To help inform voters on who’s running for Chicago’s elected school board, the Chicago Tribune education team posed a series of questions to the candidates in each district. These questions ranged from basic information on their background and campaign platform to their stance on several issues facing Chicago Public Schools.
See the answers from Anusha Thotakura, candidate for elected school board in the 6th District, below.
About the Candidate
Name: Anusha Thotakura
Age: 26
Neighborhood: River West
School District: 6
Education: Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Master in Public Policy, Harvard University
Current Job: Director at Citizen Action/Illinois
Previous Political Experience: None.
Questions and Answers
In the interest of transparency, the candidate’s responses shown here are published as written and have not been edited by the Tribune.
Did you attend Chicago Public Schools or is anyone in your immediate family a CPS student? No.
Have you worked at Chicago Public Schools or another school? What is your background in education?
I’ve worked as a middle school math teacher outside of CPS. I volunteer at CPS as an after-school debate coach in Brighton Park.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
I’m running for the Chicago Board of Education because I believe in the transformative power of public education and the urgent need for responsible leadership. As a former middle school math teacher, I’ve seen how ongoing underfunding and inequity affect our students’ ability to succeed. That’s why I transitioned into policy and advocacy, where I’ve worked to address the structural barriers to every child receiving the high-quality education they deserve.
In my current role as Executive Director of Citizen Action Illinois, the state’s largest progressive policy and political coalition, I’ve worked to pass legislation that makes healthcare more affordable for working families. I’ve learned how to organize within communities, build coalitions, work productively with legislators, and navigate Springfield to deliver real results—skills that will serve me well on the Board of Education. My approach has always centered on responsible budgeting and making sure that public resources are used where they have the greatest impact. For our schools, that means equitable funding, improved early childhood education, and ensuring our students have access to high-quality after-school programs.
CPS needs leadership that can be trusted to see and hear the needs of the communities it serves. One of the most urgent issues facing CPS is the drastic cuts to after-school programs, including an 80% reduction for debate. From my experience as a volunteer debate coach and policy advocate, I know these programs are critical for developing students’ confidence, critical thinking, and leadership skills. These cuts are short-sighted and harmful, especially for students in underserved neighborhoods who rely on these programs for enrichment and opportunity. If we want to see our children thrive, we need to prioritize investing in after-school programming, not cutting it.
This election is about making sure we invest in the future of every child in Chicago. I’ve spent my career working on behalf of families and communities to ensure the systems meant to support them are accountable and effective. As a member of the Board of Education, I will bring that same focus to ensuring that our schools are funded equitably, that after-school programs are expanded, and that every decision is made with the goal of improving academic outcomes for our kids. This commitment is why I have received the endorsement of over 10 state legislators, including Rep. Kam Buckner, Rep. Kim du Buclet, Rep. Lilian Jimenez, Sen. Omar Aquino, Sen. Lakesia Collins, Sen. Elgie Sims as well as Illinois State Treasurer Mike Frerichs and Attorney General Kwame Raoul. These leaders have worked with me, know my commitment to public service, and trust me to advocate for responsible, results-oriented policies that will create a fully-funded CPS students and parents can be proud of.
How would you describe your district?
