Chaos reigns in Chicago Public Schools with teachers’ union, school board and CEO all at odds

If there was any doubt which school district is most mismanaged, Chicago can finally put the debate to rest.

In recent months, the Chicago mayor, teachers’ union, school CEO and school board have turned the leadership of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) into a dumpster fire of infighting that continues to escalate.

The chaos started when the CPS school board resigned en masse in October after disagreements with Mayor Brandon Johnson – a Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) lackey.

Johnson has since made 12 new appointments of social justice warriors to replace them, though the new board president was forced to resign a week later when his antisemitic social media posts came to light. 

Part of the conflict also surrounded Pedro Martinez, CEO of CPS.  

After months of tension, the school board fired Martinez on Dec. 20. Before his termination was made official, Martinez claimed he was “scapegoated” by Johnson and CTU. 

However, he will serve out the next six months of his contract and is still doing battle against Johnson’s hand-picked school board. 

On Dec. 24, Martinez was granted a temporary restraining order against the board to prevent them from attending or interfering with union negotiations unless invited.  

“I’m not asking for anything extra,” he explained. “I’m asking just to allow me to do the job.”  

Unsurprisingly, CTU complained district leadership was too disorganized in its negotiations with the union.  

“Before Christmas, we were told that the Board of Education has zero bearing on these proceedings. Today we were told that they have every bearing on this proceeding,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said. “We need to have a clear understanding of who is in control, who has the authority in the decision-making.” 

But CTU clearly isn’t a fan of Martinez either.  

As recently as Dec. 23, a statement from CTU claimed the CEO “fails to understand what his job is and who he works for” and accused him of obstructing negotiations regarding racial disparity in teacher evaluations.”  

But CTU’s aggressive bargaining is putting it at odds with other unions too. 

Chalkbeat Chicago reported the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) 73 are both upset with CTU, claiming its proposals would undercut principals’ authority and take work away from SEIU members.  

SEIU has even threatened to sue the district if it approves CTU’s proposal. 

Even Paul Vallas, a former CEO of CPS, blasted CTU as greedy and power-hungry. 

“CTU’s real goal is more money, more members, less accountability, less principal control over teachers, more job protections and elimination of even public school alternatives for poor families,” Vallas wrote on X. “It’s about protecting the CTU’s monopoly and expanding its power.  

“CTU contract negotiations are at an impasse because the district just does not and never will have the money to pay the new contract for it. Even schools chief Martinez counteroffer will cost the district over $3 billion during the life of the contract which the district does not have.”  

CTU’s bargaining platform, which it released last April, included outrageous and politically charged demands such as: 

• Require each school, regardless of enrollment, to employ a restorative justice coordinator, a “Climate Champion” and a gender support coordinator and/or LGBT specialist;   

• Provide eight weeks of paid leave for educators acting as gestational surrogates;   

• Provide 100% coverage for fertility treatments, including the storage of embryos, and 100% coverage for “abortion care”;  

• Offer full medical coverage and 3 days paid leave for victims of “assault,” even if the assault is solely verbal, occurs off school grounds or on social media;  

• Allow public schools buildings to be used as temporary housing for families, requiring the additional hiring of night-time custodial staff and social service providers;   

• Prohibit the hiring of school resource officers or other police personnel;  

• Implement a fleet of 100% electric buses;   

• And launch a pilot program to make five schools carbon neutral by 2035. 

The union is also demanding its members receive at least 9% raises every year until 2028, even though 41% of CPS teachers are “chronically absent” – missing 10 or more school days in a single school year.  

Recently, CTU even tried to convince the city to give $1 billion in municipal development funds to the public school system.