CPS board can quash mayor's September coup attempt

Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former high school social studies teacher, undoubtedly taught his students about the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon's infamous Saturday Night Massacre, when Nixon fired Justice Department officials until he found one willing to do his bidding.

Johnson might want to revisit that history lesson as he writes his own political drama — complete with power struggles, financial brinkmanship, and a looming shake-up at the top of Chicago Public Schools.

After weeks of rumors, Johnson has demanded the resignation of CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who has refused to saddle the district with a high-interest $300 million loan. Johnson argues that the loan is necessary to cover a $175 million pension payment and $120 million in anticipated expenses stemming from a new labor agreement with his former employer and top campaign contributor, the Chicago Teachers Union.

Martinez has thus far refused to resign, setting up a showdown at this Thursday’s board meeting that will determine his fate — with the fallout affecting every student in the city.

A holdover from former Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration, Martinez began his tenure with Johnson on seemingly solid footing, but their relationship soured this past May when budget disputes erupted.

To tackle a more than $700 million structural deficit, Martinez proposed using the district’s remaining COVID funds, making modest personnel cuts, and restructuring debt — while guaranteeing displaced staff jobs and pay. CPS further proposed adding more than 800 new teachers and support staff to the district's budget.

CTU nonetheless unloaded on Martinez, dubbing him a "Lightfoot leftover" and lambasting him for the cuts.

Then came Johnson's proposition: Take on a high-interest loan to prevent staff cuts and cover the new teacher contract costs.

Martinez and the board balked, likening the move in a memo to "putting your credit card payments that you can no longer afford on your mortgage payments." Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson compared it to a payday loan, while Johnson ally Ald. Jeanette Taylor — chair of the City Council’s Education Committee — and the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association voiced strong opposition.

CPS then stunned City Hall by pushing the contested $175 million pension payment back onto the city. This was the same pension payment that Johnson and the CTU had previously slammed Mayor Lightfoot for offloading onto CPS, accusing her of “ripping off CPS” and “robbing students.”

Johnson rejected the CPS budget and vowed that CPS would eventually make the pension payment. One month later, word surfaced that Johnson wanted Martinez out.

So, what was Martinez's cardinal sin?

Johnson asserts he wants a CEO who will fight harder for funding for Chicago's students — while he simultaneously attempts to impose a $175 million burden on a district that can scarcely afford it.

As mayor, Johnson has not secured any additional funds for CPS. Instead of lobbying Springfield for increased support last spring, he spent precious political capital quashing a bill designed to protect selective enrollment schools. This summer, Gov. J.B. Pritzker confirmed that Johnson has not once directly asked him for more funding for CPS.

The crux may be Martinez’s refusal to play Russian roulette with the district's financial future. CPS is making more than $800 million in debt payments this year, amounting to over $2,500 per student. Taking on more debt through a usurious loan would be like pouring gasoline on a smoldering fiscal fire.

The timing couldn't be more suspect. The district is negotiating a new contract with the CTU that could shape CPS' financial landscape for years. Firing Martinez now feels less like leadership and more like a power grab to secure a more favorable contract.

The drama is unfolding as Chicago prepares to transition to a partially elected school board in January 2025. With a new handpicked CEO and a board consisting of 11 Johnson appointees and 10 elected members, the stage could be set for the mayor and the union to tighten their grip on the district. The CTU has endorsed a candidate in every district and successfully employed a cadre of election lawyers to knock grassroots candidates off the ballot, including Englewood moms and other everyday Chicagoans.

But Johnson's gambit isn't going unchallenged. More than 450 school leaders — representing about 70% of CPS schools — penned a letter urging the board to keep Martinez at the helm. Fifteen City Council members have also thrown their support behind Martinez, with one calling the timing of the CEO’s potential departure “disgraceful.” And parents in our network have expressed concerns about the impact of Martinez’s firing on both schools and students.

If the board does Johnson’s bidding by firing Martinez and embracing the loan, they must explain how their sudden change of heart is in the best interests of students and the district.

How will yet another CEO transition — the fourth in three years — help re-instill community confidence, stabilize finances, and improve student outcomes, especially when they’d be dismissing Martinez just days after celebrating the release of a new five-year strategic plan? How will they justify increasing debt without addressing the looming budget crisis? By replacing Martinez and accruing costly new liabilities, the board would be doing little more than rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

We all have a front-row seat to a modern-day political drama, a former educator providing an education in raw power that no textbook can teach.

Nixon had his Saturday Night Massacre. Only the CPS board can stop Chicago from experiencing its own September coup.

Hal Woods is the chief of policy at Kids First Chicago, an education nonprofit.

This piece appeared originally in Crain's Chicago Business on Monday, September 23, 2024.