001President Harden, before you begin today's meeting, I would like to read a few announcements. Good afternoon. Welcome to the August 28th, 2025 board meeting. Before we start the meeting, I'd like to share a few safety points and next meeting announcements. Please note that the primary exit and entrance to the boardroom is the door which you use to enter this afternoon. If you're leaving the room, please use this door. The restrooms are outside of the boardrooms to your left. During the meeting, we ask that you keep all aisles and exits clear. If you need any assistance during the meeting, please wave the attention of one of our security officers. Please mark your calendars for the upcoming meetings. The next ARC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, September 10th, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. The next board meeting is
002scheduled for Thursday, September 25th, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. Both meetings will be held at 42 West Madison Street Garden level boardroom. For details on how to register to speak or observe at the meetings and to learn about the speaker lottery process, please visit the Chicago Board of Education website, cpsb.org. If you have any questions about registration or public participation, please contact the board office for our assistance. Thank you for joining us today. President Harden, we are now ready for you to begin the meeting. >> Good afternoon everyone. >> Welcome to the Chicago Board of Education meeting. Today is August 28th, 2025. We are holding today's board meeting in the boardroom at CPS Loop Office, 42 West Madison Street, Garden Level. I'd like to note that the board members and senior leadership are physically present in
003the boardroom. Register speakers may join us in person or virtually if they've opted to do so. I'm President Sean B. Hard and on behalf of my fellow board members, thank you for joining us today. The regular meeting of Thursday, August 28, 2025 is hereby called to order. Board secretary, please call the role. Member Lozano present. >> Member Smith >> here. >> Member Lopez >> present. >> Member Veles >> here. >> Can you turn your mic on >> here? >> Thank you. Member Bole >> here. >> Member Wallace >> present. >> Member Kuster >> present. >> Member Pope >> here. >> Member Rosenfeld >> present. >> Member Rivas >> present. >> Member Rio Sierra >> present. Member Brown, >> present. >> Member Bannon, >> present. >> Vice President Bautista, >> present. >> Member Gutierrez, >> present.
004>> Member Biggs, >> present. >> Member Thorakura, >> present. >> Member Blae, >> present. >> Member Zachor, >> here. >> President Harden, >> here. >> We have 20 members present. We do have a quorum. I'd like also like to recognize Dr. Maline King, interim superintendent, chief executive officer. Elizabeth Barton, acting general counsel, and Charles Mayfield, chief operating officer. >> Mr. President, I have a motion to suspend the rules and move the debate vote on agenda item RS1 up to the first agenda item immediately following public comment to create more transparency so those in attendance have the benefit of listening to the debate. I second the motion to suspend the rules to move RS1 to the first item on the agenda following public comment. >> I motion to call the question >> and I second that
005motion. >> Call the role. >> Who who seconded the motion to um move the agenda item O? >> Theres. Thank you. Go ahead. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Member Lozano. >> I. Member Smith. >> I. >> Member Lopez. >> I. >> Member. >> I. >> Um, memberz has to um I'm sorry, has to be sworn in first. Member Bole. >> Hi. >> Member Wallace. >> Hi. >> Member Kuster. >> I. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rivas. >> Yes. >> Member Rio Sierra. >> Nay. >> Member Brown. >> No. >> Member Bannon. >> No. >> Vice President Bautista. >> No. >> Member Gutierrez. >> Yes. That was a yes for the court reporter. Member Biggs, >> yes. >> Member Thorakura, >> no. >> Member Blae, >> no.
006>> Member Zachor, >> no. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. Member Deberry, can you repeat what we're voting on? voting. The motion on the floor is to move the vote for RS1, the resolution for the FY26 budget to occur after public participation. >> Yes or no? >> Yes. And I do want to note for the record that member Deberry joined the meeting at approximately 3:27 p.m. 12 eyes's seven nays. This motion is adopted. Okay, we'll now proceed with the order of the meeting. It will be as follows. Oath of office for a new board member. Interim superintendent remarks. Committee updates. Public participation will recess reconvene from recess. It'll be the FY2026 budget presentation, discussion of public agenda items, vote on public agenda items, and then eventually we'll adjourn. >> Board members, we will
007begin today's meeting with the oath of office. I'll read the sections and pause for Dr. VeZ to recite. I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office member of the board of education of the city of Chicago in accordance with the constitution of the United States, the constit constitution of the state of Illinois and all applicable federal and state laws to the best of my ability. I do I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of the member of the board of education of the city of Chicago in accordance with the constitution of the United States the constitution of the state of Illinois and all applicable federal and state laws to the best of my ability. >> Dr. Vez, can you state your name
008at that first part? I and then your name. I, Angel. >> Thank you. I f further swear that I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets. I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the board while respect respecting the privacy of students and employees. I shall recognize that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a vote at a public board meeting. I further swear that I shall respect taxpayer interest by serving as a faithful protector of the school district's assets. I shall encourage and respect the free expression of opinion by my fellow board members and others who seek a hearing before the
009board while respecting the privacy of students and employees. I shall recognize that a that a board member has no legal authority as an individual and that decisions can be made only by a vote at a public board meeting. I shall abide by the decisions of the board while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels. I shall abide by the board of education operating procedures procedures manual and board rules and policies. I shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriy which could result from my position and will not use my board membership for personal gain or publicity. I shall foster with the board extensive participation of the community, formulate goals, define outcomes and set the course for Chicago public schools. >> I shall abide by the
010decision of the board while retaining the right to seek changes in such decisions through ethical and constructive channels. I shall abide by the board of education operating procedures manual and board rules and policies. I shall avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriy which could result from my position and will not use my board membership for personal gain or publicity. I shall foster with the board extensive participation of the community, formulate goals, define outcomes, and set the course for Chicago public schools. I shall assist in establishing a structure and an environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework. I shall strive to ensure continuous assessment of student achievement and con and all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance with
011state law. I shall serve as a key advocate on behalf of students in our community schools to advance the vision for Chicago public schools and I shall strive to work together with the chief executive officer to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision of the board has created fostering excellence for every student in the areas of student learning and well-being as well as healthy, safe, engaging and academically challenging school experiences that prepare each student for college, career and civic life. A shall assist in establishing a structure and an environment designed to ensure all students have the opportunity to attain their maximum potential through a sound organizational framework. I shall strive to ensure a continuous assessment of student achievement and all conditions affecting the education of our children in compliance with state law. I shall
012serve as a key advocate on behalf of students and our community school to advance the vision for Chicago public schools. and I shall strive to work together with the chief executive officer to lead the school district toward fulfilling the vision the board has created, fostering excellence for every student in the areas of student learning and well-being, as well as healthy, safe, engaging, and academically challenging school experiences that prepare each student for college, career, and civic life. >> Thank you. Welcome, doctor. We're excited to have you. Want to invite you to uh offer a few remarks. Let's keep them short, though. >> Thank you, President. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Dr. Angel Veles and I'm honored to be appointed to the Chicago Board of Education. As a proud alum of Clemente High School located in
013Humble Park and the parent of a current CPS student, I'm deeply invested in the success of all of our schools. I want to also thank my amazing wife for supporting me to do this. She knows that I am never afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble. necessary trouble. In the words of late civil rights leader John Lewis, along with my personal experiences in CPS, I also bring professional experiences and a strong academic background. I hold a PhD in education policy from the University of Illinois. To this role, I bring over 10 years go Ali. To this role, I bring over 10 years of experience in education research and policy analysis. I have taught over 600 college students, some of whose brothers is here. Um, including teaching graphic courses on research methods and
014design. Does I bring a unique uh lens to this role. I have also published dozens of articles. Uh, you can Google me as well. Um, I'm I'm committed to working along families, educators, and the community to ensure every student in every school and neighborhood has access to a rigorous, joyful, and equitable education. Thank you for the opportunity to serve. Board members, invite you to have any comments and I thank you in advance for your brevity. Andrew, I'd like to welcome you to the board of education. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Andrew, I would like to welcome you to the board of education. I'm sorry that you are beginning your board service under such conditions. I assume you're familiar with the Illinois school code and section 32-43, specifically lines 3 through 20 that state whenever
015there is a vacancy in the office of an appointed member of the board, the mayor shall appoint a successor who has the same qualifications as the member's predecessors to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. We expect that these qualifications should extend to the inclusion of training and briefings on matters before the board. Please describe the board training that you have received up to this point. Thank you so much and I was ready for this question. Um I bring um a set of uh experiences that have lend me the hand of being an expert in this room. I bring 10 years of following this work for a very long time. Not only as a resident here in Chicago, having a school in Chicago public schools, but understanding the policy side of it
016through our research and academic lens. I've been in a lot of conversations about this work, but I've also did the mandatory training uh that many of you got when you got to this board. So yes, I'm well acquainted also. I did my research before coming here as a researcher that I am and I went through all the documents um CPS board meetings, ARC, budgetary hearings. So yes, I've done my due diligence. I've gotten the training uh to execute my duties and I also bring my research lens to this work and I'm very capable of doing this work. Uh, and yes, uh, I hope that I answered your question. >> Member Biggs. >> Thank you, Angel. Welcome to the board. Um, I just wondered how many board of education meetings have you watched? Have you had
017a chance to watch the budget hearings? >> Yes, I did watch the budget hearings. Uh, I think they were like six hours a piece. So, I spent a lot of times about after I put my kid to sleep uh to uh be ready for this uh for this meeting today. >> Angel, uh you just took uh an oath that you shall respect taxpayer interest by serving as a faithful protector of district assets. Uh you may have taken some of those trainings, but you have not received the briefings that only board members receive. And because you have not uh received those briefings, uh I would expect that you would abstain from a vote on this budget. >> I would prefer to be addressed as Dr. Valz. >> Dr. Valz, thank you. >> And I'm not being
018adversarial, but uh the question is you haven't received the briefings that we've received on this budget and so you just took an oath to respect taxpayer interest and I would expect that you would abstain on this vote. Dr. Thank you for coming, doctor. >> So, first off, let me let me let me reset what's getting ready to happen here. So, we're not going to use this moment to put Dr. Valz on trial, right? And so, that's not the spirit by which we are inviting a new board member. So, we we can continue with comments with all due respect, Mr. president, a board member was appointed to take a and I'm just trying to have understanding about the the new board members understanding on the uh criticalness of the vote that they were appointed to take.
