Money, missteps behind the monthslong CPS saga
Despite Mayor Brandon Johnson pushing to oust Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, the two men were polite on the first day of classes in August as they stood together outside schools ringing oversized gold bells.
But as the weeks progressed, no resolution came to pass — instead, controversies piled up and the tension grew. Four months later, the pleasantries have subsided. And Johnson’s Board of Education is set to take action on Martinez on a Friday night five days before Christmas.
So why is the drawn out saga coming to a head now? And how did the process become so messy?
The financial answer
There’s the financial answer: The Chicago Teachers Union, the mayor’s staunch ally and former employer who vaulted him to office, wants to settle its contract negotiations with ambitious ideas that could reshape an underfunded school district — and the assurance that layoffs and furloughs won’t follow in the spring as a result.
The costs of even a modest CTU contract, plus a pension payment for non-teacher CPS employees that Martinez has refused to take on from City Hall, are still expected to cause a mid-year budget deficit. A record tax increment financing surplus is helping fill some of that gap. But without an additional solution, an estimated $140 million hole will remain, and budget cuts could come in the second half of the school year.
The path to the current standoff
That’s why the mayor and CTU have pushed for a short-term, high-interest loan to make up the difference this school year, and they’ve criticized Martinez for blocking that plan without finding options other than staffing cuts.
“He (Martinez) still has a budget deficit,” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates on Wednesday, suggesting once again that CPS would have to take out a loan. “The only thing he will close it with is layoffs and furlough days. … We need a revenue plan.”
A saga of ideological and political battles
Martinez has said it would be fiscally irresponsible to fill a budget deficit using a loan before additional funding is secured. Unable to win him over, the CTU has pushed for a resolution this month before the new 21-member partially elected board takes office in January and brings new dynamics — angering some newly elected members who feel sidelined.
That argument about financial responsibility has contributed to the answer of how this got so messy: It has turned the school system’s budget struggle into an ideological and political battleground — one pitting more conservative, business-oriented corners that have long opposed high spending and the CTU — against a progressive mayor who sees those groups as quick to adopt austerity measures, leaving poor families and schools vulnerable.
Astoundingly, the process has become even more contentious
Ensuing missteps from the mayor’s office and his school board heightened scrutiny, and Martinez’s unprecedented rejections of Johnson’s wishes for the loan and pension payment, bucking traditional dynamics between a mayor and CPS CEO.
Even some of Johnson’s allies criticize his approach. Johnson didn’t bring in his own schools chief, hoping to show his independence from the CTU.
But by the time he decided to push out Martinez this year, Johnson had waited to act until a pressure-packed moment and invited the optics he tried to avoid: that he was taking action to land a contract for his old union.
Conclusion
The drawn-out saga between Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez has become a complex web of financial, ideological, and political battles. With the Board of Education set to take action on Martinez, it remains to be seen how the process will unfold and what the outcome will be for the school district and its students.
FAQs
* What is the main issue behind the CPS saga?
The main issue is the budget deficit and the disagreement between the mayor and the CTU over how to address it.
* What are the financial implications of not addressing the budget deficit?
The budget deficit could lead to layoffs and furloughs in the spring, as well as cuts to essential services and programs.
* What is the role of the CTU in the saga?
The CTU is a key player in the saga, as its contract negotiations with the city are part of the budget debate and the union has pushed for a resolution to the budget crisis.
* What is the role of the mayor in the saga?
The mayor has been criticized for his handling of the situation, with some saying he has not brought in his own schools chief and has instead pushed to oust Martinez. Others have questioned his motives, suggesting he is trying to land a contract for his old union.
