Education

Interim CPS CEO Macquline King Among 3 Finalists to Become School District’s Next Permanent Leader

Interim Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King is one of three finalists to take over that role on a permanent basis, the city’s Board of Education announced Friday.

King is joined on the list of finalists by former New York City Public Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter and Sito Narcisse, who previously led the East Baton Rouge Parish school district in Louisiana and served as the District of Columbia’s chief of secondary schools.

“The process moving forward will entail an interview with Mayor Brandon Johnson and a Candidate Community Engagement session,” the board said in a statement. “A special meeting will be scheduled for discussion leading to a vote.”

The board said it conducted an “extensive search process” and had more than 100 candidates apply for the job.

Friday’s announcement comes more than a year after a previous version of the board fired the last full-time CPS CEO, Pedro Martinez, and nine months since King was tapped to fill that role on an interim basis.

Narcisse is the son of Haitian immigrants who learned English as a young student in New York, according to a professional bio. He earned his master’s degree from Vanderbilt University and worked both as a teacher and a principal before taking over district leadership roles.

Porter became New York City’s first Black woman chancellor when she was appointed to the role by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021. Born and raised in New York, Porter worked as a youth organizer in the Bronx before beginning her education career.

She was picked to lead New York’s District 11 in 2015, a role she held for three years before being appointed as the city’s Bronx Executive Superintendent in 2018, where she oversaw 361 schools with 235,000 students in that borough.

Porter stayed in that role until she was named chancellor. She held that role for a year before she stepped down, allowing incoming Mayor Eric Adams to select his own district leader.

King, a former CPS principal who also served as Mayor Brandon Johnson’s senior director of education policy, received strong support from some board members and education leaders who wanted to see her take over as full-time CEO.

But she was not among an initial list of three finalists for the job that was leaked to WBEZ and Chalkbeat Chicago late last year.

One of those leaked candidates was Porter.

Last month, the board terminated its contract with Alma Advisory Group, the search firm hired to find the city’s next schools chief, as some elected members accused Johnson of sabotaging the selection process through “blatant political interference.”

The advisory group was brought on last May and led an “extensive outreach effort” that included 11 in-person community gatherings, a virtual session and more than 70 interviews and focus groups, according to the board.

In their statement, the elected board members thanked Alma for its “outstanding work throughout the search” and said the contract termination was a “sad development.”

Despite those issues, the board has claimed that it was set to select a new CEO ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

Johnson said he intends to speak with the finalists next week and looks forward to hearing feedback from the community engagement process.

“This is a critical time for our school district and for our nation,” he said in a statement, “and I take this responsibility seriously as we work to ensure the next leader reflects the values of our city and is prepared to meet the needs of our students, families, and educators.”

---