019Just trying to get understanding. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, first off, your inquiries are not going to drive this meeting. That's number one. All right. So, he's not obligated to respond to these inquiries at this at this time. We're going to continue with the proceedings. If you have a >> The public has a right to know it. >> It doesn't detract away from how we're going to govern this meeting though. Okay. So, to be clear, board member, throw the core, please. >> Dr. Villis, welcome. Welcome. We are so proud to welcome you here today as our colleague even though it's um you know, difficult circumstances. Uh first of all, go Ali. Um go Ali. And we are so proud, you know, honestly, I am so proud to be joined by a board member with so
020much experience in the education field. Um, and I I think other board members do know this, but budget matters are something that we can't discuss in private. Um, all the information that we have been presented to in private in groups of less than five is exact same as what's been presented in public because the public has the right to know. So the information that you all have received at budget hearings that's in the published budget book is the same no different than all of the information that we have and that Dr. has clearly studied. So thank you so much Dr. for um you know taking upon the call to serve and thank you for joining us on the board. >> Member Paul. >> Yes. Uh, member thou said a lot of what I wanted to
021say, so I will merely say welcome and thank you for joining us. >> Thank you, member Brown. Dr. Valz, just want to welcome you to the board of education. Got a lot of love for Humble Park. So, welcome. Um, and you know, apologize for the theatrics that you have to walk into. Um, but I will but yet yes, sir. But, um, just welcome to the board and and look forward to working with you. member. I just want to say welcome and you know it's a blessing to have you here. >> Member Lopez. >> Thank you, President. Also, I just want to say welcome. Looking forward to being fem and bringing in another Latino to the board so we can work on numbers of items together. I also will ask my fellow board members for us
022to remember that we're setting the foundation of what the future has to lay for this board, especially once it becomes a fully elected board. So, let's remember that we're setting a strong foundation and that we don't want to lose the trust of the people. Thank you. >> Well, interim superintendent Dr. King, we're ready for your remarks. >> Thank you, Mr. President. Good evening everyone. I want to begin today by acknowledging the senseless act of violence that took the lives of two children at Annunciation Elementary School in Minneapolis yesterday. Just like our CPS students, they are precious. These children had just started their school year and what should have been a time of joy and excitement turned tragic in a matter of minutes. Every child deserves to feel safe at school and this community has been
023robbed of that assurance. Our thoughts are with the families of the children who lost their lives along with those who were injured and the entire enunciation community whose lives have been changed forever. It is a reminder to all of us about the sacred responsibility that we all hold to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and families. Especially given these tragic circumstances, I feel very fortunate that our school year is off to a strong start. And I want to thank all of the educators, the staff members, the community- based organiz organ organizations, parents, and students who've worked hard together to make that happen. And I want to acknowledge all of the board members that visited schools to also um launch the students off into a wonderful year of learning. The faces of our pre-K students
024were especially priceless as I visited schools as they stepped into their classrooms for the very first time. And remember, these are the babies that were born in 2020. So, this is a special milestone for us. to some of the sleepy there were sleepy inquisitive faces of fifth graders as they piled through the line of all of the electeds and the CPS leadership and parent organizers that were there gawking at them as they walked through really quite unimpressed with us so early on a Monday morning. But I saw enthusiasm from some of our older kids too. um including on my visit to Austin High School as they launch their inaugural inaugural year as a sustainable community school. Students there will receive vital wraparound services that are helping them succeed in and beyond the classroom. There was
025also a lively chatter of counselors that I remember planning for their students while in the next room as I visited, the students were lifting up the care and compassion of those very same staff members that make them feel so at home. I'm glad to report that we've started the year with a teacher vacancy rate of 2.46%. I think that deserves a round of applause. That means more instructional time. This is half of the vacancy rate. This is half of what the vacancy rate was when schools opened three years ago. In addition, 52% of our district new teachers identify as black or Latinx, up from 49% last year and just 33% back in 2018. Simply put, yes. >> Yes. Simply put, more highly qualified educators who reflect our district's rich diversity are now in front of
026the students who need them. This is the best possible way to start a school year that is rooted in a rigorous, joyful, and equitable learning experience for all students. With the school year now underway, I must clarify, and if you haven't seen the wonderful picture of me biting into a p a hot slice of pizza, all students have hot lunches. Hot meals are available to all of our students at Chicago public schools. There is some misinformation that hot lunches were discontinued. That is not true and we just wanted to correct the record. One change has been made and it's in our afterchool programs. Students are now being provided with snacks. But during the day, hot lunches continue to be available to every CPS student every day. The same importance lies with keeping our students safe
027and supported in school. As many in our CPS community have likely heard, the president has suggested that members of the National Guard could soon be deployed to Chicago. We are in communication with city officials and we are in talks with our labor partners to ensure that we're all keeping our students safe. We don't know when or even if this will happen, but I want our school communities to know that CPS is prepared. I know that anxiety among many families has been high since the new administration took office. So, the possibility of an even greater federal presence in our city has been making this tension that much worse. I'm truly sorry for the stress that this news may be causing, especially at this time. The start of the school year should be about learning and discovery,
028not fear and intimidation. I know there's a lot of fear out there, but I hope our families will trust me when I say that the best and safest place for our children is still at school. CPS has strong protocols in place to protect our students and staff. These protocols apply to interactions with all federal representatives, including including federal immigration agents and National Guard, except in the rarest of circumstances. CPS will not share student information with any federal agent, and no federal agent will be allowed access to our schools. But I know that the worry our families feel does not stop at the school doors. This is especially true for our families of color because we know from deployment in Los Angeles and Washington DC. The National Guard troops tend to congregate in black and brown
029neighborhoods. To help make sure students stay safe when they are beyond our care, CPS sent a letter to all families earlier today with resources for managing unsettling situations. This included information for immigrant families as well as a reminder of the constitutional rights afforded to all of us to all of us should we encounter federal agents. The these public safety issues are primarily responsibility of our city and the state of Illinois and CPS will follow and lead the lead on these e we will lead on these as experts um as these situations unfold. My apologies for that. But I wanted our families to hear directly from the district that we understand their concerns and that their children will remain safe, supported, and loved every day that they are in our schools. I'd also like to provide
030an update on transportation. I know I know I ne I know that the um for the first two weeks of the school year transportation can tend to be challenging, but CPS remains fully committed to providing and as many eligible students as possible with bus service, including all of our special education students and our students facing homelessness. To date, our student transportation team has successfully placed more than 10,800 students on bus routes. Last year at this time, the number was closer to 9,000. We are working around the clock to get all eligible children who have requested transportation on a bus route as quickly as possible. From the day an eligible family request transportation, our goal is to have that student placed on a bus route within 10 school days. We thank our families for your patience
031and promise to keep you updated on our progress. I also want to remind families that we are able to successfully expand service with no extra cost by adjusting bail times at some schools. We will continue to look at adjusting bail times as a structural cost-effective solution to save money now and in future budgets. I'd also like to highlight the landmark the landmark Chicago connected program has been extended for the duration of the 2526 school year. This program has been providing free high-speed internet to thousands of CPS families since 2020, successfully narrowing the digital divide that disproportionately impacts low-income students. Chicago Connected was set to expire this past summer, but thanks to funding from the city of Chicago, it will be extended for all families currently enrolled in the program through the duration of this school
032year. In addition, the city of Chicago is allocating funds to continue providing cellular service for up to 1,200 smartphones. These phones are provided to students who are facing homelessness and who are considered unaccompanied youth because they are living without parents or guardians. These students are among the city's most at risk youth. So, these smartphones are a vital source of communication and internet access. I want to clarify that this is an extension of these programs, not an expansion. Families who have received these services in the past will automatically be renewed, but no new participants will be added. We thank our city partners for supporting CPS and improving equity across all aspects of the student experience, including digital learning. Finally, today I want to provide that there will be there will be an overview of the FY26
033budget that is being presented to the board for approval today. When I took on the role as interim CEO, I had two major priorities. To successfully open schools and pass a balanced budget that would put the needs of our students first. With support from our educators, leaders, and families, the first goal has been accomplished. schools are open now. It's time to pass a balanced budget that protects school funding and the supports and empowers all CPS students. I know that arriving at this balanced budget proposal today has been a long and difficult journey for many. From our finance team to those who have been working on weekends, holidays, sacrificing time with loved ones, taking calls for me to address the budget deficit. To our central office departments who are digging deeper and figuring out how to
034maintain core district functions with fewer resources. To our school leaders and inschool staff who still see the downstream impact of these reductions even though we have not cut direct school funding. To our families who want to know above all else that we are aligning our resources to give our children an excellent public education. I want to thank you. Thank many of the students and parents and educators, school leaders who completed our budget survey or participated in one of our community feedback sessions in July. I want you to know that we heard you and that the thoughts and perspectives you share are reflected in the budget and the values of this board. Finally, I I've received the question about what will happen if the school if the board does not pass a balanced budget. That has
035never happened and I believe and trust that the board members today will pass a balanced budget tonight. Board members, I know that you have been hearing a lot from people on this. Trust me when I say I've been hearing it, too. And throughout this process, I've been trying to block out the noise to stay focused on what really matters, and that's the student experience. It's that experience of 12 years as a teacher of 15 as a principal that I ask myself, I lean into what is best for children. And that's where I find my answer. At the heart of this decision is a shared commitment to our students. It's about coming together to do what's right for their future. Passing a budget means protecting our schools from further cuts and unlocking the opportunity to focus
036fully on enhancing the quality of education throughout our city. Let's move forward with purpose and put our students first. This does not mean that we will relent in our efforts to get full funding that our students deserve, especially at the state level where CPS is only funded at 73% adequacy. The work will continue in earnest and we will need our families, our students, our staff, our partners to stand up and make our voices heard. I'm looking forward to personally going down to Springfield to make our case and to work with state officials on additional support for CPS. But for today, we have an opportunity to pass a budget. I am proud to stand behind this budget and I strongly urge our board of education to consider all aspects on the table to ensure we're able
037to provide a high quality education to all of our students. Mr. President, this conclude concludes my prepared remarks. President Harden, we will have Dr. King's statement translated into Spanish. It is an abbreviated version and the a full version can be sent to anybody who's interested in receiving that. Hello. Yes, thank you. Um Annunciation Minneapolis. Annunciation. Person Austin. Wrap around. Latinosto. Elemento. program. Gracias. circumstanc person, parent university organization. National Immigrant Justice Center, Immigration Transport. Experatism familiar. Gracias. Continues. Valencion. asex. Anyway, Director. Fore speech. Fore field. Thank you, President Harden. Before you uh move on, I do want to interject that MO4 the motion, let me read, I'm sorry, the motion that was um moved by board member Rivas to suspend the rules and move to debate and vote on agenda item RS1 to the first agenda
