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 Kimberly Brown, candidate for elected school board in the 4th District, below.
About the Candidate
Name: Kimberly Brown
Age: 39
Neighborhood: Lakeview
School District: 4
Education: Bachelor’s and master’s, Northwestern University Medill School
Current Job: Multi-hyphenate CMO-author-educator-entrepreneur-organizer-journalist-mom
Previous Political Experience: This is my first Chicago-official race on a general election ballot. I’ve been involved and active as a public servant since my youth. My proudest public service-related achievements are: Millennium Dreamer: Inaugural year winner with 2,000 young people worldwide sponsored by Disney to imagine a better world for the new millennium. U.S. Presidential Scholar: 1 of only 161 of the nation’s top high school graduates selected annually by the United States Department of Education. More recently, I was voted by my NU alumni colleagues to be the Chair of the Northwestern Alumni Association “A Day with Northwestern” Board. I was also proudly selected to be a member of the American Medical Association: Health Equity Council. In college, I was nominated and selected to be a Northwestern University Student Publishing Company Board Member. In high school, I was elected as my class president for multiple years. I also ran and won the distinction of my town’s Miss Addison competition.
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? Yes, an immediate family member.
Have you worked at Chicago Public Schools or another school? What is your background in education?
I’m an adult educator with 6+ years of teaching experience in the classroom and executive learning & development. I’m currently an adjunct professor at Roosevelt University, Lake Forest Graduate School, and restarting at Loyola University Chicago in January. I’m also an executive educator at Lake Forest Center for Leadership.
Why are you running for a seat on the Chicago Board of Education?
I am the only candidate with proven, successful experience running an organization as large as CPS as well as being a CPS parent and educator.
I’m a champion for Chicago’s Future, driven by a deep commitment to education, community, and resilience.
Born into a working-class family with a deep-rooted connection to Chicago and a family legacy in public service, my early experiences instilled in me the importance of hard work and the power of education to transform lives.
By investing in our schools and communities, we can grow our economy and create a brighter future for all. I am a strong advocate for small business support, community empowerment, and equitable access to education. My commitment is to create opportunities and foster growth in Chicago.
I have held executive positions in highly regulated industries, including government, education, and financial services. My experience as a diverse learner, CPS parent, and educator has given me firsthand insight into the needs of students and families.
With my strong leadership skills and unwavering commitment to Chicago, I am a powerful force for positive change.
How would you describe your district?
District 4 is ethnically, economically, and culturally diverse. We believe in education. We are committed to democracy and active in our communities. We believe in Chicago and have chosen it as our long-term home. We are a mix of old and young, singles and families and retirees, rich and middle class and poor. We are long-time Chicagoans and transplants. Our love of the city, our love of education, and our love for our communities and neighborhoods unite us. We believe in accountable leadership. We believe in growth. We believe in the future of CPS. We believe there needs to be change.
How would you describe your campaign platform?
We are truly independent (no mayoral, CTU, or political backing). We are CPS-parent volunteer-run and supported. We believe strong public schools create strong and vibrant economies. We believe the CPS Board needs experienced leadership with a fresh, outside perspective.
What is the single most important issue facing CPS students?
Priority #1 is getting the buses back and supporting district-managed, group transportation for all CPS students.
I am the only candidate in District 4 endorsed by CPS Parents for Buses because I align with their group and have earned the parents’ trust as the leader who can quickly make change.
We need to bring back buses immediately. Driver shortage is an excuse, and we need to work with our amazing Chicago community to rethink and reactivate safe, district-managed transportation to school for every student. This means a database and map of every student and where they go to school to match them to available transportation options including walking groups, bike buses, car pools, and bus stops managed by safe passage adults. This is not a budget or a resource issue. This is a lack of innovative thinking and prioritization. We need to get children to school safely via district transportation, and we can do that with and without traditional yellow school buses.