I am running in a racially and economically diverse district that stretches from Wicker Park to Englewood. District 6 is home to communities on the south side that have been most affected by disinvestment and systematic racism.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
My guiding principle is simple: no child in Chicago should receive a worse education based on the neighborhood they grow up in—access to language classes, after school programming, and arts instruction should never be conditioned on a child’s street address.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
CPS’ budgetary difficulties are by far the District’s biggest challenge, and there is no sugarcoating the size of the task at hand. With the Board’s unfortunate history of fiscal mismanagement and corruption, the community is looking for honest representation that will hold CPS accountable – I intend to do so. We need our budget to be balanced so that students, families, and teachers do not have to worry about impending cuts and destabilization from year to year. According to the State of Illinois’s Equitable School Funding targets, Chicago Public Schools need an additional $1 billion of funding to be adequately funded. I support the current Board’s hiring freeze and cuts for administrative positions, but we need additional funding to reduce classroom sizes, have social workers and nurses in every school, and to expand after school and extracurricular programs. Still, our current school funding system is over-reliant on property taxes – our city should be advocating for more state funding, but this can only happen if our leaders (including the newly-elected school board) have meaningful relationships down in Springfield. We should also prioritize using school building space efficiently to generate revenue and meet other community needs by, for example, expanding School-Based Health Centers, which can conveniently provide mental health, immunization, and primary care, and primary care services for students, families, and the broader community
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
There is so much that needs to be done, but there are three things at the top of my list: Improving achievement About 31% of CPS elementary students are considered proficient in reading, and only 19% are proficient in math. Those numbers are unacceptable. Our students are not being set up for future success by the current system. However, there is some progress—more elementary students are proficient in reading compared to last year, with performance now above pre-pandemic levels for the first time. This gives me hope, but we must push for much greater growth, especially when it comes to closing the achievement gap between Black and White students. Balancing the budget With the Board’s unfortunate history of fiscal mismanagement and a growing budget gap, the community is looking for honest representation that will hold CPS accountable. We need our budget to be balanced so that students, families, and teachers do not have to worry about impending cuts and destabilization from year to year. After-school programming One of the most urgent issues facing CPS is the drastic cuts to after-school programs, including an 80% reduction in funding for debate. From my experience as a volunteer debate coach and policy advocate, I know these programs are critical for developing students’ confidence, critical thinking, and leadership skills. These cuts are short-sighted and harmful, especially for students in underserved neighborhoods who rely on these programs for enrichment and opportunity.
Given this year’s budgetary problems and disagreements on how to solve them, what do you propose for the district’s funding in future years? Would you support the district in taking on any loans in future years to fund the annual budget?
I support leaning on our city’s elected officials with Springfield relationships to advocate for more funding, and prioritizing using school building space efficiently to generate revenue and meet other community needs. I would also support locating revenue sources to increase funding, provided that I do not support raising property taxes or implementing regressive taxes that primarily affect lower-income communities. I am against taking on short-term, high-interest loans to cover budget gaps.
The Chicago Board of Education recently adopted a new 5-year Strategic Plan. Which aspects do you support and which would you change, if any?
I support several aspects of the Chicago Public Schools’ new five-year strategic plan, particularly its focus on equity and strengthening neighborhood schools. I believe CPS’s goal to reduce teacher vacancies in schools serving predominantly Black and Hispanic students by 25% is crucial, as ensuring that every school has strong, consistent staff will address long-standing disparities. I also support efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and increase participation in after-school programs, which help students stay engaged academically and socially.
As thousands of migrant families settle in Chicago, how should the District handle the influx of English learners? What more should be done to ensure consistent bilingual education is provided and funded?
This issue is personal for me, as the daughter of immigrants and a former bilingual educator myself. To support the influx of migrant families, CPS must expand bilingual education by prioritizing recruitment of bilingual teachers and increasing access to dual-language programs across more schools. Ensuring consistent funding from both state and federal sources is key to maintaining these efforts, especially for schools in high-need areas.
Do you believe the district has historically underinvested in South and West side schools? Yes.
If yes, what solutions would you propose to address inequities and opportunity gaps in the school system?
I would start with the following:
- Equitable Funding: Allocate more resources to these schools based on need, ensuring that funding formulas prioritize factors like poverty levels, English learners, and special education services.
- Smaller Class Sizes and Expanded Support Services: Hire more teachers, counselors, and social workers to reduce class sizes and offer critical academic and emotional support.
- Infrastructure Improvements: Invest in modernizing school facilities, ensuring that every school has up-to-date technology, safe buildings, and enriching learning environments.
- Targeted Academic Programs: Expand access to high-quality after-school programs, STEM education, and vocational training to provide students with more opportunities for future success.