038item immediately following public comment to create a more transparency so that those in attendance have the benefit of listening to the debate. Board member Bole seconded the motion. The vote was taken. The vote um needed to adopt is actually 23 of the majority of membership and the vote was 12 eyes, seven nazs. The motion to reconsider moving the item up is actually failed of adoption. Thank you. >> Thank you, Susan, for the clarification. Um, before we continue though, I I do want to acknowledge I think uh Dr. Vez, I want to offer an apology. Uh, that just didn't sit right how we started this proceedings. Um, I've not had to address the board before because we've not had an issue with the quorum or respecting each other as a as a body. And so I
039hope just as we go through with these proceedings, we are reminded that each of us have come here to serve and we should treat each other with respect and operate with the quorum. So with that, we'll move on. There are no committee updates this month and we'll now proceed with public participation. Thank you for joining to share your comments with the board in compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act. Public participation, sometimes referred to as public comment, is the portion of the board meeting or hearing that grants district stakeholders the opportunity to address the board with their concerns and comments. Note that poll participation is a time for the board and CPS senior leadership to listen and hear from you rather than a time for dialogue with board members during or after your remarks. While
040we can't discuss personnel matters, public participation is a key component of transparent governance and provides us as board members as well as senior leadership an opportunity to listen to everyone who has signed to speak. This board takes equity of voice seriously. While we may not address your comments directly during poll participation, CPS leadership is always present at our meetings and are able to address concerns as follow-ups after the meeting. As a district and as a board, we also have many other spaces for authentic dialogue. For example, each and every one of our board members host board office hours so we can have a conversation. Please use our website cpsbboe.org if you want to meet with the board member during office hours. We encourage you to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with board members
041outside of a board meeting. Thank you for your attention and consideration. And as a reminder, union representatives will be allowed at 5 minutes to speak before public participation and any elected officials will be allowed at 5 minutes to speak after the conclusion of public participation. Board Secretary, please share the rules of public participation. >> Thank you, President Harden. Members of the public who registered to speak were given the option to attend in person or via an electronic format. For those who prefer to attend via an electronic format, they were given information to access this meeting by dialing a number and using their phone. We did this so that speakers with limited or no access to the internet or who who may who who may have weak internet connection could still participate using their phones. Also,
042members of the public who may submit members of the public may submit written comments for board of education meetings via the written comments form on the board's website at cpsboe.org or mailed to 42 West Madison Street Garden level. Written comments received between the day the public agenda was posted through 5:00 p.m. the day after the board of education meeting will be submitted to the board and published within five business days on our website CP on at cpsb.org. Speakers, please listen while I provide directions for public participation. I will call your name and number when it is your turn to speak. For speakers joining us virtually, as a reminder to unmute, please enter star six. Once you hear your name, please state your name for the record. I will then start the two-minute timer. When there
043are 30 seconds remaining, I will inform you so that you can proceed to conclude your remarks to allow for the next speaker to begin. For anyone standing with the speaker, note that in order to comply with the city's fire code, please stand along the glass partitions on the marked spots to keep the aisles clear. Thank you. And President Harden, before we begin uh calling speakers from the speakers list, we do have union reps who would like to address the board. We'll begin with Stacy Davis Gates C. >> I have a point of order. >> Actually, I have a point of order. Um, my understanding with the Robert's rules is that a twothirds vote is required only after the adoption of the meeting and we voted to move that before we adopted the actual procedures of
044how we were going to have the meeting. We did it right after the roll. If the parliamentarian could check that, that would be great. >> Happy to. Board member Kuster. We're checking on when that motion was made. Thank you. Let's proceed with public participation while that is being verified. >> Thank you, President Harden. Um I want to first say congratulations and welcome to Dr. Angel um Valz Clemente Wildcat. Um a Clemente Wildcat when I was a teacher at Clemente. Um, you make us proud. You make us very proud. And welcome to the Chicago Board of Education, sir. Um, I'll just get to it. The budget that you're voting on bakes in cuts. And it doesn't just bake in the cuts for this year. It continues to bake in the cuts from years previous to this
045year. Because the fact of the matter is is that the Chicago public schools has a structural deficit because the Chicago public schools doesn't receive the funding from the state of Illinois, our governor, and our general assembly at the rate that it is statutoily required to receive. Those are facts and those are facts that have been on record for years. In fact, the state just released numbers that say that the Chicago public schools is owed $1.6 billion dollars. So, the tension in this room, the intensity that we are all feeling in this moment is attributable to a bill that hasn't been paid in ages. It is also attributable to um our system believing that everyone else is responsible. All summer, community groups put together back to school events. Mothers took on second jobs. They even to
046go to payday loans to make sure that their young people get what they need. teachers, teachers who didn't receive their retro pay trying to still figure out what it is. They go into their household income and they make ends meet in their school building. They do it all the time. Debbie Pope knows that because she did it. Jenny Kuster did it. Um Karen Zakur does it did it. Her daughter now does it. These are things that happen and your system of budgeting is predicated on our pocketbooks. The community's pocketbook, famil family's pocketbooks, and the school workers, administrators, all the way down to security guards, their pocketbooks as well. So, no one can pat theirelves themselves on the back about a balanced budget because what a balanced budget means is that you will have fewer custodians
047in the school community. What a balanced budget means today is that you will have fewer special education services, which means that young people won't get their legally required minutes. So as people go back and forth about a loan, a loan which by the way is far smaller than the $3 billion that Forest Clayool took out and then proceeded to dismantle special education, close schools, fire teachers, and furlow workers in our recent history. That's in the bill that you are baking in right now. That's what you're left with. And so right now the back and forth to me seems very small because I know that tomorrow when school opens whatever you don't do or what you do won't make a difference because my members are going to do. Every worker in that building is going to
048do. Every mother, every father, every grandmother, every aunt, every uncle, every neighbor, every community group, they're going to do So, what do you do? What options do you leave open in the age of Trump? While I appreciate you, Dr. King, for saying that you sent out a communication to our families, my members are afraid of what happens when an occupying force descends on our city. They are afraid of how that impacts the attendance of students in our school communities. They're afraid of what it feels like for black children who travel the f far farthest in this city from home to school because Rahm Emanuel closed 50 schools. They're afraid of what that feels like for them. And especially Thank you. We should be especially attentive to that considering that this budget bakes in all of
049the transportation cuts that we're experiencing. At some point, we have to call it for what it is. It's a lack of political will. It's a lack of courage. It's a lack of wanting to feel uncomfortable. But let me tell you who feels uncomfortable every day. The black student on the southside at Nicholson Elementary School that doesn't have a home and needs. And this board is saying the budget is balanced, but in his school community, it isn't balanced, but the gaps are closed by workers. Those are the facts that we're dealing with right now. And this hot potato, >> please conclude your remarks >> of our pensions. God bless us. God bless us. Listen, let me make this clear. The state has to pay its fair share and you all have to protect our children and
050right now this budget doesn't feel protective. Thank you for your comments. The next union rep is Jen Conan, CTU charter division chair. Good afternoon. I'm Jen Conan, chair of CTU's charter division and an educator from CICS Northtown. I want to start today by acknowledging that you all have another big vote and tough decision to make today. You've already taken several tough and important votes as a board and I'm confident that you will do what is best for our students and your vote today. I also want to name that the budget before you today is being called a no cuts budget when there are actually cuts built in. It's important to call a spade a spade. You'll hear from educators in CPS today about how cuts are showing up in their school communities. Safe passage workers
051have been eliminated or reduced. And the cuts to safe passage in our neighborhoods coming at a time when our own federal government is attacking our city, our students, and our communities is terrible. We should be doing the opposite and increasing safe passage workers in all our communities, including charter communities, and demand that Springfield fund these protections for our families. Pair professionals are also being cut at schools. Special education funding has been reduced. These are real cuts that have already happened and more may be coming if you do not pass a budget that provides the option to provide more for our schools. It's also important for you to know that the cuts in this budget not only affect district schools, but also our charter and contract school communities. For example, some schools no longer have hot
052lunch. At Association Association House High School, an alternative high school, students got a box lunch with celery sticks and a cup of peanut butter on their first day back at school. What a welcome back. And this is due to cuts from CPS. And at Asero, the director of special education has communicated to the case managers at those schools that we're slashing minutes across the board. Not because we have fewer students with IEPs, nor because our students need fewer minutes in their IEPs, but because there is not enough money. She claims staff need to change IEP minutes regardless of what the IEP team recommends. This is against the law and not in the best interest of our students. We cannot serve our most vulnerable student population with crumbs. Schools are already eliminating SECAS, refusing to purchase
053necessary safety and medical devices, and demanding our case managers and teachers rewrite IEPs. At Aero, case managers were also told that there is no money to buy wheelchairs necessary for a safe exit plan for a new student with mobility constraints. So, in the event of a fire, we cannot exit this student safely from an upper floor because there is apparently no money. How is that possible? Our job as educators is to protect and defend our students, their rights to a free public education, and we need you all to hold that oath as well. Passing a budget that does not give us any room to move if we need additional funding is detrimental. Passing a budget that allows for more cuts than we are already facing and does not address the cuts we are currently seeing
054will hurt our students, our staff, and our schools. Thank you for the work you're doing. Thank you for your comments. The next union rep is Kia Banks, CPA president. Good evening, CEO King, President Harden. Welcome to you, Dr. VeZ, to each of our esteemed board members, our brothers and sisters in labor, and everyone here today. I stand here today beside our immediate past president, my colleagues in celebration and excitement. I have to acknowledge that the heaviness in this room will not undermine that there was today is a truly historic day. For the first time, Chicago's principles and assistant principles have ratified anou that gives us a permanent and binding seat at the table where these discussions will be held. And I'd like to acknowledge and congratulate my colleagues here for that achievement. Today marks a
055turning point for every child in Chicago public schools. It is for the first time that Chicago's principles and assistant principles, the school leaders who create safe, nurturing, high achieving envi environments finally have a voice. This milestone is the result of years of hard work. hard work by our school leaders and collaboration with our district and this very school board. We made this moment possible. This moment now places Chicago alongside other major cities in this country where frontline leaders play a key role in shaping the education our students deserve. With the passage of a new memorandum of understanding, we can bring the most critical issues, school safety, teacher supports, classroom resources directly to the table and not as an afterthought. This means that your child's needs are not only being heard, but they are being championed
056by the very people who know their schools the best. One of our most pressing concerns today is this budget. As school leaders, we know firsthand how difficult it is to create a fair and effective budget. That is never easy. Every year, we take the budget that is given to us and do more with less. We recognize that the individuals here today making these tough decisions, you're not responsible for the financial mishaps of the past. However, everyone here today should have one common goal, and that is to find real lasting solutions for our children. Right now, as an organization, CPAA stands, excuse me, understands that this proposed budget may not be perfect, but it is the framework that we were given and that we have to work with. And we believe that this budget, it should
