Heading back to classes Monday, Chicago Public School students will return to a district different from the one they left for winter break.
It’s been just over two weeks since the Chicago Board of Education unanimously voted to oust CEO Pedro Martinez. The monthslong conflict reached a boiling point on the last day of school before winter break, when dozens of speakers stood before Martinez at a special board meeting, ridiculing him and telling him his “time has finally come.”
“I hope you never forget any of the students at (Marine Leadership Academy) and those who were affected by your lack of integrity, professionalism, accountability and lack of empathy and ethics,” said Luz Sarama referring to what she alleged was Martinez’s inaction regarding “abuse of power,” misuse of funds and “mental and physical harm” of students at the school.
While many of the two dozen speakers at the meeting expressed their disdain for the CEO — several among them parents of CPS students and graduates — others who spoke to the Tribune after Martinez’s ouster say they disagree with the board’s decision.
Anna Pavichevich, a retired CPS principal with a long family lineage in the district, said she is concerned what this kind of leadership change could mean for CPS.
Pavichevich said she is “stunned by the complete and total disregard” by the board of the voices” of the over 700 administrators who signed a letter in December, advocating for Martinez to keep his position as CEO.
“The 700 CPS administrators who are responsible for the education and the care of the children of this city have been told by this mayor that he doesn’t care what they think,” Pavichevich said. “So I have no evidence that this mayor is making any decisions other than those that are self-serving.”
CPS parent Maria Ugarte, who said she faced several challenges under Martinez’s leadership, is among those who approve of the CEO’s dismissal.
Ugarte maintains the lack of effective leadership under Martinez is something only those directly impacted can truly understand. The mother of two said it’s been a “nightmare” since she’s begun fronting the cost of transporting her daughter to school 40 minutes each way after the district stripped her of the stipend she was granted. She said her concerns about her daughter’s principal have continued to “fall on deaf ears” when she shared them with Martinez and the board.
“When they talk about Pedro Martinez and his lack of leadership, his lack of understanding … I agree because I’m going through that,” Ugarte said. “Not thinking about most of the families that are affected … our low-income community, our working community. It’s just unacceptable the way they treat us.”
Ugarte and her daughter were impacted by the district’s decision to cut busing to selective enrollment schools last school year. The long commute to and from Inter-American Magnet School every day has taken a mental and financial toll on her and her elementary school daughter, she said. While it was her choice to enroll her child in the school, Ugarte said she only did to give her daughter the best education possible.
“CPS does not give resources to the neighborhood schools,” Ugarte said. “Most of the families that go to Inter-American are families that … are looking for the best for our kids.”
However, for Mike Ngan, CPS alumnus and father of two current students, stability within the district is the top priority.
After living through the 2019 Chicago Teachers Union strike as well as the pandemic, Ngan said it’s important for kids to be able to attend school without disruption so they’re able to receive a quality education.
As tensions mounted between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Martinez regarding the short-term loan Johnson was gunning for to fund the CTU contract, many parents disagreed with the CEO’s punishment as they believed he was only doing what was right for the district. To them, it doesn’t justify his recent termination.
“He didn’t do anything irresponsible,” Ngan said. “He didn’t fail at his job, in my opinion, so it doesn’t give me any reason to believe that he needs to be fired.”
The board should serve as a power check to Johnson, according to Ngan. But the previous board’s resignation, he said, reflected the board’s inability to represent the CPS families without the mayor’s influence. Johnson’s current seven-member board — appointed in October, and new president, Sean Harden, appointed last month — is a “consolidation of political power.”
“That’s not an appropriate thing to do,” Ngan said. “As a CPS parent, I don’t think any of our opinions were registered. There’s no reason for me to believe that firing him or not firing him is for the benefit of the students or the CPS system.”
Carolina Barrera Tobón, another parent at Inter-American, said the CEO’s inaction to discipline a principal who’s allegedly been violating “innumerable policies” caused her to lose faith in not only Martinez but the district as a whole.
“There were some racial issues, racial application of policies that until we got the media involved, CPS didn’t seem to care,” Tobón said. “That’s a very common theme unless you embarrass CPS … they don’t seem to pay attention.”
Having been an involved parent in the district for decades, Tobón was initially impressed by Martinez when he stepped into his role as CEO in 2021. However, she said she has been disappointed by his inability to address some parents’ and students’ biggest issues.
Despite that, Tobón said she feels conflicted about Martinez’s termination.
“I’m disappointed in (Martinez) but I think that procedurally there have been some issues with how this was handled,” Tobón said, referring to the drama in the months before last month’s board vote. “I also think it makes no sense that … we wouldn’t wait for the elected school board to make the decision.”
While she’s disappointed that Martinez and the previous board did not listen to concerns brought to them by parents, Tobón said that she appreciates Martinez “standing up to the mayor” regarding the short-term loan.
Feeling ambivalent about the decision made by the board, Tobón said she can only hope that the change in leadership doesn’t “terribly” disrupt the district. Feeling as though Johnson is working as a proxy for the Chicago Teachers Union, Tobón said she thinks the mayor is working in their interests rather than parents.
“That’s disappointing,” Tobón said. “This was 100% done by the mayor without our input. Why not wait until the people that were elected were in office?”
