An alderman is asking the Board of Education to reschedule Friday’s special meeting — with two explicit options to either fire schools chief Pedro Martinez or offer him a settlement — in order to make sure people of all religious observances can participate.
Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th, is the only Jewish member of the City Council.
“As the meeting falls during Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, it creates an unnecessary barrier to participation for Chicago’s Jewish community, including residents, teachers, and school parents who observe this sacred time,” Silverstein wrote in the letter.
Silverstein’s letter joined a chorus of voices Wednesday asking the board to wait to take any action on the Chicago Public Schools chief’s job before the current seven-member body expands to 21 members — part-elected and part-appointed — in January. Several other aldermen and education advocacy groups also spoke out against the last-minute meeting, scheduled at a tense time in Chicago Teachers Union contract negotiations.
According to the CPS’ website, the special meeting will be held at 5:45 p.m. at an administrative building on the South Side.
The meeting’s agenda was originally posted in the late morning on Wednesday and then amended later in the evening with two additional reports from the outside counsel: to one, “approve settlement with chief officer” or two, “approve termination of chief officer.”
Silverstein explained in the letter that the Shabbat, a weekly day of rest and celebration in Judaism, begins at sundown on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday “making it impossible for observant Jewish individuals to attend or engage in this meeting.”
“The topics addressed at this Special Board Meeting, particularly those concerning the leadership and future of Chicago Public Schools under Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez, are of profound importance to all residents of Chicago,” wrote the North Side alderman.
Asked for comment about the letter Thursday, the district did not immediately respond.
“The mayor’s office isn’t commenting on the speculation around personnel matters and Board of Education,” said a spokesperson for the mayor in a statement.
The CPS CEO’s job has been on the line for months over his refusal to take out a $300 million high-interest loan to cover a new teachers contract and a pension payment to the city. Martinez has said the debt CPS would incur for taking on the loan would be fiscally irresponsible for the cash-strapped district. Financial analysts agree the stakes are high.
The teachers contract expired in June and collective bargaining has ramped up in recent weeks, after months of negotiations.
Some aldermen and advocates say Mayor Brandon Johnson, who is a former teacher and teachers union organizer, is using his ties to the union to push forward a plan that could leave the district in financially unstable territory. Johnson appointed the seven-member board that added the agenda items to potentially oust Martinez.
“The mayor is prepared to give the CTU the North Pole and the taxpayers get coal in their stockings in the form of property taxes,” said Ald. Gil Villegas, 36th, who recently wrote a letter to Illinois state authorities asking for an investigation into the extend that school board members are involved in ongoing teacher contract negotiations.
After the reports to fire or offer Pedro a settlement were added to the board’s agenda Wednesday evening, there was a flurry of responses on social media.
Hugo Jacobo, director of Chicago Democrats for Education, tweeted out a petition. Jacobo’s organization formed as a response to union-backed candidates running in November’s first school board election.
“Help save Pedro from being fired this Friday, just before the holiday break!” Jacobo wrote.
“Is it about the children right now, supposedly?” Jacobo asked in an interview with the Tribune. “Even if we can’t afford it, they don’t care.”
Newly elected board members, who will join the 21-member body in January, are also asking to reschedule Friday’s meeting.
“I just hope that the wisdom of this board allows them to consider that we’ll make better decisions when the full body is there — especially on matters of hiring and firing,” said Che “Rhymefest” Smith, who won the school board race in District 10 on the South Side. “Our schools need us more than ever.”
Other organizations emailed statements asking for a cancellation Thursday, a day before the meeting.
Stand for Children wrote the Board of Education has “decided to rush a monumental decision impacting the future of Chicago Public Schools.”
“For a lame duck school board to call a special session with just two days’ notice and just three weeks before a hybrid elected school board is seated is an affront to the voters of Chicago,” said the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club.
Daniel Anello, the chief executive officer of Kids First Chicago, said in a statement that “CPS families and communities deserve a transparent, inclusive process that respects both the hard-won democratic reforms and the stated values of collaboration and accountability.”
“Simply because one has the authority to do something does not make it right,” Anello wrote.
