, replacing Ben Felton, and the long-awaited intergovernmental affairs chief, who will quickly be tasked with lobbying for funds in Springfield.

Elaine Allensworth, who led the UChicago Consortium on School Research for 15 years, has returned to full-time research at the Consortium. Jenny Nagaoka has been named interim executive director, and Shanette Porter will serve as interim deputy director.

Seen

About 75 people attended a reading and community conversation last Thursday night, sponsored by BUILD Coffee and the Chicago Black Voter Project. The event also drew many candidates, including Brenda Lee Anderson (6a), Connie Anderson (10b), Jessica Biggs (current 6b board member and candidate for president), Hilario Dominguez (candidate for president), Che "Rhymefest" Smith (10a), Tameka Walton (10a) and Karen Zaccor (4a).

Candidate Events

Hilario Dominguez will attend the Back To School Cookout & Backpack Giveaway with Rev. Robin Hood, 11:00-3:00 p.m., Sat., Aug 15, Siloam Baptist Church, 1522 South Sawyer Avenue. RSVP here.

Candidates for school board president and districts 4a and 4b will attend the 44th Ward Dems Meet & Greet, Thursday, Aug. 20, 5:30-7:30, Music Box Theater, 3733 N. Southport Ave.

Presidential Candidates Forum, Thursday, Sept. 3, 6-7:30 p.m., McCutcheon Branch, 4850 N. Kenmore Ave. RSVP here. 

Districts

Jason Dónes, 3B: Back in Class Fundraiser, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Mon., August 31, Taqueria La Paz, 5052 W. Armitage. RSVP here.

Jesus Ayala Jr., 7a: Back-to-School Community Reception, 6–8 p.m., Thurs., August 13,  PACH 21, 2141 W. 21st Street, 2nd Floor. RSVP here. 

Emma Lozano, 7a: Campaign Launch Party, 6-8 p.m., Thurs., August 13., Holy Ground Chicago, 2242 S. Damen Ave.