Candidate Q&A
Why are you running?
I have the experience and empathy to lead and transform Chicago Public Schools to be the foundation of our city's success. As a CPS parent, I have skin in the game. As an executive, I've successfully managed $10 billion+ budgets and large teams. As a professional in organizational change management, I know how to grow resources and positively improve culture with measurable performance gains. As an educator, I know that teaching someone to love learning and pursue education as a lifelong commitment can change a life and the world. As a journalist and citizen, I know that the foundation of strong communities are strong children. When Chicago’s kids can get to school, get fed, get cared for, and develop a life long love of learning, we all succeed. I have the passion and proven experience to unite our city for today and tomorrow through strong public education.
Why are you the most qualified candidate?
I am the most qualified candidate in District 4 based on my professional experience, which is all transparently documented here: kimberlybrownforchicago.org/blog/candidate-scorecard
I am 100% independent from the CTU and the Mayor. I can guarantee no ethical issues or questions about putting children and families first.
I am an executive leader with experience managing $10 billion+ budgets. I know how to work in complex, matrix organizations and manage positive transformational change.
I am an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University and Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, teaching adults change management, business strategy and marketing.
I’m a trained journalist, which means I know how to research, suss out fact from fiction, and communicate to many different stakeholder groups.
I am a working parent and know the struggles of making ends meet, getting to work and school on time, and advocating for our children.
We all choose Chicago. I have the professional and lived experiences that are critically needed on the CPS Board.
What is the biggest issue facing your specific school board district?
Bring Back the Buses*: If you can’t get to school, nothing else matters. Every student needs safe transportation. *Buses also include bike buses, walking group, additional crossing guards and safe passage leaders. Let’s build a CPS-wide community culture and have it start with the right for every public student student to get to school safely. We live in a district full of magnet schools, high pedestrian schools, and traffic. With parents spending hours every day to get their children to school and 51% of accidents happening near a CPS school, we know that safe, district-managed, group transportation for students is job #1. We need to get children to school. We need to normalize and generalize busing to ensure there is not a culture of "othering" those who get the access. When we don't support all children getting to school in a safe and district-managed way, we're not serving the public good and are actually hurting working parents (mostly women) and Chicago's economy. Again, if children cannot get to school, then nothing else matters.
How has your district been impacted by the shuttering of CPS schools?
District 4 is impacted because we're all Chicagoans. When any neighborhood in Chicago is hurt, we all are affected. The closures affected the pride in CPS, the trust in CPS HQ decision making, and the viability of our city to thrive from the tip of every border.
How have your district’s schools been impacted by students who are new arrivals to the U.S. and how should CPS best accommodate those students and families?
Our schools have welcomed our new arrivals, and we do not have the resources to support these young people. When a large percentage of a neighborhood school becomes the placement for newcomer children, it disproportionally affects the learning environment for the current students and creates a pull away from the school for future families concerned about the resourcing availability. Our principals and teachers are doing amazing work, and we need trauma therapists, bi-lingual educators, and caregiver community advocates working full time for these children to survive and thrive. We need a honest audit of where we meeting expectations and failing by school and district-wide. We need CPS leadership to acknowledge we are failing most of our english as a second language (ESL) students and rebuild trust through honesty and radical transparency.
We need to get creative and remove barriers to immediate common-sense language support for non-English speaking learners by creating innovative ways to get bilingual educators and support staff in the classroom. We should also look at other countries' education systems that support multilingual education for inspiration to build a long-term plan in our globally connected city and world. We need to explore technology that creates web and app-based experiences for our families to engage with CPS across languages and communication modalities. Finally, we need to explore school communities and curriculum that best address the unique experiences of Chicagoans (immigration court appearances, unimaginable trauma from multi-country immigration, fractured families, unstable housing, death and violence). These issues will come from the unique situational experiences of newcomers/immigrants but they are not unique to long-time American citizens in Chicago either.
How do you believe the school board should handle the looming fiscal crisis at Chicago Public Schools?
We will hopefully have Chicagoans electing experienced leaders to take on this challenge. We cannot get additional resources until we prove to the stakeholders we can manage money. We need budget and spend transparency. Procurement processes that are best-in-class. Expert renegotiations of all corporate contracts. Chicagoans want to understand where the money is going and how its being spent. They love their local schools. They are not happy with CPS 'central office' management. We need to change the culture to be accountable, responsible and radically transparent to regain trust of community and grow public education successfully. We need a real audit (potentially a forensic financial audit) to show the funding inefficiencies and provide radical transparency into areas to 'de-bloat' and areas lacking investment. First, we do a detailed audit and analysis of budget as well as cash flow. Then we need to factor in future cost increases.