Since his election, Mayor Johnson has indicated a desire to move away from school choice and bolster neighborhood schools. This was recently reinforced by in the District’s 5-year Strategic Plan. Do you share this position? Why or why not?
I strongly support selective enrollment and magnet schools. These schools provide unique opportunities for students and have long been a source of pride and achievement in our city. Many families rely on them as pathways to academic success, and cutting back on these options would unfairly limit choices for parents and students who are seeking the best fit for their educational needs.
However, we need to close the gap between selective enrollment and neighborhood schools by investing more in neighborhood schools—not by cutting resources to magnet and selective enrollment schools, but by ensuring every neighborhood school has the funding, resources, and support to thrive. No student should feel like they need to leave their community to get a high-quality education. All schools—whether selective enrollment, magnet, or neighborhood—should be strong, well-resourced, and responsive to the needs of their students and families.
What we need is an “all of the above” approach. We can support neighborhood schools without taking opportunities away from those attending selective enrollment and magnet programs. It’s possible to expand and improve neighborhood schools without diminishing the unique options that already exist for Chicago’s students. Doing both is critical to ensuring that our education system serves every child, regardless of where they live.
What solutions do you propose to provide busing for students at selective enrollment and magnet schools?
Between a nationwide bus driver shortage and budget gaps, CPS is currently facing immense difficulties in ensuring every student can get to school on time, every day—especially those students with special needs. I am committed to increasing driver recruitment that ensures, at minimum, that every student with an IEP and 504 has a ride to school. I think we need to expand busing availability and partner with the CTA to provide free or subsidized public transit passes for students attending these schools, helping families who live far from the school or outside current bus zones.
Please share your thoughts on how the District and the Chicago Teachers Union can settle on a new 4-year contract.
We must keep in mind that no contract has been signed yet and this round of bargaining requires the hardest thing from any us—patience. CPS cannot realistically work towards of goal of providing kids with a gold-standard education unless those providing that education are respected and fairly compensated. At the same time, our future elected Board cannot be a rubber stamp for any stakeholder—in reality or appearance—or make financially irresponsible decisions. I believe the District and CTU should be given space, free from outside political influence, to continue bargaining in good faith and come to a reasonable agreement.
In 2024, Chicago Public Schools’ average literacy proficiency rate is 31%, an increase from pre-pandemic years. These rates, however, were lower for students from low-income families, English learners and students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs). How should the district seek to improve literacy rates going forward?
Students will be better able to learn—including learn to read—in an environment where they feel safe, supported, and inspired. One necessary step to improving literacy is improving students’ environment and protecting their mental health, given that student mental health has steadily worsened over the past decade. Moving towards a system that offers wraparound services for students in need would be beneficial, and I will work to ensure that CPS provides counselors and social workers at every school for those students, faculty, and staff who need it. We also need to invest in smaller classroom sizes, academic interventionists, and effective instructional coaches for teachers to accelerate student learning and achievement.
What is your position on expanded funding and renewal terms for charter schools?
I support parents’ right to choose to send their child to a charter school, but believe private schools should be principally funded by private individuals and institutions, not the public. To the extent possible under the law, the Board should exert maximum oversight over charter schools and hold them accountable whenever they falter in providing Chicago’s kids with the high-quality education in a safe learning environment that they deserve.
Please provide your thoughts on how to keep Chicago Public Schools as safe havens for students to learn and flourish fear of violence. How do you propose the district approach this?
I would prioritize expanding school-based mental health services and implementing restorative justice practices. We need to increase access to counselors and social workers to address the emotional and psychological issues that can lead to conflict and violence. When students have the support they need, they can better handle stress and steer clear of destructive behaviors. Incorporating restorative justice practices allows students to resolve conflicts through dialogue and accountability rather than punishment. This approach helps foster a culture of understanding and respect, encouraging students to take responsibility for their actions and build stronger, more positive relationships within the school community. By focusing on these areas, we can create a safer and more supportive environment for everyone.