We need a district-wide approach that is required for every school and includes school—and community-specific committees to tailor to their unique situation. This includes leveraging the Chicago School Zone improvement study results with multiple safety upgrades to neighborhood streets, including crossing upgrades, enhanced signage, traffic calming, reduced speed limits, and truck restrictions. Infrastructure improvements include curb bump-outs, raised crosswalks, and refuge islands. We cannot do a piece-by-piece rollout. We need a comprehensive plan with a timeline activated across the district.
My view of transportation policy is based on lived experiences as a child, adult, parent, and organizational leader. We are a public transportation, bike and walking family. Out of necessity, I’ve been a Chicago pedestrian/bike and CTA commuter for my adult life. My personal and family experience deeply shapes my view of transportation for school. When I was growing up, my parents intentionally got a home near the schools, so my siblings and I could walk while our parents were working. As a young adult, I had virtually no money and depended on public transportation or affordable housing near my work for my livelihood.
If our children can’t get to school safely and reliably, nothing else matters. This is important for children who have caregivers they can’t rely on as well as caregivers who can’t be late for work.
As an organizational leader, part of my experience is finding patterns and efficiencies with subject matter experts to achieve the desired outcome. It’s inexcusable that CPS does not have a district-managed and comprehensive school transportation system.
If our children can’t get to school safely and reliably, nothing else matters.
Provide three to four key points you want voters to know about your campaign.
My top campaign priorities are:
- BRING BACK BUSES — If you can’t get to school, nothing else matters. Every student needs safe transportation. Whether it is a bus, bike bus, or walking group. Let’s build a CPS-wide community culture and have it start with getting to school. I am proudly endorsed by CPS Parents for Buses.
- IMPROVED PROCUREMENT — CPS spends 1.2-1.5 more than retail pricing too often. Improved financial management across people, process and technology is critical to make every dollar work harder and is the fiduciary mandate to taxpayers.
- ACCESS & TRANSPARENCY — We will begin the culture change with CPS headquarters to match our CPS families. We need mobile-friendly, multi-language, easy-to-search websites across departments and schools; school and district visualizations that are easy to read, updated bi-annually, and based on performance and feedback. Children with disabilities will not require lawyers to be treated fairly. Principals will stay at schools for 10+ years and be top performers across every metric.
*We will tackle equity for special education children and English as a Second Language learners by focusing on all three priorities.
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?
In the immediate term, I do not support the district taking on loans, and I do support district Chief Executive Officer Martinez’s proposal (from April) regarding Tax Incremental Financing funds, which the Mayor rejected and put us in the dire financial position we are in now.
For long-term financial viability:
We need a real audit (potentially a forensic financial audit) to show the funding inefficiencies and provide radical transparency into areas to ‘de-bloat’ and areas lacking investment. First, we will conduct a detailed audit and analysis of the budget and cash flow. Then, we need to factor in future cost increases. Then, we find efficiencies (they won’t fill all the gaps, but there should be no inefficient waste or overspending if it’s avoidable – and there are plenty of areas we can improve). Then, we need to present the budget and spending data using modern data visualization to track dollars from a Chicago taxpayer to students. Those actions will improve CPS leadership’s credibility in working with city, state, and federal leaders to get additional funding. We need to clearly and easily show taxpayers the operational and capital expenditure gaps at the school level and district level. Finally, we agree on the future state and vision for CPS based on real outcomes. Once we see our current state reality and future state vision in addition to the commitment to leadership and accountability, we can effectively work with community and elected leaders across our government systems (city, county, state and federal) to build a modern plan. There is no quick and easy answer; we’re untangling decades of mismanagement and corruption. The solution is real teamwork.
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?
There isn’t anything I would change in the strategic plan. The issue is there are no SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) tactical plans/goals underneath it to show that anything is executable or variable. We need to see those plans to understand the priorities (and trade-offs), get community engagement and buy-in, and measure when something is working and not working. The strategic plans sound great, but a goal without a clear plan is just a wish. (Note: those plans might exist, but they must be clear, publicly available, and tracked at the board meetings to be viable).
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?
