Education

Lone CPS Board Member to Vote Against New CEO Explains Her Decision

The lone Board of Education member who voted against Macquline King’s appointment as Chicago Public Schools CEO said she “could not in good conscience” support her amid political pressure and “serious concerns” about the district’s direction.

King was officially named the next full-time CPS CEO on Monday following an 18-1 vote by the board. The one “no” vote came from Jennifer Custer, an elected board member representing District 1 on the Far Northwest Side.

In a social media post late Monday, Custer said she voted against King “because I listened closely to the voices of my community — parents, principals, and rank-and-file educators — who consistently raised serious questions about the direction of the district under this leadership.”

King has served as interim CEO since June, when she took over for her fired predecessor Pedro Martinez. A former CPS teacher and principal, King most recently worked as Chicago’s senior director of education policy under Mayor Brandon Johnson before she took over following Martinez’s exit.

Since then, she passed a balanced budget that filled a $734 million shortfall and guided CPS during the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts during “Operation Midway Blitz.”

The board launched its search for a new CEO early last year, but when an initial set of three finalists were leaked last fall, King’s name was not among them, Chalkbeat Chicago and WBEZ reported at the time.

Custer on Monday said she was “deeply troubled” that King was “initially removed” from consideration for the role, only to be reintroduced amid what she called “clear outside political pressure.”

She said this raised “real questions about the integrity of this process.”

Six of Custer’s fellow elected board members penned an open letter last month accusing Johnson and his appointed board members of “sabotaging” the CEO search through “blatant political interference.”

Those board members instead sought to keep King on an interim basis until next year, when a fully elected board could then re-start the search and hire a new CEO. Custer did not sign on to that letter.

For now, the 21-member board is comprised of 10 elected members and 11 mayoral-appointed members. Chicago is divided into 10 districts, which each have one appointed and one elected member, while the board president can be selected from anywhere in the city

But that will change this fall when all 21 seats will be up for grabs as the board transitions into a fully elected body.

Custer, who has worked as a teacher and union leader in the past, has reportedly launched her campaign to become the next board president.

In her statement, Custer criticized the level of transparency about the significant budgetary issues facing CPS as well as a lack of “consistent, stable executive leadership demonstrated at the C-suite level.”

“Given all of this,” she said, “I could not in good conscience support this appointment.”

Following Monday’s vote, King committed to strengthening the district’s financial outlook and educational outcomes, saying she would do so not through a “monologue” but instead through conversations with educators, families and students.

Her three-year contract with an annual salary of $380,000 officially takes effect July 1.

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