Grading the School Board: Q4

Before we dig in on Adam Parrott-Sheffer's fourth-quarter analysis of school board meetings, one note: today's Board Rule will just focus on the last three months of 2025, plus a first look at school board visits from January through September. Come back in two weeks for a full year-in-review of board activity!

To review previous report cards, see Q1, Q2, and Q3.

In the fourth quarter of 2025, the Chicago Board of Education's public conversation at its official meetings followed the same pattern as in previous quarters: the largest share of time was devoted to governance issues (finances, policy votes, reports from Interim Superintendent/CEO Maquline King and questions to her); the next-largest share went to Parrott-Sheffer's "adult priorites" category, a catch-all for procedural discussion, recognition of students and staff, and board comments Parrott-Sheffer ruled off-topic. The smallest category of discussion focused directly on student learning.

Board Speakers and Comments

In two weeks, Board Rule will publish a more in-depth analysis of board members' participation in public discussions over the entire year. In the fourth quarter, the board reduced the amount of critique it offered and increased questions and affirmations. The board and CPS staff members took up larger shares of airtime than they did in Q3, and the share of time they heard from the public grew smaller.

Public comments focused on ChiArts' impending governance shift from contract to direct management by Chicago Public Schools and a variety of charter issues, from impending renewals to the transfer of five schools from Acero Charter into CPS to the ASPIRA charter network's financial problems.

Payouts: Pension Payment, Legal Settlements

After receiving assurances that Chicago Public Schools would receive 52% of a $1 billion TIF surplus declared by Mayor Brandon Johnson, the board voted in October to approve a $175 million payment to the city pension fund that covers some non-teaching CPS staff. Controversy over making this payment fueled the resignation of the entire school board in October 2024 and the December 2024 firing of former CEO Pedro Martinez. In August, the board voted to approve a budget that made the payment contingent upon receiving additional revenue, which the enormous TIF surplus provided.

For the calendar year 2025, the board approved over $30 million in legal settlements. More than half of the money, $17.5 million, was approved to settle a lawsuit brought by a former student who was sexually abused for years by Brian Crowder, a former Little Village Lawndale High School dean who was sentenced in August to 22 years in prison. NBC5 reported that this is believed to be one of the largest school sexual abuse settlements in Illinois history.

The board also sold three closed schools: Bontemps, Henson, and Shedd.

A Taste of Board Members' School Visits

Research on school boards does not suggest that school visits directly increase a board's effectiveness. Visits matter for student outcomes only to the degree that they sharpen a school board's ability to set goals, marshal resources, and collaborate with school district leadership to achieve those goals."School visits can be useful, but they don't replace the real work of governance," noted former school board member Sendhil Revuluri, who is now running for school board president.

Parrott-Sheffer, who has accompanied board members on school visits this year, sees value in them through other lenses. "Schools should be part of how board members gather qualitative data about the student experience," he said. He's a believer in having board members tour a school with a student guide who can show adults the building through the eyes of a young learner. "The kids talk about their learning and what they're most excited about. They're proud of their learning and candid about what could be better."

It's noteworthy that all but two of the schools that received multiple visits were charters. "Our charters feel compelled to do this," said Parrott-Sheffer. The Academy for Global Citizenship, which hosted board members nine times between January and September, is seeking a maximum 10-year renewal in February, a year after the board renewed 14 charter agreements for terms no longer than four years.

Agenda Review Committee Preview

The full meeting agenda is available here.

Word is already out that next year's proposed academic calendar restores summer vacation to the 81 days students enjoyed in 2024. Due to the Democratic National Convention, last school year started later, resulting in a shorter summer 2025 vacation. Board members will also review a tentative calendar for 2027-28.

More Shuttered Schools Being Sold. The board will review bids on twoclosed schools: Armstrong Elementary in Austin and Paderewski Elementary in Little Village.

The top bid for Armstrong, $100,000, was offered by Breakaway Community Development, which plans to turn Armstrong's main building into a sports center for neighborhood youth.

P3 Markets LLC offered the top bid of $55,500 for Paderewski. Bronzeville-based P3 Markets previously partnered with lead developer Habitat to build 43Green, Chicago's first equitable, transit-oriented development. P3 Markets plans to redevelop the Paderewski site into an 86-unit affordable housing development with a free-standing community center for childcare and youth programming.

Short-term borrowing. The troubled rollout of Cook County's new computer system continues to disrupt CPS's cash flow. According to a resolution on the table at this morning's meeting, the first installment of property taxes collected in 2026 may be due on April 1, not March 1 as has been the case. That delay will hold up collecting $1.8 billion in FY 2026 revenue. As a result, the board is considering bumping up its short-term borrowing through "tax anticipation notes" from $1.25 billion to $1.65 billion.

Quick Hits

Making moves. Congratulations to Brigitte Swenson, who has been promoted to Acting Chief of Schools for the Options Network at Chicago Public Schools. The To and Through Project welcomes Miriam Meyer Cohen as manager of coaching and improvement for the Middle Grades Network.

Local School Council Candidate Filing Deadline: January 20 is the last day to file as a candidate in this year's LSC elections. Applications are available in English and español.