We need to fast-track out-of-state and out-of-country bilingual educators into our classrooms. The Illinois bureaucracy is hurting our ability to teach. We can create a parallel path to Illinois licensure if needed, but there is no reason why a licensed and experienced teacher from another state or country with the skills and language we need AND the desire and time to teach cannot be in our classrooms today. We also need to allow more part-time positions and unique teaching or instruction pathways in the classrooms to fill the gaps for school team support, including lunch and recess supervising, translation services, arrival and dismissal, and breakout learning groups. I know that’s not popular with Illinois and the unions, but we must flex to meet today’s workforce and student needs. Fifty years ago, CPS took advantage of part-time workers with racist policies. Now, the lack of part-time work hurts people of color. Finally, we need to make volunteering easier. If we need to get fingerprinted and TB tested, let’s do that at school on the first day. Parent volunteers run schools, and it currently takes three-plus weeks to get cleared to supervise a field trip.
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?
We need to grow resources (grow the pie, make more pies, …). Every Board is presented with resource challenges, and CPS is no different. First, we create a clear culture and vision of One CPS that treats every school as equally important and deserving. Second, we need to create radical transparency in the budgets so everyone sees the current resources and needs and future projections. Third, we need to work with the community and elected officials to increase resources through innovative ways. Chicago was built by community innovation; CPS will be saved the same way.
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 disagree with the notion that we need to divest in magnet schools to fund local schools. This is not a zero-sum formula. We can and need to grow both. An effective board leader will have experience in growing resources. Creating in-fighting dynamics is a cultural artifact of CPS’s deep discriminatory history. We must employ a proven growth mindset and model that grows resources for all. We cannot and will no longer pit CPS school communities against each other. There are many ways to improve neighborhood schools without removing funds from other CPS schools.
What solutions do you propose to provide busing for students at selective enrollment and magnet schools?
I am the only candidate in District 4 endorsed by CPS Parents for Buses because I align with their group and have earned the parents’ trust as the leader who can quickly make change.
Priority #1 is getting the buses back and supporting district-managed, group transportation for all CPS students. Providing busing for selective enrollment and magnet school students means we provide busing for all students. The solution is we go big and district-wide and now.
We need to bring back buses immediately. Driver shortage is an excuse, and we need to work with our amazing Chicago community to rethink and reactivate safe, district-managed transportation to school for every student. This means a database and map of every student and where they go to school to match them to available transportation options, including walking groups, bike buses, carpools and bus stops managed by safe passage adults. This is not a budget or a resource issue. This is a lack of innovative thinking and prioritization. We need to get children to school safely via district transportation, and we can do that with and without traditional yellow school buses.
We need a district-wide approach that is required for every school and includes school- and community-specific committees to tailor to their unique situation. This includes leveraging the Chicago School Zone improvement study results with multiple safety upgrades to neighborhood streets with crossing upgrades, enhanced signage, traffic calming, reduced speed limits, and truck restrictions. Infrastructure improvements include curb bump-outs, raised crosswalks, and refuge islands. We cannot do a piece-by-piece roll out. We need a comprehensive plan with a timeline that is activated across the district.
My view of transportation policy is based on lived experiences as a child, adult, parent, and organizational leader.
We are a public transportation, bike and walking family. I have used public transportation in Chicago almost daily since 2004 (buses and trains). I’ve been riding my bike around the city at least once a week for commuting and recreation since 2015-ish. My family bike rides together for easy commutes and recreation weekly. Now that the city has better bike lanes and my oldest child is a strong rider, we’ve started to engage in more rides.
Out of necessity, I’ve been a pedestrian/bike and CTA commuter for my adult life. I didn’t own a car that I could drive until five years ago. My husband and I moved from the West Loop to Lakeview because it’s more pedestrian-friendly and near a local school we could attend if we were able to have children (we obviously were able to build a family). We didn’t want to play the CPS lottery and wanted to send our children to public school.