Then, we find efficiencies (they won't fill all the gaps but there should be no inefficient waste or overspending if its avoidable - and there are plenty of areas we can improve). Then, we show the operational and capital expenditure gaps at a school level and district level. Finally, we agree on the future state and vision for CPS based on real outcomes. Once we see our current state reality and future state vision, we can work with community and elected leaders across our government systems to build a modern plan. There is no easy answer because its untangling decades of mismanagement and corruption. The solution is real teamwork. (With recent news, I also need to say: I oppose the short-term, high-interest loan that the Mayor is advocating for; I oppose CTU getting everything they want right now when it's not financially possible; I oppose the inappropriate and immature adult behavior; I oppose unprofessional public arguing with a school district superintendent by city leaders).
A moratorium on closing CPS schools is set to expire in January. Should CPS consolidate more schools?
We need to decouple/reframe the words and meaning for "school closing" which happens with "consolidation". A building and a school community are two separate entities, similar to faith-based or community-based groups. We need to work with the school community (which is the humans) to decide how best locate their learning experience. We know years in advance if the building isn't working. We need to sit with the community, in the community, and work to find the best physical location for that school community in addition to the opportunity to join with another school community or not. We should never close a school. We should never make a school community's decision for them. We should work with the school to improve or relocate their community if the physical space is not appropriate for their learning and community needs.
What is your position on closing selective enrollment schools?
This is not a zero-sum formula. We can and need to grow both. An effective board leader will have experience in growing resources. Creating in-fighting dynamics is a cultural artifact of CPS's deep discriminatory history. We need to employ a proven growth mindset and model that grows resources for all. We cannot and will not pit CPS school communities against each other anymore. There are many ways improve neighborhood schools without removing funds from other CPS schools. I oppose all school closing and divestments, especially those high-performing selective enrollment schools that serve many in District 4. Every school has a critical role. This is not a zero-sum game. Children go to these schools right now, and I will not minimize their importance and beautiful experiences. Public schools create vibrant economies. Every school should be a high-quality choice for a family.
What is your position on charter schools?
We should not close schools, including existing Charter schools. They should be equitably funded like all other schools, and we need to remove the politics of the early 2000s and 2010s from today's reality. When you negatively single out a Charter school in CPS, you're only hurting the students and families by creating divisive negativity and shame. We are One CPS. I also don't believe in Charter expansion; we have more important issues than fighting against/within ourselves.
Is your campaign being supported by the Chicago Teachers Union?
No
The Chicago Teachers Union wants the district to focus on retrofitting schools with equipment that will battle the effects of climate change. Is spending money that way right now a good idea with the massive deficit the district faces?
Our schools need massive infrastructure improvements. I would expect the updated/modernized procurement process that I would put in place to include immediate and long-term cost savings and benefits for materials and solutions that are renewable and regenerative. We need to focus on infrastructure improvement plans that have the best return on investment regarding whether to update or build new, and both of those should include modern and resource-rich decisions that are good financial and environmental decisions. I do not think that has a place in a CTU contract. While CTU needed to fight for causes in the past, I believe a qualified, experienced, and independent Board of Education will be able to tackle these issues outside of a CTU negotiation.
What is your biggest priority and what do you hope to accomplish on the Chicago Board of Education?
I have three priorities (below) and together these will also directly tackle the significant issues of equity for special education children as well as English as a Second Language learners.
1. BRING BACK BUSES: If you can’t get to school, nothing else matters. Every student needs safe transportation. Whether it is a bus*, bike bus, or walking group. Let’s build a CPS-wide community culture and have it start with a basic bus to school. *Redefining “bus” from being big and yellow to being a group commute. Kimberly Brown is proudly endorsed by the parent-run CPS Parents for Buses
2. IMPROVED PROCUREMENT: CPS spends 1.2-1.5 more than retail pricing too often. Improved financial management across people, process and technology is critical to make every dollar work harder and is the fiduciary mandate to taxpayers. Best in class procurement & financial management is critical to earning and accessing additional resources from every level of government and grant providers as well.
3. ACCESS & TRANSPARENCY: We will begin the culture change with CPS HQ to match our CPS families. Mobile-friendly, multi-language, easy-to-search websites across departments and schools. School and District visualizations that easy to read, updated bi-annually, and based on performance and feedback. Children with disabilities will not require lawyers to be treated fairly. Principals will stay at schools for 10+ years and be top performers across every metric.