The president of the Chicago Board of Education is tearing into the school district’s embattled CEO, saying that the budget proposals he produced for next school year are “unsatisfactory and incomplete,” and that Pedro Martinez’s planned June exit from the school district should be accelerated.
“The current CPS CEO’s recent focus has been on his professional future and not on the long-term stability and success of our school district,” Sean Harden said in a statement. “His actions have undermined our Board’s ability to make the best decisions on behalf of CPS students.”
The harsh words come as the 21-member partly-elected, partly-appointed board grapples with its first budget and a deficit of at least $500 million. The school district’s fiscal year ends on June 30 and the budget process is way behind schedule.
CPS released a statement saying that district officials “remain fully committed to minimizing impacts on school communities.”
“Scenarios presented to date to Board members are not recommendations but illustrations of what might be necessary in the absence of additional funding,” the statement read.
Over the last year Martinez has cast himself in struggles with the school board and the mayor as taking actions he deems are fiscally responsible. But also during contract negotiations with CTU, his budget director suggested that they “had a fighting chance” to cover the deficit.
“We still have tools on our end — looking at vendor contracts, looking at ways we can be more efficient in what we’re doing, looking at the effectiveness of some of our programming, and seeing if there’s ways that we can be more efficient there,” CPS Chief Budget Officer Michael Sitkowski said on Jan. 23. “So there’s ways to close that gap without doing things that are going to be harmful for our schools.”
Harden and other board members say they are upset that Martinez and his staff gave them options that include staff layoffs, but no real solutions for balancing the budget without cuts.
“First and foremost, they will put our children’s hard-won educational gains at risk by cutting critical instructional and enrichment programs,” Harden said of these scenarios. “Important questions need to be answered by the CEO regarding the full scope of potential savings in his budget beyond cuts to our classrooms, and the actual conversations with city and state leadership on potential revenues. Our board needs immediate answers to these questions in order to make informed decisions.”
Martinez was fired without cause in December by the former school board, also led by Harden, but a provision in his contract keeps him in place until June 19. Martinez also has a lawsuit against the school district, claiming that Harden and other board members were violating his contract by trying to do the CEO’s job.
Several board members tell WBEZ they will not approve a budget that includes massive cuts to classrooms. As many as 1,500 staff members would have to be laid off to fill the budget hole, Harden said. The majority of board members, including the board president, are aligned with Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has said he is steadfast against cuts.
Also, some board members say they are frustrated that none of the scenarios laid out by Martinez’s team anticipate reductions in federal funding. Not only has the Trump administration announced its intention to slash funding in several areas, but it also has launched investigations into several of CPS’ diversity and inclusion practices, threatening to completely freeze some grants.
Typically by this time in the spring the budget would be further along and principals would have their spending plans for the upcoming school year. They need their budgets to make staffing decisions. Board members say they have been told that school principals will get budgets next week, despite the many unresolved issues.
Not all board members blame Martinez.
Ellen Rosenfeld, who was elected, said she feels like she has been given ample information by Martinez and his team. But she says the school district simply doesn’t have enough money and she knows there is no secret source of revenue being hidden by district officials. “It is what it is,” she said.
Rosenfeld said she still thinks Harden wants CPS to make a controversial pension to the city payment for CPS employees, but the scenarios presented by Martinez showed how difficult that would be for CPS.
Board member Norma Rios-Sierra, who was appointed by the mayor, said the budget process has been slower this year in part because the board is new and they had to settle various urgent matters, such as the Chicago Teachers Union contract.
“Now we’re moving on to the budget, which also needs urgent attention. One thing at a time,” Rios-Sierra said, adding that with the district facing a deficit, the budget process has become about protecting families from being impacted.
“We want to make the best decisions to make sure that people don’t feel the pain of what we are going to go through because the fact is that we are going to be in deficit, and we do need to find ways to get through this,” Rios-Sierra said.
The CTU also criticized Martinez, saying that “Our lame duck CEO is throwing a tantrum on his way out the door … Don’t be surprised that a man whose only tool is a pair of scissors is shouting for cuts,” CTU officials said in a press release.
In his statement, Harden suggested that Martinez should get out of the way. Martinez has already landed a new job as head of the state education department in Massachusetts.
Harden said ultimately CPS’ budget needs to be managed by someone focused on the district and not someone “perpetuating a lawsuit against the board that will hurt taxpayers.”
Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.