May Meeting Recap: Charters, Budgets, Lawyers

It was a wild night last Thursday. Here's how all the charter votes went down. Votes are listed in roll call order.

Now let's back up and explain what happened. Yesenia Lopez sponsored a resolution intended to improve charter authorizing by tightening restrictions on when and how charter operators can close their schools. Many Acero teachers and parents who spoke during public participation expressed support for the resolution, arguing that it ensures other charter families won't have to go through the confusion and anxiety Acero families experienced this year.

The resolution also included items for the board to push as a state legislative agenda on charters, plus a set of provisions to ensure operators remain neutral during union organizing drives within their schools. Labor leaders from the AFL-CIO and the Chicago Federation of Labor joined Stacy Davis Gates and CTU charter division president Jen Conant in speaking to the importance of the union neutrality provisions. You can read the full text of the resolution as adopted here.

During the meeting, Ellen Rosenfeld proposed an amendment to the charter resolution that would have eliminated the state legislative agenda and the provision calling on charter operators to ensure their contractors and vendors also maintain neutrality during union organizing efforts. "I was trying to separate the language on the labor from the charter" authorizing changes, she told me a few days after the meeting.

"There were too many things in one resolution," said Angel Gutierrez, who supported Rosenfeld's amendment. He also noted that the provision relating to vendors and union neutrality could be legally questionable. "We don't control" how charters choose their vendors and contractors, he observed. "And there's a law already in place" regarding union neutrality and charters, he added.

On controversial issues, we've often seen the board split 13-7, reflecting the 11 appointeds plus the two elected members (Brown and DeBerry) who generally support positions taken by the Chicago Teachers Union on one side, and the remaining elected board members opposing them. The vote on Rosenfeld's proposed amendment fell close to that split; only elected member Jessica Biggs joined the appointeds in voting it down.

Once Rosenfeld's amendment failed, no one voted against the resolution, but five of the elected board members abstained. Gutierrez spoke candidly about his choice to abstain, saying, "A vote no would make me look like I don't support unions, which I do."

Some supporters of the resolution were just as eager to say their votes did not signal that they oppose charters. "I'm glad that we were able to pass it 15-5," said Lopez. "This is not anti-charter school. This is for those bad players, the ones who want to take advantage of the loopholes that exist." She looks forward to seeing policies developed by the Office of Innovation and Incubation, with input from parents, to create protocols for operators to follow in the event of a school closure and a decision process for the board to determine whether more charter schools should be transitioned into the district in the future.

Charter Renewals: North Lawndale College Prep

Although an effort from the most charter-friendly board members to extend all the charter renewal terms by a year failed, Michilla Blaise succeeded in extending North Lawndale College Prep's renewal term from three to four years. "I kinda went out on a ledge for them," Blaise acknowledged. "I really like what they are about. The restorative justice practices are my jam, also their college program."

Before committing to pursue an additional year for North Lawndale, Blaise said she did her due diligence. "I called the principal many times; she responded every time. With a four-year renewal, North Lawndale College Prep will have time to go through a full graduating class. [The principal] saw renewal as an opportunity to learn. I really connected with that."

Blaise also saw an opportunity to reassure charter operators by working with North Lawndale to extend their renewal. "The charter school folks are feeling really threatened by the school board, for whatever reason. I don't feel like there's an X on their back. I wanted to show them some support."

To learn more about North Lawndale College Prep, you can read my Catalyst Chicago piece on the origins and early history of the school. For a recent take from a local pastor, check out this Crain's op-ed. And, for a sense of the challenges North Lawndale faces in meeting the needs of all its students, see this 2005 story of a young man with disabilities who, at the age of 20, was still trying to find a way to earn his high school diploma after attending five different high schools, including both district-run Farragut High School and North Lawndale College Prep

Budgets: What's on the Chopping Block?

Yesterday, the Chicago Teachers Union sent the entire board a letter threatening legal action if the district does not promptly fund the second year of the recently ratified teacher contract. Board Rule obtained a copy of the letter, which includes this slide. The union says the slide is from a presentation that CEO Pedro Martinez's office is making to school leaders about how to balance next year's budget.

Already on the table are cuts to non-teaching staff: special education classroom assistants (SECAs), custodial and lunchroom staff, and more. Diane Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73, referenced this in her remarks during public participation. She called on the mayor and City Council to release TIF funds, saying, “Our members and the public deserve to know that thousands of CPS workers face layoffs to balance the CPS budget, all while approximately $1.2 billion in TIF revenue is available, with $600 million belonging to the Chicago Public Schools.”

The district's Safe Passage program, begun in the wake of the 2013 mass school closings, also appears to be at risk. Patrick Brosnan, executive director of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, one of 17 community partners across the city that manage Safe Passage programs, thanked Yesenia Lopez for her recent walk-along with Safe Passage workers and said, "We know the budget is tight, but we've got to keep funding this critically important program."

The Vote You Missed After Closed Session

In its first few months of operation, the board had only returned briefly after closed session to adjourn the meeting. That changed last week, when the board reconvened publicly to vote on raising the amount it can spend on the law firm Cozen O'Connor, which is representing the board in the lawsuit CEO Martinez filed after he was fired without cause in December 2024. The amended board report would have raised the spending limit from $75,000 to $135,000.

The vote, taken at 11:20 p.m., was 10-6 with four members not present when called. The item required at least 11 votes to pass, so it failed. "So, so at this point, are we saying we no longer have [legal] representation?" asked President Sean Harden.

General Counsel Ruchi Varna replies, "No, that is not what you're saying, President Harden. We should talk about this matter offline." Watch for this item to return to the board's agenda in June.