More on the election Chicago School Board What you need to know about Chicago’s elected school board City voters will elect school board members this fall for the first time. We break down how candidates got on the ballot and how to vote. By Nader Issa , Sarah Karp , and 1 more [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]   The Sun-Times/WBEZ and Chalkbeat emailed a questionnaire to candidates who filed to run in the city’s first school board elections on Nov. 5. Answers have been lightly edited for typos, grammar and consistency in styling, but not for content or length. Age was calculated as of Sept. 1, 2024. *Reader questions: We surveyed hundreds of CPS parents to learn what they wanted to hear from the candidates and used several of their questions on our questionnaire. Jump toAbout the candidateQuestions:AcademicsCPS financesSchool choiceIndependencePolice in schoolsBusing and facilitiesBilingual educationTop local issue Academics About 31% of Chicago Public Schools elementary students are meeting state standards in reading, and 19% are meeting math standards. How would you approach growing reading and math achievement?* With nearly a $10 billion CPS city-wide budget, I want to see a 5% increase in the graduation rate, freshman on-track rate and college readiness. High-quality schools have high-quality teachers and to realize growing reading and math achievement, schools must implement more time-on-task in math and reading. The practice of reading and math skills leads to improvement. Direct and differentiated instruction must occur, and time-on-task can increase with block scheduling and mastery learning. Reading and math interest and excitement can occur when merging other disciplines such as the vocations, the arts, athletics and cross-curriculum opportunities. Do you support standardized testing more than once a year? Yes. Culturally relevant pre- and post-standardized tests can assess educational outcomes. Pre-tests can provide an assessment of student’s existing knowledge before instruction begins. Post-tests can measure how much students have learned and how their knowledge and skills have improved. Do you support requiring all schools to select from a certain curriculum authorized by the board of education? Yes. The board should be able to choose the curriculum, because a single curriculum ensures that all students, regardless of school, are taught the same core content and skills. Schools can enhance the curriculum through individualized and differentiated learning objectives according to student needs.Chicago Public Schools has consistently fallen short when it comes to serving students with disabilities. What would you do to improve special education? I would provide more funding and support for individualized education plans (IEPs) tailored to each student’s unique needs, strengths and goals, ensuring personalized support and accommodations. I will advocate to foster an inclusive classroom environment where students with special needs learn alongside their peers, using co-teaching models and differentiated instruction to meet diverse learning requirements. I would advocate for ongoing professional development for teachers, focusing on effective strategies for teaching students with special needs, including behavior management and adaptive technology. I would strengthen partnerships with families by providing clear communication, resources and training to support their children’s needs and we need to make the recommendations more clear to parents and have resources to assist the navigation of the IEP system. CPS finances In recent years, Chicago’s Board of Education has consistently raised the property tax levy to the maximum allowed by state law every year. Should the board continue to raise the levy to the maximum? No. Property taxpayers must stopped being squeezed. The board should not raise the levy to the maximum, but should look at more cost-effective means, by completing a cost-benefit analysis. Other forms of budgeting can be looked at to fulfill CPS’ line items. Site-based and zero-based budgeting could be options.Do you think CPS needs more funding, or do you think the school district’s budget is bloated? How would you balance the CPS budget?* With a $10 billion budget, CPS has the means to provide a high-quality education and to achieve a balanced budget annually. More creative financial structures need to be created to fill gaps in funding that may be overwhelming to the CPS budget. School and student-based budgeting is one way to leverage the resources that already exist. Exclusive endorsement contracts and partnerships need to be established so that the district’s budget isn’t stressed to the extreme. With these partnerships, taxpayers in Chicago won’t experience massive property tax increases. More on the election Education How much cash is being raised by Chicago school board candidates? WBEZ and the Sun-Times are tracking campaign contributions for every candidate running for Chicago’s School Board on Nov. 5. By Jesse Howe , Nader Issa , and 3 more [month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]   Jump toAbout the candidateQuestions:AcademicsCPS financesSchool choiceIndependencePolice in schoolsBusing and facilitiesBilingual educationTop local issue School choice Do you support the current board of education’s decision to prioritize neighborhood schools and shift away from the current system of school choice with selective enrollment, magnet and charter schools? Yes. I envision Chicago Public Schools to be the driver, striver and provider of high-quality public education for every child in every neighborhood, preparing them for success in college, career, business and civic life. Every school in Chicago should have the highest standards, equivalent to highest achieving neighborhood, selective enrollment, charter and magnet schools. Given the board of education’s decision to prioritize neighborhood schools, how would you balance supporting those schools without undermining the city’s selective enrollment schools and other specialized programs?