Education
Mayor Brandon Johnson Defends School Board’s Decision to Fire CEO Pedro Martinez
Mayor Brandon Johnson defended on Monday the decision by his appointed Chicago Board of Education to fire Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez without waiting for newly elected members to take office.
In his first interview since the CPS board on Dec. 20 voted unanimously to terminate Martinez, Johnson told WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” the current board members were carrying out his vision for the nation’s fourth-largest school district, which has been mired in controversy for months.
“The urgency to transform our public schools is now,” Johnson said. “We have called for a real robust moment to ensure that every single child has a high-quality education. This is not about one individual.”
Johnson said three times that as the “duly elected” mayor of Chicago he was committed to transforming the CPS into a district that offers a well-rounded education to every Chicago child, including a librarian in every school, and security to employees.
Johnson declined to say how the school district should be run during the next six months, when Martinez will remain as CEO. Martinez, who sued the city and obtained a temporary order declaring him the sole executive of the school district, is due back in court Jan. 9.
Johnson, a former middle school teacher and organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, did not directly answer a question about why the union has not yet been able to reach a deal with Martinez, but echoed the demands put forward by union leaders, which Martinez has said the city cannot afford.
“We are fighting to ensure we have smaller class sizes,” Johnson said. “That’s something that as a parent and as a teacher that we all agree on. We’re fighting to ensure that there are social workers and counselors in all of our schools, that’s something that parents and teachers agree upon. We are fighting to ensure that we have a well-rounded curriculum that gives young people the opportunity to study foreign languages, extracurricular activities so that students after school can participate in sports activities. We have schools right now in the city of Chicago where their students do not have a bus to get them to their activity. Transportation, bilingual education, special education, these are the demands that parents have across the city. And so I’m going to work hard to ensure that those demands are realized.”
Johnson did not answer a question about how the school district should pay for a new contract with CTU, saying only the cost was “worth the investment.” In October, Johnson said the district was better off borrowing money to cover those costs, rather than cutting programs or laying off teachers.
Johnson ended 2024 by touting a 7.6% drop in homicides in Chicago, as compared with 2023. However, murders decreased 11.5% in New York and 10.2% in Los Angeles, which have much lower per capita homicide rates.
“We are headed in the right direction,” Johnson said.
Johnson also said the city was making progress in complying with the consent decree, the federal court order that requires the Chicago Police Department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines police officers.
The federal judge presiding over the reform effort has said she is dissatisfied with the pace of the city’s reform efforts, which started nearly six years ago. The city has fully complied with just 9% of the order. Asked about the judge’s criticism, Johnson declined to say whether he would renew efforts to ensure Chicago police officers do not violate the constitutional rights of Chicagoans, once again calling the consent decree “cumbersome.”
