I Love This Job: CPS Director Pedro Martínez Says He Didn’t Want to Fight with the Mayor

A Dispute Over Funding

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martínez says he believes his dispute with Mayor Brandon Johnson “should never have escalated” to this level of public acrimony because he thinks his goals for the school system are aligned.

“I never got into this fight. I wanted things to calm down,” Martinez said in a wide-ranging interview with the Sun-Times.

“This has never been about a lack of alignment in vision. I always supported the mayor because he was the person who said, ‘We need to invest more in our schools.’ And I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And that has been my conversation with him from day one.”

A Disagreement Over Funding Options

However, as funding remains insufficient, they disagree on how to proceed. The main source of friction is whether it is appropriate to apply for a short-term loan.

The mayor is pushing for a type of loan that would allow them to access cash before tax revenue arrives.

Martinez strongly opposes it, saying it carries high interest and would hurt the school district’s already poor credit rating, which dropped after a round of borrowing over the past decade.

No to Debt

Martinez said he could not, as an “ethical leader,” put the district further into debt “in a way that would be lasting and beyond any of our terms.”

“I’ve been working ethically, with integrity, providing information, always with the attitude of ‘maybe they don’t understand the risk of getting into debt.’”

A Risky Alternative

Martinez instead has asked for a record $462 million from special property tax districts to cover the entire projected shortfall for this school year.

Johnson said he would give as much of those TIF (tax increment financing) funds as he could, but that amount could prove politically difficult for City Council members who rely on the money for development in their districts.

Facing Obstacles

Martínez said the so-called TIF dollars would help CPS assume a payment for non-teaching school staff in the municipal pension fund that Johnson has imposed on CPS, as well as get a contract with the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU).

He said he plans to press City Council members on the TIF issue at an Oct. 22 hearing, as City Hall is entering budget season.

“I am confident that our councilors are reasonable and care about our district and our city. By the way, they also need this money. When they release a surplus from the TIF, 25% goes to the municipality. When we make this pension payment, it goes directly back to the city.”

No to Politics

Some who have supported Martinez over Johnson in recent weeks have suggested that CPS does not need more funding. Martínez disagrees.

“This is where I agree with both the mayor and our unions: the district is under-resourced and has been under-resourced for decades. In other words, I had insufficient resources when I was a student in the 70s and 80s,” Martínez highlighted.

“We can’t let Springfield get away with this. They didn’t create this, they inherited it, just like all of us. But we have to work together,” he said.

A Long-Term Solution Needed

Both loans and TIFs would be one-time patches. That’s why the mayor and CPS say they’re looking to Springfield for more sustainable, long-term solutions.

The CTU blamed Martinez for not going to Springfield earlier in the spring to push for more funding for CPS.

Martínez said Wednesday that City Hall was too focused on other issues, such as some CPS-related bills regarding an elected school board, police officers in schools, and selective enrollment programs.

I Love This Job

Martínez said he asked the mayor to resign, but he refused.

“I love this job and my goal is to finish my contract,” he said.

Translated by Gisela Orozco for La Voz Chicago

Conclusion
The dispute between CPS Director Pedro Martínez and Mayor Brandon Johnson highlights the complex issues surrounding school funding in Chicago. While both parties agree that more funding is needed, they disagree on the best approach. Martínez believes that taking on debt would be a short-sighted solution, while Johnson is pushing for a loan to access funds before tax revenue arrives.

FAQs

• What is the main source of friction between Martínez and Johnson?
  The main source of friction is whether to apply for a short-term loan to access funds before tax revenue arrives.
• Why does Martínez oppose the loan?
  Martínez believes that the loan would carry high interest and would hurt the school district’s already poor credit rating.
• What is the CPS’s alternative solution for funding?
  Martínez has asked for a record $462 million from special property tax districts to cover the entire projected shortfall for this school year.