* I envision Chicago Public Schools to be the driver, striver, and provider of high-quality public education for every child in every neighborhood, preparing them for success in college, career, business, and civic life. Every school in Chicago should have the highest standards, equivalent to schools in the highest achieving neighborhoods, selective enrollment, charter and magnet schools. Regardless of school, I support the children, parents, staff, and teachers in all schools.The first charter school opened in Chicago in 1997 and these privately run, publicly funded schools grew in number throughout the 2000s. Today, 54,000 Chicago Public Schools students, or about 17%, attend charters and contract schools. Do you support having charter schools in CPS as an option for students? No. Our children deserve certified teachers and administrators who make a living wage with benefits. CPS does fund some existing charter schools that we must ensure are of the highest quality with certified teachers. I oppose public tax dollars being allocated towards the building of any new charter school. IndependenceIf elected, how will you maintain your independence from the mayor’s office, the Chicago Teachers Union or other powerful forces shaping the school system?* I believe in the ethics and values of independent CPS board members whose primary interest is with the children of Chicago, rather than the special interests that compromise and saddle the progress of our communities. Police in schoolsDo you support having sworn Chicago Police Department officers stationed in schools? No. If we have sworn police officers in the schools, we’re assuming that children in and around the school are potentials to criminally direct or adjacent behavior. Jump toAbout the candidateQuestions:AcademicsCPS financesSchool choiceIndependencePolice in schoolsBusing and facilitiesBilingual educationTop local issue Busing and facilities Last year, in an effort to prioritize transportation for students with disabilities as required by state and federal law, CPS canceled busing for general education students who attend selective enrollment and magnet schools and hasn’t found a solution to reinstate that service. Do you support busing for general education students? Yes. The cutting of 5,000 general education students from bus service (mostly from underserved Black and brown communities) is unacceptable. Many of our diverse learners currently have inefficient bus routes, taking more than an hour for them to get back and forth from school. I support an increase in yellow school bus service with more routes added. As an elected 10th District Chicago School Board member, I will champion the recruitment of new drivers with a livable wage. Community school bus drivers know our children and their individual needs. Traditional buses are also equipped with EpiPens and safety and first aid kits in case of emergencies. As a product of Chicago Public Schools and traditional busing, I value the social skills and friendships I developed between home and school as part of my overall education.About one-third of Chicago public school buildings have space for at least double the students they’re currently enrolling. Chicago officials have previously viewed under-enrolled schools as an inefficient use of limited resources — and a decade ago the city closed a record 50 schools. Do you support closing schools for low enrollment? No. Although consolidating and closing schools can be a fiscally obvious practice, school repurposing and community use of schools through nonprofit utilization, after-school programs, arts infusion and community wellness can increase the capacity for a school with low enrollment and reduce the propensity for school closure. Bilingual educationCPS has long struggled to comply with state and federal laws requiring bilingual programs at schools that enroll 20 or more students who speak a different language. The recent influx of migrant families has exacerbated the problem. What policies do you support to ensure the district is supporting bilingual students and in compliance with state and federal laws? We look at new arrivals as our new friends. I will push for more bilingual instruction programs including dual and immersive language. As part of their professional development training, we need teacher and staff personnel to serve our English learners with an increase of $30 million to fund bilingual instruction. CPS, City Hall and the greater Chicago business community also need to partner to bring dignity and stability to our new friends so that our city and the children in CPS will thrive. Top local issuePlease share one issue that’s a top concern for your community or your larger elected school board voting district. A top priority is making sure all children have access to instruments that can act as multiple ways of learning through music and the arts. Students in my community need access to art supplies, musical instruments and superior instructors to inspire them and their families toward a mission of immediate and lifelong learning. School board election 2024 Voter guide Latest news Campaign finance tracker District maps