057only move forward if the projected revenue matches the outlined expectations because our children deserve a plan that is both realistic and responsible. Changing the course midyear after all of the planning and preparation our school leaders and teachers have done would not only disrupt the integrity of instruction, conducive environments, school plans, but it jeopardizes the very success of each and every student. A school's education plan begins on day one. Enforcing major shifts due to outside budget pressures only makes it impossible for our students to achieve the very best outcomes. So yet again, I stand here extending the the hand of partnership that when you are making these crucial decisions, we stand here to remind you of the lived experiences and the daily realities of our children who are going to be the very persons and students
058who suffer the most from the impact of your decisions today. In closing, I want everyone 30 seconds remaining to know that the people closest to your child's learning experience are prepared to stand up, speak out, and fight for the future every child in this district deserves. I hope you take that into consideration as you make your decisions today. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Up next, we have Greg Kelly, SEIU, Illinois State Council President, who is here in person. Good afternoon to this board. My name is Greg Kelly and I serve as uh president of the SEIU State Council. uh made up of 150,000 workers throughout the state of Illinois uh including workers uh who CPS and our members of local one and local 73. I am here today as president of the
059state council to urge this board uh to accept the proposed budget that Dr. King has offered. Um, we know that these are difficult times, but it's our view that given the layoffs that have already taken place and the future of the system that it's important that we adopt this budget. As a parent of a CPS student, a longtime uh parent of CPS students, I know and understand the importance of having a solvent system. Uh my daughter, who I'm incredibly proud of, really knows the impact of these cuts that have already taken place that have impacted members of local one and local 73. Those schools are struggling in terms of trying to stay clean. And we believe uh that the risky effort uh to take out a loan would have a long-term damaging impact on the
060system and would impact uh even more uh the situation at the school uh for my daughter. So it is the position of the SEIU Illinois State Council uh that Dr. King's proposed budget is taken seriously by this board and ultimately approved. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next union rep is Diane Palmer, SEIU Local 73 president, who is here in person. Good afternoon. I'm Diane Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73. And good afternoon to intim CEO Dr. King to you President Harden and members of the board and a special welcome to you Dr. VeZ. As a union president of over 13,000 Chicago public school support staff, we worked hard to pass the legislation establishing an elected school board in Chicago. We believe that the people of Chicago deserved a voice in the school
061board representation and next year's election will ensure full representation. Until that time, each and every one of you, whether appointed or elected, have been entrusted with ensuring the children of Chicago receive the quality education they deserve. Yet, education is directly impacted by the services our members provide. And we have already begun the school year with cuts to staffing among special education, classroom assistants, frosting guards, and custodians. Today, you have the responsibility of passing a budget which will ensure the services on which our students depend will not be diminished. Many of you have been urged to reject Dr. King's balanced budget and seek a risky high highinterest loan. I can attest that our members have already felt the impact of such loans through wage freezes, furlow days, and classroom cuts. Taking another loan is not the
062answer. Our union has knocked on hundreds of doors in your districts and found voters and found no voters who think alone is a wise decision. Dr. King's balanced budget is the way forward. Each of you received a letter from 30 city council members recommending you approve Dr. King's balance budget and include a just transition for the 1,200 Local One janitors who have been abruptly laid off. The proposed transition will force longtime custodians, many of whom have proudly served CPS students for many years, serving their staff, families, and others. To restart their careers from scratch will be devastating. These dedicated workers will be treated as a brand new probationary hire, facing wage cuts and loss of seniority. We need to ensure that those hired in-house keep their current wage rate. Those same 30 people also support
063using tiff surplus to help balance both the city and CPS budget. All of us are calling on you to support Dr. King's balanced budget without a risky highinterest loan and finding the revenue to keep the 1,200 custodians. We remain committed to working closely with you, the mayor and the legislature, to secure sustainable funding for Chicago's children without compromising our members livelihoods. Together, we can uphold our shared responsibility to advance the future of public education in our city. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next union rep is Gregory King, SEIU Local One Vice President, who is here in person. Good afternoon, Mr. President, Miss CEO, Dr. Ken, board. Uh, my name is Greg King. I come to you today. I am the vice president and institutional director of SEIU Local One. We represent
0641,200 custodian workers who worked at CPS schools. CPS decided to balance the budget off the back of our work working black and brown um kid people. Local one custodians dedicated decades of their lives to keep Chicago public schools safe and clean. The Chicago the schools that were understaffed and kept clean keeping clean was a challenge. And then you decide to remove hundreds of custodians again. And last year it was 300. Now this year it's 500. There's 800 custodians lesser that's in the schools. Now just imagine if it's your kids, your grandkids that's in them schools. You already know how it's going to be and how filthy it's going to be. And now you are forcing SEIU 73 to work even more harder with lesser people. With that being said, that is unrealistic and dangerous because
065now you even got people in there by theelves cleaning the schools. The reason why I say even more dangerous because we just had a member pass away in the school. Luckily, luckily an engineer was walking past and found them and he passed away this year at Jameson Elementary. I push that this board really think about the kids. We say we for the kids. Really think about the kids. Right. We urge you pass this pass a budget that includes a just transition for the custodians that were just displaced. Local one has clearly laid out the demands to Chicago public schools. You need to retain all 1,200 custodians. We need to make sure all the custodians get the first rights of refusal and make sure they keep their seniority in this transition. We want to make sure
066that all benefits are kept, seniority and pay. SEIU Local One want to make sure that this is a demand that we must go by to make sure that they families is not in jeopardy. Cuz now you're going to have some people in an unemployment line and it's not going to make it. people have bought houses with this with this job. So, we just want to make sure that you are honestly thinking about the kids and these workers. Now, what who you going to have to grab the go garbage now? You going to have the teachers and the principles to do it when they is sitting there worried about the kids? They not going to want to do it. So we urge you all to make sure you think about that to hire all 1,200. Thank
067you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next union rep is Ramon Williams from the Teamsters Local 70 Local 700 President. Good afternoon, President Harden CBS Ford. My name is Ramon Williams. I am the president and principal officer of Teamsters Local 700, representing over 10,000 municipal workers across the state of Illinois, including the motor truck drivers and foreman here at CPS. I'm addressing this board today concerning 46 drivers and helpers that work at CPS contractor Open Kitchens, some of whom stand with me today. These workers deliver food to many CPS schools, playing a critical role in ensuring that our students are wellnourished so they could perform all their potential duties successful in all the school activities. These hardworking drivers and helpers have been organizing with my sister affiliate teams with local 703. On July 23rd,
068nearly every member of this board signed a letter that was sent to CBS contractor Open Kitchens regarding an upcoming union election. In that letter, you raised concerns about alleged illegal conduct committed by Open Kitchens. This conduct included the termination of union supporters, illegal threats, and promises. This letter in part read, "The undersigned board members will be keeping a close eye on this election. Chicago Public School prefers to contact contract with responsible biders who treat their workers with dignity and respect. I am happy to report that despite the illegal of open kitchens, the vocals voted the workers voted in favor of forming their union with Teamsters Local 703. Open Kitchens has refused to accept the results of this election. They continue to intentionally interfere and circumvent this election process by filing frivolous objections to the election
069results, knowing full well that under the current NLRB, it will delay the certification of this election for months, if not longer. The objections to the election include an allegation that the letter signed on by almost every member of this board was, I quote, intended to intimidate employees. I asked the board to please take note that a contractor of CPS is accusing most of the members of this board of engaging in intimidation of workers by signing on to a letter that raised concern over the contractor's illegal conduct during an election. This is a serious charge made against most of you, one that must be immediately addressed with this contractor. Further, since the election, open kitchens have continued to violate the law. Open kitchens have laid off as many as 10 helpers, claiming a decline in business
070without providing one sentella of evidence to support such a claim. Their actions in replacing laid-off workers with new employees hired through a temp agency proves their claim is false and deceptive. This alleged decline of business has coincided with the start of the school year. Workers report that they are busier now than ever. Clearly, their conduct constitutes union busting. Union busting activities are illegal under both federal and state law with the state providing particularly strong protections for workers under the 2022 workers right amendment under the Illinois constitution and the 2025 worker freedom of speech act. This conduct that should not be tolerated by a contractor of Chicago public schools. As a district that prefers to contract with responsible biders who treat their workers with respect and dignity, I ask that this board demand of this contractor,
071Open Kitchens, to commit to the following. withdraw its previous objections to the workers election and respect their vote. Reinstate its laid off employees, bargain in good faith with the union designated by the employees to represent them local 703 teamsters and to comply with all federal, state, and local labor laws. The team's union is happy to assist the board in the investigation of these serious issues and I thank the board for their attention to this matter. I do have letters of support I want to present to the board if you direct me who I should give them to. Thank you very much. Thank you for your attention. All right. >> Thank you for your comments, President Harden. Before we start to call speakers from the speakers list, I do want to um note that the general
072acting general counsel does want to make a address uh board member cluster comment >> if I may, Mr. President. >> Yes, please. Thank you. >> Thank you. Um thank you for giving me an opportunity to um review this point of privilege. Um, I agree with board me board member Kuster that according to Robert's rules of order when a motion to suspend the rules is made at the beginning of the meeting, then the item requires a majority vote. Um, here I've confirmed that MO4 was made directly after roll call was taken and therefore MO4 carries and so based on that decision um Susan please clarify the order of the day. So for the order of the meeting um from public participation we'll meet immediately go into the vote on RS1 go into recess reconvene from recess
073the presentation on FY26 budget discussion of public agenda items and the vote on public agenda items and adjourn. And for the record, I do want to note for the court reporter that MO4 was adopted. >> We'll continue with um >> board secretary. Before you proceed, can you restate that order again? It appears to be out of order that we are voting before the presentation. Is that correct? That was the motion to immediate to vote on RS1 right after public participation. >> Thank you for clarifying. Thank you. >> We'll re um reconvene with public participation. Teresa Maldonado, speaker number one. Please proceed. >> Okay. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to address members of the Chicago Board of Education, CPS administration, and my fellow CPS families and stakeholders. My name is Terresa Maldonado. I am
074a lifelong Chicagoan, a CPS graduate, and a CPS parent of four from the northwest side. I've been part of this school system for more than 30 years. And I now serve as the program manager at Kids First Chicago, working alongside CPS parents for more than two decades. As an engaged parent, I have seen what happens when CPS is forced to make mid-year cuts. Students lose essential programs and services. You've already heard from hundreds of CPS families urging you to make the responsible choice for the 202526 uh budget. Interim Superintendent Dr. King and her team have presented a balanced, responsible plan that does not gamble with our children's futures. Last November, voters asked for a more res I'm sorry, representative and responsive school board. We did not ask for politics and special interests to come before
075our students. Your responsibility is to families like mine, not city hall. You have 30 seconds remaining. >> Thank you. I urge you to approve the responsible budget CPS has proposed and put kids first. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Tiara Pearson, speaker number two. Good evening board members. My name is Tiara Pearson. I'm a community engagement coordinator with Kids First Chicago, a former CPS parent and a proud CPS alum. I stand before you to read a statement on behalf of one of our parents by the name of Mini Joy Wilker. These are her words. As a proud parent of a CPS student, every day I see what our schools can do when they're supported. And I also see how quickly that support disappears when politics get in the way.
