New Chicago school board meets one day after president’s resignation

CHICAGO (CBS) — The Chicago Board of Education met on Friday, just one day after the former president, Rev. Mitchell Johnson, resigned after antisemitic and misogynistic comments he made online came to light.
The board, sworn in just last week, met with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, who has said he rejected a request from Mayor Brandon Johnson that he resign earlier this year. The mayor has denied asking Martinez to step down.
In the wake of Rev. Johnson’s resignation as school board president, board member Michilla Blaise served as temporary chair.
There were no conversations during the meeting on who will replace Rev. Johnson as the board president.
Rev. Johnson stepped down on Thursday at Mayor Johnson’s request, after several offensive Facebook posts came to light. Gov. JB Pritzker and 40 of the 50 members of the Chicago City Council had called on Rev. Johnson to resign over those posts, which they deemed antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial.
Board members commented on Rev. Johnson’s resignation after the public comment section of the meeting.
“I am hoping that, as we move forward, since the outgoing president has spoken to his postings on Facebook – he explained them, he was contrite, he was asked to resign, and he did – while I may not personally agree, there are many things that I don’t agree with, but that has nothing to do with the work of this board,” board member Frank Niles Thomas said.
“I think that it is important that we put our ideologies aside and focus on children, and focus on their well-being, and them feeling safe and comfortable in our schools,” board member Deborah Pope said.
During the meeting, the board took their closed session – where they were set to discuss personnel matters – off the agenda.
The new board took over last month, after the entire previous board resigned on the same day. Critics of the mayor’s board shakeup have suggested the overhaul was connected to the mayor’s longstanding conflicts with Martinez, who has opposed the mayor’s push for CPS to take out a $300 million high-interest loans to support pensions and teacher raises at a time the district is facing a $500 million deficit for the 2025 contract year.
Both the new board members and Martinez left the meeting through a back door without taking any questions from the media, including whether that closed session had been intended to discuss whether Martinez should be fired.
Next week, voters will elect 10 members from 10 school board districts as Chicago moves forward with a new hybrid school board. Mayor Johnson will pick 10 other school board members, plus a new board president.
The new 21-member hybrid board will take office in January. Some of the current board members might be asked to stay on, but it’s unclear who and how many.
In 2026, Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the school board. That fully elected board will take office in January 2027.