Education
Outgoing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez Named as Finalist for Massachusetts State Education Job
Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez appears on "Chicago Tonight" on Jan. 14, 2025. (WTTW News)
Pedro Martinez has been named as a finalist to become the next Massachusetts school board commissioner, months before his time as Chicago Public Schools CEO winds to an end.
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Tuesday announced Martinez as one of three finalists for the job as its next commissioner. He and the other candidates will each interview for that role Thursday in a public meeting before the board.
“We’re excited to have three highly qualified and passionate leaders as finalists for the next DESE commissioner,” Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler said in a statement.
Martinez was appointed to his current role by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2021. He is set to remain as CEO until June after he was terminated without cause by the Chicago Board of Education in December amid escalating tensions with Mayor Brandon Johnson over district finances, pension payments and a new teachers contract.
Because he was fired without cause, his contract allowed him to remain on the job for an additional six months.
In his biography on the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Martinez is described as a “nationally recognized superintendent” who has a “track record of creating comprehensive, multi-year solutions that advance equity and economic mobility.”
He is competing for that position with Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative Founder and CEO Jack Elsey and former Texas Education Agency Deputy Commissioner of School Programs Lily Laux.
Chalkbeat Chicago has reported Martinez was already a candidate for another position this year as superintendent of Nevada’s Clark County School District, but he was not named a finalist in that search.
A graduate of Chicago’s Benito Juarez Community Academy, Martinez returned to the district in 2003 as its budget director under CEO Arne Duncan. Before becoming CPS CEO, he also led the San Antonio Independent School District in Texas and the Washoe County School District in Nevada.
