Former Kindergarten Teacher Tells the School Superintendent To Resign!

Mayor Brandon Johnson tells CPS CEO Pedro Martinez he wants him out, sources say
Martinez did not immediately resign and seemed to be digging in his heels. Friday evening CPS issued a statement that said Martinez was focused on “building on the positive of the momentum of the new school year and implementing the district’s five-year strategic plan.”
By Nader Issa, Fran Spielman and Sarah Karp
Updated Sept 20, 2024, 1:32pm CDT




Mayor Brandon Johnson listens to CPS CEO Pedro Martinez speak during a news conference at Orr Academy High School on the West Side in June 2023.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file

After months of tension, Mayor Brandon Johnson told Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez this week that he wants the embattled schools chief to leave his position, four sources told the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ.

Martinez did not immediately resign and instead plans to wait to hear from the Board of Education, two sources said.

Martinez seemed to be digging in his heels. Friday evening CPS issued a statement that did not mention the request that he resign. It said Martinez was focused on “building on the positive of the momentum of the new school year and implementing the district’s five-year strategic plan,” which was approved Wednesday.

“We’re honored and excited to continue working together with our school leaders, educators, and parents,” said the statement, which also noted that students have benefited from stability. Martinez had been in charge for three years. “We will continue to lead with integrity and transparency in service of our students.”

The seven-member board, which was appointed by Johnson, has the sole authority to dismiss the CPS CEO but has sided with Martinez this year in a couple of key disputes.

A senior aide to the mayor said on the condition they remain anonymous that Martinez now “has lost the board.”

Chicago Board of Education President Jianan Shi didn’t answer calls Friday.

The mayor’s office and Martinez have clashed on financial issues. Johnson wants the school district to take out a short-term loan to pay for costs related to a new Chicago Teachers Union contract, which is still being negotiated, and to pay a part of the city’s contribution to the municipal pension fund. City Hall had historically made that payment until former Mayor Lori Lightfoot shifted the cost to CPS because more than half of the fund’s members are school district employees.

Martinez has refused to take out a loan, saying it was fiscally irresponsible, and the board, at least initially, had sided with the CEO. Martinez didn’t include the pension payment in CPS’ budget — a shocking rebuke of the mayor.

But the senior aide said the majority of board members now agree with the mayor that the school district should take out the loan.

MR. MARTINEZ, BEING ONE OF THE FEW BRIGHT SPOTS AT THE CHICAGO SCHOOLS, SHOULD NOT RESIGN AND INSTEAD SHOULD DEMAND THAT BRANDON JOHNSON RESIGN AS MAYOR.