076Right now, the city of Chicago is asking CPS to hand over $175 million for a pension payment that the school district isn't even legally responsible for. I can't help but ask, how many kids will pay the price for this decision? Not just this year, but for years and even decades to come. This is not just about numbers on a page. This is about real children. Classrooms that are already stretched too thin, social workers shared between three schools, special education teachers who are juggling too many students, after school programs that vanish because there's no money this year. If CPS gives the city this money, it won't come from a magic pot. It'll come from our kids. I'm tired of hearing there's no money for the things students actually need, only to see money handed over for
077obligations that were never theirs. This money belongs in our schools >> in smaller class sizes and more social workers and functioning heating systems and updated textbooks. It belongs to our children, today's students, and tomorrow's leaders. So, I urge every decision maker, especially the board, to choose our kids. Support Superintendent King's budget. Do not borrow against our children's future. Do not hand away what little they have just to balance the city's budget. Don't choose politics over our children. Don't take what little they have. and board member G2, just as a um community engagement coordinator on the west side, my parents are looking forward to meeting you. Thank y'all. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Kristen Pollock, speaker number 21, >> Kristen Pollock, speaker number 21. Hi, thank you for the opportunity to
078speak tonight. Um, my name is Kristen Pollock. I'm the chief operating officer at Kids First Chicago. And today I'm speaking on behalf of 400 CPS parents, educators, students, and Chicago residents who have signed a collective letter address to you all our members of the Chicago Board of Education. These 400 signers cover and represent all 20 of your schoolboard districts. A warm welcome to Dr. Vez as well. Together, we urge you not to force Chicago public schools to make the city's $175 million MEABF pension payment or take out a risky short-term loan that would primarily cover that cost rather than protect classrooms. Under Illinois law, the city of Chicago, not CPS, is responsible for this pension payment. CPS has far fewer tools to raise revenue. Shifting this burden in onto the district would effectively mean a
079$175 million cut to our students, our teachers, and schools across the city. Furthermore, we are deeply concerned about proposals to borrow before there is clarity from Springfield, Washington DC, or city hall about what resources may or may not still be available. Using debt now to cover a city obligation would leave CPS with fewer options if revenues decline later this year. Even worse, it would deepen CPS's structural deficit and force harsher cuts in future years budgets. We call on you simply to reject making thank you the city's MEABF pension payment. Say no to short-term borrowing that jeopardizes CPS's future and keep every possible dollar focused on CPS students and classrooms. CPS's kids education should never be sacrificed to plug the city's budget hole. CPS exists to serve students and families, not to bail out city obligations.
080Thank you for your time, thoughtful consideration, and moreover your dedicated service to CPS families. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Jessica Kenya, speaker number 22. >> Good afternoon, Superintendent CEO Dr. King and members of the Chicago Board of Education. My name is Jessica Kas. I am speaking to you today as a lifelong resident of Chicago, an auntie of CPS students, and the chief of community engagement at Kids First Chicago. As you all know, today is an important day. You are tasked with making an important decision that not only impacts our students this school year, but for school years to come. It also holds historical importance. It is the first school year budget voted on by a 21 member halfeleed school board in Chicago. The significance of this moment goes
081beyond the politics, the debates, and the social media arguments. The significance of this moment is putting our local democracy to the test. After today's vote, we will see if the dream of a representative elected school board actually can represent the will of the people. Because just like us, we attended the CPS budget roundtables and heard firsthand that the community does not want a loan and does not want CPS to cover the MEABF pension payment. We know you received phone calls, text messages, and emails expressing this same sentiment because we sent some of those emails. And we know other parents and community members did as well. So there is no question of what your your constituents want. If you are an elected school board member or plan to run in the near future, we might be
082the last major school district in the country to transition to an elected school board. >> Please conclude. >> We can be number one in demonstrating how true representation can be done. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Eric Branholm, speaker number three. Eric Branholm. Speaker number three. Hello, my name is Eric Branholm. I am a preschool teacher at Belmont Kraen Elementary School, one of our 16 new sustainable community schools. And I'm here to urge this board to pass a budget that protects our school communities from the threat of further cuts. Our schools, as we know, have experienced decades of disinvestment, and we cannot afford anymore. So, let me tell you, every year since I've been at Belmont Kan, we've received preliminary budgets from CPS um that fail to allocate enough
083special education positions to meet our students legally required IEP minutes. And now, this has forced our school to appeal for additional positions year after year after year after year. One way that this particularly affects Milmont Kra is that we're a dual language school. Now, the Office of Students with Disabilities fails to allocate sped positions uh for schools like ours and puts special educators in a position where they have to instruct simultaneously in English and Spanish. Um, and this is simply unfair. Now, this current budget, as it was presented, continues to fail our communities. There are further cuts to special education across the district, further cuts to dual language education across the district. At Belmont Craig, we've already lost a dual language coordinator position, funding for bilingual afterchool programming and instructional materials. Now, schools like mine
084are really feeling the effects of the cuts to custodial staff you've heard about. We've went from five to three custodians. These workers can now only begin their shifts 30 minutes before the start of the school day. And this CPS budget is an affront to their dignity and their rights as workers, as well as to the dignity and rights of our students who deserve to come to a school that is ready to welcome. 30 seconds remaining. >> We just learned they've directed custodians to stop refilling paper towels. Um, let me tell you, I would like to invite the CPS budget office to come spend a day in my preschool classroom. Um, with threats to public education funding coming from the Trump administration, in a moment like this, you just simply cannot pass a budget that ties
085your hands or takes the option of borrowing off of the table. Anything short of this would be an absolute failure for our students. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Marne Willinson, speaker number four, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Uh, good afternoon. My name is Marne Willinson. I've lived in the Hogan Elementary Attendance Area for almost 25 years. 20 years ago, the city built an $18 million school building to relieve severe overcrowding at Hogan, but then diverted that resource away from neighborhood children. Today, Hogan is once again bursting at the seams with students crammed into classrooms and the library and every other space repurposed. This board can now correct a historic wrong by allowing Hogan to use space in a building constructed for neighborhood children.
086In 2004, I served on the Hogan Transition Advisory Council to review proposals for the Hogan Middle School. PAC members devoted dozens of hours to our work. We received plausible proposals to operate the school from Hogan teachers and from Aspira. We did not accept either proposal as written and we painstakingly developed follow-up questions. After review and careful discussion, we endorsed the Hogan teacher stronger proposal. Despite our work and our considered decision, the board gave the charter and the new building to Aspira. The school ultimately failed and closed earlier this year. Because the closure was announced long after the deadline for colllocation proposals, Hogan could not apply for the current school year. But suggestions that Hogan failed to follow correct procedures for collocation are simply untrue. We will submit our collocation proposal this October consistent with the
087board's guidelines after it releases them. The Hogan building now houses only a small lottery. >> Thank you. The Hogan building now houses only a small lotterybased school that was colllocated with a Spiro Hogan and draws half its students from outside the neighborhood. This school only needs half the building and its desire to grow into a large lotterybased school is not consistent with this board's commitment to centering neighborhood schools. In contrast, if Hogan colllocates, it will immediately and fully utilize the vacant space for neighborhood children. Thank you for your time and for your service to the people of Chicago. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Tiffany Harvey, speaker number six, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Good afternoon. I'm a Hogan parent, LSC chairperson, and Albany
088Park homeowner of 25 years. I have raised four CPS students. I am proud that my youngest child goes to Hogan, my neighborhood school. Hogan is amazing and embodies everything public education can be. It is incredibly diverse and overwhelmingly serves vulnerable students and families. I ask for your support to facilitate a collaborative solution that respects both our schools and North Rivers and gives our educators and students space to learn and thrive. We are sounding the alarm because we are at capacity. Every available space in our building is used. Chief Carbona acknowledged this when he met with us. In my 21 years as a CPS parent, I have often observed choice school options being promoted and resourced to the detriment of neighborhood schools. Specific to Hogan is treatment after a opened in 2006 was gling. First, our
089middle schoolers were zoned for Marshall Middle, a long and treacherous walk away from Hogan. When Marshall closed, the students were shuffled to Roosevelt, the high school. By 2018, Hoggins enrollment dipped and phased middle school back in, making my decision to finally try the neighborhood school much easier. But now we are growing rapidly again. We do not want to shut down North River. We support each school handling certain grades for our attendance area or colllocating our middle school. Between the two buildings, there is space for all of us. We have long hoped to collaborate with North River when and if Espira left and did not oppose North River's own collocation. You >> have 30 seconds remaining. Thank you. When we were told it wanted to remain a small school, Hogan is not late to this conversation.