My personal and family experience deeply shapes my view of transportation for school. When I was growing up, my parents intentionally got a home near the schools so my siblings and I could walk while our parents were working. As a young adult, I had virtually no money and depended on public transportation or affordable housing near my work for my livelihood.
If our children can’t get to school safely and reliably, nothing else matters. This is important for children who have caregivers they can’t rely on as well as caregivers who can’t be late for work.
As an organizational leader, part of my experience is finding patterns and efficiencies with subject matter experts to get to the desired outcome. It’s inexcusable that CPS does not have a district-managed and comprehensive school transportation system.
If our children can’t get to school safely and reliably, nothing else matters.
Please share your thoughts on how the District and the Chicago Teachers Union can settle on a new 4-year contract.
The CTU is a political organization and one of many stakeholders in CPS, not the only stakeholder, and we need to rebalance that power dynamic. Their goals require long-term, realistic financial planning. The CTU’s history is incredible in what it has done to improve public education since the early 1900s. Understanding and respecting the critical work and success of the CTU is deeply important, AND we as the Board have a fiduciary responsibility to students, families, and taxpayers to maximize District success. That means putting the holistic District needs above the CTU. Every parent I have spoken with has had one universal ask: make the drama and instability with CTU stop. The CTU is probably the most savvy, strategic political organization in this city. We need equally (ideally better) professional leaders in the Board of Education. The CTU is one stakeholder group in CPS—not the only one. We need to respectfully and professionally shift the conversation back to one directed by the Board of Education with alignment from all stakeholders groups. The current CTU contract requests are not financially viable. CPS cannot accept all of them. I am the only candidate in District 4 with real negotiation experience to work through the situation.
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?
CPS needs to admit we’re failing and understand exactly where/why. We need a real audit & analysis to understand the depth and nuances of the gap over time. Then we focus on the bright spots and their ability to be scaled. We need to tighten partnerships with critical agencies for circumstances outside of a school’s control (ex: home instability). We need to get every child to school first. We need core and required curriculum options across CPS for schools to choose from to ensure equality and equity in education that is up to modern-day literacy research and standards. We need more support for teachers in the classrooms. Finally, we need to listen to our principals (the best in the country) & support them to focus on academics (not administrative busy work).
What is your position on expanded funding and renewal terms for charter schools?
Creating in-fighting dynamics is a cultural artifact of CPS’s deep discriminatory history. We need to employ a proven growth mindset and model that grows resources for all. We cannot and will not pit CPS school communities against each other anymore. Children go to Charter schools right now, and I will not minimize their importance and beautiful experiences. Public schools create vibrant economies. Every school should be a high-quality choice for a family. Charter schools should be equitably funded like all other schools, and we need to remove the politics of the early 2000s and 2010s from today’s reality. When you negatively single out a Charter school in CPS, you’re only hurting the students and families by creating divisive negativity and shame. We are One CPS.
Please provide your thoughts on how to keep Chicago Public Schools as safe havens for students to learn and flourish free of violence. How do you propose the district approach this?
I do not support a district-wide contract between the Chicago Police Department and CPS. I DO support principals and Local School Councils getting the support (professional, monetary, and consistent/reliable access to CPS HQ support) to triage an immediate safety concern with a clear path and outcome specific to that school community and point in time. There is psychological, emotional, and physical safety. Every school should get a proactive bi-annual physical building safety check by the district team, which includes a parent forum. Every school should have a health center that includes mental and physical healthcare access, since that is where the patients are located. Every school should teach age-appropriate sexual and health education by a licensed instructor annually, including providing widely posted access to the district reporting line for any issues for students, teachers, and caregivers. Every school should be praised for reporting and solving issues because a lack of reporting or “perfect” report means there are cover ups. Issues will always happen. It’s how we deal with them that matters. Finally, a thorough review of the code of conduct needs to be made more accessible. Currently, if searched on Google, it is a 4-page document that references a larger policy but links to nothing. The second search result is the recommended policy (not necessarily the adopted policy). We need a clear and authoritative source of truth of information that every parent, student, and educator/staff member can find and understand.
