Education

Mayor Brandon Johnson Picks 10 New School Board Members, as Mayoral Control of CPS Ends

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Mayor Brandon Johnson named 10 members to the Chicago Board of Education, as the transition away from complete mayoral control of the Chicago Public Schools begins in earnest.

Johnson’s picks, which include a mix of well-known community activists and candidates who lost their bids to win a seat on the board, will join the 10 people who won in November.

Johnson said in a statement released late Monday, the deadline set by state law for him to name his appointees to the Board of Education, that the group will help transform the Chicago Public Schools.

“These appointees will ensure every child in Chicago has access to the world-class education they deserve,” Johnson said. “As a former middle school teacher who fought for an elected school board, I am excited by this historic first step that will build a foundation for a more equitable and thriving public education system.”

The new board will take office Jan. 15, and end nearly 30 years of complete mayoral control that began in 1995 under former Mayor Richard M. Daley. Before that, community members would nominate school board members, with the mayor having the final say.

The legislation approved by the General Assembly, which had the backing of the Chicago Teachers Union, divides Chicago into 20 school board districts, with voters in each district electing a representative and the president of the board.
Johnson rose to political prominence as an organizer for the CTU.

That means the current seven-member board, whose members are all appointed to by the mayor, will transform into a 21-member board elected by Chicago’s voters.

But in November’s first school board election, the city was divided into just 10 districts. Johnson was required to pick school board members who live on the opposite side of each school board district from their elected counterparts.

Those board members will all serve for at least two years, when Chicagoans will be asked to elect 20 school board members, one from each district, to serve either a two-year or four-year term. The race for school board president will be decided by a citywide race, with a four-year term starting Jan. 15, 2027, up for grabs.

Johnson’s picks are:

• Sean Harden, a South Side native and former CPS employee, will serve as board president.
• Ed Bannon, who ran for 38th Ward alderperson in 2023 and served on the Dever Elementary School Local School Council, will represent the Far Northwest Side of the city along with Jennifer Custer, who was endorsed by CTU.
• Debby Pope, a retired teacher and CTU member, will represent the Far North Side alongside Ebony DeBerry, who was endorsed by CTU. Pope is a current member of the Board of Education.
• Norma Rios-Sierra, an artist who also works as cultural events manager for nonprofit Palenque LSNA, will represent the Northwest Side alongside Carlos Rivas Jr., who was backed by charter-school advocates.
• Karen Zaccor, a retired teacher, will represent the North Side alongside Ellen Rosenfeld. Zaccor, who was endorsed by CTU, finished second to Rosenfeld, an independent candidate.
• Michilla Blaise, a current school board member, will represent the West Side alongside Jitu Brown, who was unopposed in November’s election and had the CTU endorsement. Blaise filed to run against Brown, but dropped out.
• Anusha Thotakura, a former teacher, will represent Downtown and Bronzeville, and alongside Jessica Biggs. Thotakura lost to Biggs, an independent candidate, in November.
• Frank Niles Thomas, a current board member, will represent the Southwest Side alongside Therese Boyle, an independent candidate.
• Olga Bautista, a current board member, will represent the Far South Side alongside Che “Rhymefest” Smith, an independent candidate.

Johnson also named Emma Lozano, a Pilsen pastor and advocate for immigrant rights to the school board. 

Johnson’s statement did not specify whether she will represent the Near West Side alongside either Yesenia Lopez, who was backed by CTU, in the seventh school board district, or alongside charter-backed candidate Angel Gutierrez to represent the Far West Side.

Johnson has yet to name his final pick for the school board.

The new board takes over a district that has been engulfed in turmoil since the CPS board approved a budget for 2025 that did not make a required $175 million payment to one of its employee pension funds or set aside money to pay for a new CTU contract that includes pay raises for teachers, more art teachers and services for children experiencing homelessness.

The new board members will have the power to dismiss CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who has said he refused Johnson’s request to resign.

CPS needs an additional $300 million to pay those bills, Martinez said.

Johnson has proposed borrowing money to cover those costs, but Martinez has called the proposal backed by the mayor “exorbitant” and fiscally irresponsible.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | [email protected] | (773) 569-1863

---