090As soon as a Spir announced its closure, we moved swiftly, but before then couldn't suggest sharing space with two other schools. North River, a lottery based school, can control its enrollment that Hoggin, the neighborhood school, cannot. We need the space that Aspira vacated for Albany Park kids. We cannot tell families to go away, that we don't have room for their child at the neighborhood school. We ask for your help both because we are bursting at the themes and because choosing and supporting a lowincome neighborhood school should never equal large class sizes, overcrowding your Thank you very much. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Jamie Sanchez, speaker number 16. So, good afternoon, President Harden, CEO, uh, Dr. King. Welcome, Dr. Valz, and members of the Chicago Board of Education. My name is
091Haime Sanchez, and I'm the proud principal of North River Elementary School. On behalf of our North River School and and part of North River LSSE, I'm here to respectfully request the support for the expansion of the North River Elementary into the third floor of our vacant facility. North River has served the Albany Park for over 20 years. For many of those years, we operated in a small lease building uh provided by the archives of the Chicago space significantly limited to our ability to grow and to serve our students fully. North River has served the Albany Park community for more than 20 years. In 2017, our community united in partnership with CPS to address these challenges. The effort led to our successful collocation with our Spirit Hogan Middle School in 2022. This partnership allowed us to
092better meet the needs of our students and families and we're truly grateful for the collaboration and mutual respect we shared. as Aspira has uh transitioned out of the building as of July as of June 2025. We wish them continued success in their next chapter. But today we begin our new chapter of our own. Our goal is to expand North River Elementary to our third floor to meet the growing needs of our North River community as well as the Albany Park community. Currently, we operate with just one classroom per grade level from preK through 8th grade. And we are full and we are fully at capacity. >> You have 30 seconds for me. >> The need to expand is both urgent and necessary in order to meet these uh challenges. We have four key reasons. One
093reason is our our EL program has grown dramatically where we have one classroom per grade level where we do not serve the bilingual students adequately. Two, we have we want to optimize our space. We have currently additional teachers that we can already put to expand. For three, we have the commitment to expand for a cluster program to serve students with diverse needs at North River. And our current enrollment continues to grow. All our classrooms are at capacity and we have long waiting list for families wanting to come in. >> Please conclude your remarks. On behalf of the North River families and staff, we want to invite members of the board of education to please visit directly to see the great work that's happening at North River. And we look forward to continuing working uh forward
094to making uh the community great for both North River and the entire Albany Park community. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is David Barbosza, speaker number five. Dear members of the board of education, my name is David Barbosza. I live and work in the southeast side. I'm a former CPS student and former CPS parent at my neighborhood schools, George Washington High School and Jane Adams Elementary. When my daughter was in middle school, I remember the overcrowded classrooms. I remember her mom taking her lunch to take to school every day because the school lunches were neither fresh nor healthy. I remember driving her to public to the public library and bookstores because she loved books, but her school had no library or librarian. Excuse me. I currently work with parents in
095our community and I see them going through the same struggles that I did in my community and in disinvested black and brown communities like mine across the city. When schools fail our children, parents and community put in the extra work to make up the difference. Underfunded schools end up taxing parents in my community. This is why I'm here to tell the board that the current budget, as it was presented to us at the budget hearings last week, fails our communities. Do you do you want to know what worries parents most right now? Special education cuts, IEPs not being adhered to, changes in staffing to cluster programs leave students with less resources. And I wish these were the biggest problems that we face. Since President Trump took over, our communities suffocating under a blanket of fear.
096In January, the week after the inauguration, parents who were once active in their schools stopped attending meetings out of fear of being racially profiled by federal agents. And now Trump is re-uping those threats. Where in the budget are there enhanced support and protections for black and brown communities that are about to face the wrath of a madman? Where are the extra transportation and counseling resources we will need to help children continue to learn while under federal occupation? So, I asked CPS how it can stand by its proposed budget and expect board members to support it when it leaves our most vulnerable children underresourced and unprotected. I urge board members to only vote for a budget that leaves all options on the table to help us avoid cuts. If that means borrowing, then fine. I live
097most of my life paycheck to paycheck. And if my check came up short one week, I would find the money because one thing I wasn't going to do was let my daughter go hungry. Parents expect the same commitment from board member board members to all our children in our district. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Catalina Apar Aparicio, speaker number seven, who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Transparency. Foreign experience. PPStoche. Let's complete Graciasto. We'll now have the uh statement translated into English. >> Good afternoon, board members and members of the public. My name is Catalina Aparicio, mother and community leader. I am concerned about the cuts being made to our public schools, especially Lindlum, which my two youngest daughters attend. These cuts seriously affect the
098academic development of our students. We need transparency and for the cuts to stop. Our children's futures are in danger and we don't want the lack of extracurricular programs to leave them on the streets. Out of school time has been limited due to the lack of pay for teachers and security personnel and the uncertainty surrounding the funds for the 2026 school year. When it comes to educational programming due to a lack of funds for teachers, we've seen cuts in fine arts, specialized courses, and electives in humanity. Student experiences like field trips have been limited due to the high costs of transportation. As selective enrollment school, Lindlum has lost its title one eligibility, which deprivives it of necessary resources. CPS faces a deficit of 734 million with more than,450 layoffs. CPS may seek equity, but the changes
099to the formula and its thresholds disproportionately harm schools like Lindlam, which serve diverse students with special needs. The loss of seekas and teachers teacher assistants will affect these students much more since they won't be able to rely on this support. School cafeterias have cut their staff replacing after school meals with snacks. As public and selective enrollment schools, we want there to still be extra quality extracurricular programs and for there to be increased support for lowerincome students as well as more foreign language programming. We want our students to be able to meet their requirements to get into college. No more cuts. We are taxpayers and we want our taxes to get to the schools that most need them. Thank you. >> Thank you. Our next u three speakers are from Interamerican Magnet School. We'll start with
100Lena Hicks, speaker number eight. Lena Hicks, speaker number eight. Please proceed. >> Esteemed board members, my name is Dr. Karolina Vera Toon and I'm a professor at Depal where I educate educators, mostly bilingual educators. It's not surprising then that my children attend Interamerican Magnet School, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, making it the second oldest dual language school in the country. As board members Brown and Blae have acknowledged, dozens of Interamerican parents have come here over a year, asking former CEO Martinez and two previous iterations of this board to intervene into a toxic and unsafe environment created by our principal Juan Carlos SAS. We have spoken about violations of his contract, Illinois statute, LSC and CTU policies, suspicion of financial and title one fraud, retaliation, unsafe conditions at the school, and a toxic environment
101that has turned a school that had one of the lowest staff turnover rates into a revolving door of new faces. Since his tenure began, we have lost over 15% of our student population, like these students here, whose little lives have been uprooted out of continued fear of retaliation. Despite increased network presence at the school, the district's inaction has insulated our principal from consequences, creating a culture of impunity, and Mr. Zas's actions have just become more and more brazen. Most recently, he dismissed once one of our hourly workers, a parent at the school, on the basis of budget cuts. The budget, however, had been approved in May, and the funds for her for the hourly worker's position had been secured. This hourly worker had spoken out against him at an LSC meeting in the spring and
102he dismissed her quietly in July when no one would notice. Thank you. Less than a month later, he posted her position on the CPS job board. This is clear retaliation with no consequence. It doesn't help that those charged with policing him are his peers who seem to value nepotism over ethics and professionalism. Miss Williams Ford, the head of LSC relations, worked with Mr. Ogden and despite overwhelming evidence of his malfeence, she has gaslit our community, reforced refused to enforce LSC policies and even facilitated some of his misconduct. Next, you will hear from two more parents who will share their stories and make the same requests that we we have been making for over a year. One, put Mr. on leave and appoint an AI conclude your remarks >> while his matter is being carried to
103its conclusion conclude his lengthy investigation a process which has taken over a year and three please keep our community updated on the investigation and make public the results thank you for your time and attent uh yeah >> thank you for your comments >> the next speaker is Jennifer Torres who's joining speaker number 29 who's joining us virtually please enter star six to unmute Hi, good afternoon. My name is Jen Torres and I'm a parent at Interamerican Magnet School. I understand from our LSC that the investigation by the CPS legal department of our principal Juan Carlos SAS has concluded. I'm very angry that CPS never informed the school community that the investigation was occurring, that it was concluded, or what the findings were. I demand that CPS inform the community of Inner American what's going on.
104It's unacceptable that the school community was not informed, especially since there are real safety issues. Why did CPS not inform parents that the principal is being investigated? The fact that a formal investigation has been going on since early 2025 without parents and teachers being notified is a real problem. To this day, I have received no official notice from CPS about what's going on, and that's shameful and unacceptable. What is CPS trying to hide? Parents have a right to know. For the safety of our students, Principal Zas needs to be put on leave while the matter is being carried out to its conclusion. I'm asking the board to push the law department to finish this in a timely fashion. Remediation has not worked. The network has been present at our school for a year. Weekly check-ins
105with the network chief has resulted in no meaningful improvement. If nothing, the principal's behavior has worsened. The past year has proven that this is not something that can be fixed by increased network presence. I implore the board to remove principal ZAS for the safety and security of our children and before there is further against our teachers, our LSC and our parents. Principal Zas has received his due process and we need you the board to hold him accountable. Remove him. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Virginia Jimenez Del Toro speaking speaker number 30 who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Good afternoon Chicago board of education. Dr. Valdez go UVI. My name is Vilia Himenez del Toro and I'm a proud parent of four amazing
106kids two of whom attend CPS schools. I am also a retired CPS principal with over 15 years of administrative experience and 30 years as an educator serving our city's children. I'm here to speak on behalf of our parent community of Interamerican Magnet School. While I stand here today talking to you the board, I am very aware of what this means for me as an active parent of that community as I have experienced firsthand a leadership style grounded in placing fear into others and using retaliatory actions towards anyone who shares their truth about what is occurring at our school. Since we arrived at Interamerican, I have been a parent volunteer, treasurer of the friends of organization and an active and dedicated member of this community. I was also one of several parent volunteers in my daughter's
107kindergarten classroom while the teacher was on medical leave. During that period, I witnessed a child attacking and choking another student while a substitute teacher sat and watched. I am the parent volunteer who saw a student force himself on another student in an aggressive sexual manner. I am the parent volunteer who had to convince that substitute to report this incident to administration. When these incidents were reported, they were ignored. The substitute teacher was allowed to continue to work at the school as if nothing had occurred. Procedures and policies that are in place to protect all students were dismissed and the incidents continue to occur in >> 30 seconds remaining. >> In particular, incidents of aggressive sexual behavior with students suffering both emotional and physical harm. We have just started the school year and we continue to
108see the same types of behaviors. Uh um it has been extremely clear to me especially with my background that CPS policies have been ignored and the rights of students have been violated. CPS policies are not left to interpretation but are written clearly to ensure that all students are protected. It is the role and responsibility of the school principal to abide by these policies to ensure the safety of all students and to create a safe space to learn. The board has had multitude conclude your remarks come to these meetings um and we ask again to please take action against principal Zas and remove him immediately. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next group of speakers are from cause speaker. We'll begin with Ish Bell, speaker number nine. If my colleagues will be let
109in, so I'll just go ahead and uh speak. Good afternoon, board. Uh how's everyone doing this evening? Uh my name is Ishbel. I'm speaking on behalf of Cars Teachers, Chicago Alliance of Urban School Educators. Um this coalition um is advocating for underserved school employees. We appreciate the opportunity to make this statement under the rule 45 report review as transparency and accountability are vital to equity in public education. Today we rise to speak directly about the Chicago public schools do not hire list. A policy mechanism that despite recent improvements continues to do lack lack process lack due process transparency and alignment with state and federal law as presented to both Chicago public schools and and Chicago's teachers union. calls. Teachers would like to establish four eligibility pillars to ensure that the do not hire placements are
110fair, lawful, and equitable. Number one, no criminal record. Two, passes background checks. Three, valid and active is license. Four, no open or substantiated DCF DCFS cases. We support these pillars as a critical baseline for reinstatement wrongfully blocked educators. However, the problem is not only who qualifies now, but also how many qualified educators remain on the do not hire list in violation of these very terms. Cause teachers has documented multiple cases of educators, particularly black and brown. You >> have 30 seconds remaining. have no criminal history, have valid licenses with no re revocations, uh have clear black background checks, and have no open DCFS matters yet remain blacklisted, unable to work, um apply, unable to work, excuse me, or clear their names. These are educators with master's degrees, state certificates, and decades of service punished without
111any hearing and finding or appeal. So let the rule 45 report reflect that we call for immediate enforcement of DNH's removal criteria across all cases retroactively a public audit. >> Please conclude your remarks. >> Individual currently on the do not hire list who meet the four eligibility pillars. I thank you kindly for your time and your blessing. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. >> Yes ma'am. >> This next speaker is Ray Easley, speaker number 24 who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Good evening to the board. Good evening to the president. Uh Dr. King, your hair looks fabulous. I am Pay Easley and I came here with cause. Um however, uh Mr. Bell spoke and so I'm going to just pivot a little bit from these comments. Um, I'm
112here as to give you guys a bit of advice. Um, I first want to thank you for giving my child a ride from the west side of Chicago to Kinwood where she's an academic center student. Um, and now she's currently at Whitney Young. I too am a Whitney Young graduate and my parents met in the Chicago public schools. My father was Roosevelt High School prom king 1975. With that being said, I want to tell you guys that everybody sitting in those board seats, you guys are elected officials. If the city council has already stated that they are going to fund this um pension obligation with the TIFF funds, then I kindly ask you not to vote for this loan. This is an issue that you guys need to push off back to the fifth floor
113because right now we're dealing with a literacy crisis within the Chicago public schools and we are spending quite a while or quite a bit of time discussing alone that we don't need to talk about when we have children entire schools in Austin where they have 0% reading and 0% math which is why I had to bust my child to Kimwood. Um, I ask you guys to not spend your political capital to try to stand in place for the mayor in the Chicago Teachers Union because they are not going to be the ones running your campaign. You're going to be running your own campaign and we do not want the quality of the schools diminished because of a decision that was made today. We don't deserve that. You guys are better than that. And based on
114all the Chicago public school graduates up there, we know that it is not proper to spend ourselves into a hole. So please push this obligation back to the fifth floor and let 50 people deal with this rather than the 20 of you because literally your seats are depending on this. Thank you guys so much and again thank you for the school buses. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Wendy Weinearten, speaker number 12. Just before you start the timer, I just want to one thank you for moving these meetings to 3:00. It allows teachers like myself to be able to get here to speak to you and two for having air conditioning because I've spent the day teaching in an un aironditioned gym that is unbelievably hot. So, thank you. Good afternoon,
115Dr. King, President Harden, and members of the board and CPS officials. My name is Wendy Weingarten. I'm a 30-year veteran teacher of CPS and my daughter is a CPS 6th grader. I'm here today because our students deserve better. Right now, the Office of Sports Administration will not allow any new teams to be added to CPS due to budget constraints. At my school alone, that means our students are denied a dance team, a freshman girls volleyball team, and a um freshman girls soccer team. At Carver Military Academy, it's a girls flag football team. Do you see the common thread here? It's all girls teams. At a time when protections under Title Nine are already under threat at the national level, our girls receive messages and our girls receive messages that they are not enough. We can't
116afford to let inequity grow in our own backyard. Denying these opportunities silences our girls and tells them their voices, their passions, and their talents matter less. This is not who we are at CPS. At the same time, our elementary athletic directors who have worked tirelessly to make sure their schools had sport team sports teams have not been paid in over a year. And yet here they are being asked to do it all over again this year without receiving what they're owed from last year. >> Remaining. >> This is unacceptable. We cannot demand excellence from our educators and coaches while refusing to honor their commitment. Building our sports sports programs is not just about wins. It's about equity, opportunity, and respect. It's making sure every student, especially our girls, can see themselves on the field, on
117the court, on the stage, and know they belong. We all know that research shows that athletes have higher GPA. They're less likely to drop out of schools. Studies indicate that the structure and discipline required to be a balance >> I will thank you. required to balance academics and athletics improves time management and creates a stronger work ethic. This dedication translate to the cla translates to the classroom and demonstrates what athletes can do and how they are more likely to attend and graduate from four-year college for from a four-year college. I urge this urge this board to take immediate action. Pass a budget with the flexibility to expand opportunities to girls teams. Hold the office of sports administration accountable. Ensure athletic directors are compensated fairly. Our students are watching you. My daughter is watching you. Show
118them that CPS values their future. >> Thank you. Our next speaker is Dwayne Truss, speaker number 10. have a good day. >> I should take that saying grace is saying hello and all that good stuff, but I won't. Um, good evening uh, President Harden, CEO King, and board members. My name is Dwayne Trust. I'm speaking on the behalf of the Westside branch of the NAACP. First and foremost, the branch supports the FY26 budget presented by Dr. King wholeheartedly uh no loans. The branch also supports looking into changing state law giving taxpayers the right to vote by referendum whether to increase property taxes for our school. Let's face it, we go into this whole spin cycle year in year out talking about what the the state supposed to do and other school districts don't do this.
119You know why? They raise property taxes and you once you vote in this budget, you're raising property taxes also. The only big difference is you can only go up to the statutory limits. So my our proposal with the branch is look into working with the state about lifting that cap and presenting it to the voters. Let the voters tell you what their values are when it comes to us bring you know raising necessary funds for our schools. I don't think any of us want to uh see any kind of cuts. But we got to stop this game about oh the state owes us this and state owes that. Well, the suburban school districts, they don't worry about that because they're going to take care of their schools and we're gonna keep in this mess over
120and over and over again. It's kind of like darn if you do, darn if you don't. If we keep doing this, families going to get turned off. We're tired of this dysfunctioning cuts. And then if we do raise taxes, potentially some families are going to say, "I don't want to pay any more taxes." So, we got to think about that. And also I would have loved to have had a conversation and I doubt if we had a full community meeting about the investment in the Austin high schools high school about the sustainable community schools. I support the investment but I also support the fact that you got to come to people and say what is it that you also really want because we've been talking about a vocational high school in the west side like
121forever. We used to have three or four now we have none. But yet there's a program that again people are not against but did you really ask people what's the proper investment and finally it's been brought to the branch's attention that Pam Price a black woman has served CPS and parents of 28 years was removed from her position as director at parent university by a person with less than two years experience. We will definitely be reaching out to CPS about this travesty. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speakers are from Illinois Network of Charter Schools, Allison Jack. Speaker number 11. >> Greetings, Dr. King, President Harden, and board members. I'm Allison Jack. I'm Allison Jack from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, and I'm here on behalf of the 54,000 charter
122public school students in Chicago and their families. I'm here because I have been working in and with charter schools since 1999. I used to teach at CICS Longwood at 95th and Troop and before that at CPS school's homes in Beethoven. Sadly, budget challenges are nothing new to this district. The charter community recognizes the challenge that this board is facing with this looming deficit and we stand with you to get more money from Springfield and we've been to Springfield to try to in increase that $350 million. But we also support fiscally responsible solutions that protect the district's long-term stability. Charter schools play a vital role in providing diverse educational options, fostering innovation, and serving students in communities that need great schools the most. And most of you have visited a charter school in you in in
123your community, especially you, Dr. Smith, and seen the work of the the staff are doing to ensure that more students reach their full potential. However, today we want to make sure that funding equity for charter schools is not lost in this discussion. State law requires that charter schools be funded between 97 and 103% of the per capita tuition charge, but CPS deducts costs for pre-existing pension debt, authorizer fees, and other services. You have 30 seconds. in a way that drives fund the funding down to less than 97% of the minimum which places the district in out of compliance, but more importantly shortch changing thousands of CPS kids. Equity is the cornerstone of this board and charter schools deserve to be fairly funded like all students. No student should be funded less because they go to
124a charter school. We need this board to do away with the holdbacks and subtractions that are being made to charter school budgets and fund every child in CPS schools in a charter school the amount they deserve. And I want to say thank you to the board members who voted for transparency and I'm excited to be here for the budget discussion. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Lori Turner, speaker number 23. >> Good evening, President Harden, board members, and Dr. King. My name is Lori Turner and I am with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. I am here on behalf of the 54,000 charter public school students in CPS and over 6,000 teachers and leaders who support them every day. Today, you will vote on the FY26 CPS budget, a
125budget that has been getting a lot of attention in recent weeks. It may be the most significant vote this new board has taken to date. We applaud you, Dr. King, for the budget you presented that is balanced and protects classrooms. We urge you all to balance the short-term needs of students, always keeping the children you serve at the center and the long-term stability of a school district that currently owes more per student than it spends per student. You all did not get into us into this mess, but parents and community members are counting on you to set a sustainable path for our district and our students. As you move forward, we urged the board to treat charter students fairly. Ensure equitable resourcing for charter classrooms. Yesterday, on a tour of Gary Comr College Prep with
126Dr. Smith, I was reminded time and time again, charters do more with less, yet serve the same students that are in the district operated school. >> Seconds remaining. >> One of the pillars of your strategic plan is to build collaborative partnerships to increase resources for schools. This is exactly what charters do so well. For example, Comr has a partnership with Gary Comr Youth Center where students participate in afterchool sports, gardening, and seniors use the building for a special space to get ready for college. Principal Hemingway shared a compelling vision how the adults in the COMR building are thinking about getting kids ready, not for graduation, not for college, but for who they will be when they're 30 years old. Imagine what more charters could do if they were funded equitably. Thank you very much. >>
127Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Wanda Hopkins, speaker number 13. Where's her microphone? Good evening. My name is Wanda Hopkins. Some may know me, President Harding, G2 Brown, Emma, and Skip, her husband. She's not in the room. And a lot of us worked together for over many years. For 40 years, I retired as a parent advocate. I came out of retirement just because of this budget. They continue to talk about what the budget is supposed to do. I'm saying to you board members, especially G2, that you have the power to say not $1 go to the city of Chicago, but to go to the schools. So that can be janitors, it can be programs. You all are. Don't be confused and it has continued to consult to insult my intelligence o over
128the years that I went to board meeting and don't let me forget Debbie Pope who was a part of my board uh where I worked for parent united for responsible education. I I want you to understand that you as a board has the opportunity and can say this is what we're going to spend the money on. While I was in this meeting, I know I shouldn't say it, but I text Mayor Brandon and I said to him, "It ain't going on." So, I'm saying to you, you need to say the same thing. So, I'm saying that I'm here for a loan, but for the loan for children and for children only. We can talk about that. But we here for the children, but you got to put >> You have 30 seconds remaining >> in
129where it's supposed to be. >> So I approved of that budget. I'm also here to talk about the dismantling of the local school council relations who has not been a friend to local school council since this new person came into office. I say to you, the CEO, the new interim, do something about that. She is not. There has been more complaints than for this person than I've ever seen in my entire life. Thirdly, CEO, >> please. >> Yes, I hear you. for 40 years. I should be able to say something. But at Marshall High School, which I helped write the law for local school councils, clearly state that you all have a right to remove a principal if they've been in office over two years and the and the school continues to fail. My grandchildren
130went to Marshall. They was failing then and they felling now. You got a right to do something about it. local school councils and we've they've brought the attention to this board. We've seen sent things to them. We had a meeting. Stop playing with me saying that you here for children. Do the right thing and follow the law. >> Please conclude your remarks. >> It's Douglas High School. You got about 30 children in one building and then you got children being taught on the stage because it's overcrowded. It's not mathematically possible to say to me, "Oh, it's nothing we could do." You put resources in that school and bring those children over to Duncan's High School. And it's more than three G2 because I now got organizations work behind it. And I'm going to help sue
131you all if you don't give Representative Camille's money to Douglas like she allocated and she done sent the message to you all. I'mma be the first in line. I told them I'm willing to throw this roll later. We have got to come back to children. >> Thank you. >> On what's really the problem and the problem I've asked again, I'm going say again to CEO and sent the message. There needs to be a task force. Why don't we wait till the last minute to pass the budget? We should be working on this all year long so that we don't have to sit at the table right now and talk about what should we have and what we shouldn't have. We should have every adapt that our children supposed to need. I was a IEP specialist.
132>> Thank you for your comments. >> I was in every school. They will call the schools before I get there because there's a law y'all and I know that you can't just do anything for a child with special need and I'm the first one >> on stage help suing you all for any IEP that's been violated. Thank you very much. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Quintella Bounds, speaker number 15, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Hello. >> Please proceed. >> Good afternoon. My name is Dr. Quintella Bounds. I am a proud Chicago teachers union member as well as a case manager and special education teacher. As an educator employed within Chicago public school system who serves the most vulnerable population are students who have been
133identified with disabilities. I have experienced the inequalities of an unbalanced system uh funding system from one school to another school specifically with our special education students. See, as an educator, we are expected to move mountains with limited resources and staff, but we're champions. So, we do what we need to do. This includes our special education teachers, our seekers, our case managers, our school counselors, our clinicians, our interventionists, our fine arts programs, our right um rights to passage individuals, security guards, lunchroom staff and custodians because there is no one individual of which I've stated who who is less valuable than any other because we're all important. We are interconnected in moving positive academic and social emotional outcomes for all students, especially our most vulnerable students. >> In addition, we need a budget that incorporates sustainable community
134schools which are 30 seconds designed to provide wraparound services to our students before, during, and after school. I urge this board to pass a budget that fully services our students in every building in all zip codes within the Chicago public schools boundary. Unfortunately, today as as we sit as it stands, the proposed budget does not do enough to guarantee protection or restore the cuts we have already experienced. I am a one of the individuals who was displaced. So please, our most vulnerable population, those students identified with disabilities and therefore I ask the board of education to reject the proposed budget, amend it, and make sure it includes support for all children and no more cuts to our special education program. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Stephanie Gomez, speaker
135number 20. Good afternoon. My name is Stephanie Gomez and I am a proud mother of a Santiago graduate, a neero school. I have a seventh grader and a first grader that currently attend. I'm also a lifelong member of the Humble Park community. In October of 2024, Aero announced that Santiago would be closing. For families like mine, that news was devastating. I attended meeting after meeting. I shared my story. And I pleaded with this board to help us keep our school open. You listened. You voted to keep Santiago alive. And for that, we are deeply grateful. We celebrated. We cried tears of relief. and we truly believed that our fight was over. But today, only months later, we're facing a new threat. The arch dasis, which owns our school building, has listed it for sale. If
136CPS does not act to purchase it, we fear the outcome is inevitable. Developers will move in and our children's classrooms will be turned into condos, just as we have seen happen across the street where our old daycare was lost to redevelopment. For me, this fight is deeply personal. Before Santiago, that same building belonged to St. Mark's school where I attended until it shut its doors when I was a seventh grader. I have felt this heartbreak. I have watched classmates scatter, freshman friendships fade, and a community lose its anchor. Losing a school is not just about finding a new classroom. It's about losing identity, stability, and a place to call home. This raises my next pressing concern. Go CPS will soon open. You have 30 seconds registration. How can families confidently choose Santiago to be their
137school of choice if there's no guaranteed physical location for this school? Without this building, the promise of Santgo Santiago's future remains uncertain. Our kids deserve stability. Our community deserves respect and our school deserves a future. Let this be the moment where we choose community over condos and education over displacement. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next speaker is Mark Edelstein. Speaker number 18. Thank you board for allowing me this opportunity to tell you some information that may be a little more positive on a day like today. Uh, my name is Mark Edelstein, the vice president of the not for-profit Bowen High School Alumni Association. I am also a product of Chicago Public Schools, having attended since from um kindergarten all the way through high school. I'm here because Bowen has a project
138right now to try to landmark the building. It's a stunning landmark worthy 1910 architectural gem designed by Dwight Perkins. We're currently working with Ramsey Historical Consultants to apply for Bowen's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and we hope that we can get your support for this. Uh the prairie style Chicago um school facade and marblelined entryway are truly noteworthy. It is just a stunning building. It's important to note that Chicago public schools already has five landmark buildings in its portfolio and uh significant among them is uh Carl Shur's high school on the northwest side. This is Bowen's sister school. They and it was designed as well by Dwight Perkins and built in 1910 the same as Bowen High School. They're virtually indistinguishable from each other. However, SH has already attained national register status
139as well as city of Chicago landmark status. We're really hoping to follow in shore's footsteps. >> You have 30 seconds remaining. >> And become the sixth building that's currently landmarked in the portfolio. Landmarking Bowen is an important issue because it would boost pride in the school's students, its teachers, administrators, and staff, not to mention South Chicago and the city at large. would also spotlight the school's architectural and historical contributions to the city of Chicago. Um, we have the full support of Principal Priscilla Hutton on this project and uh the alumni association has raised over $5,000 through alumni contributions and a generous grant from the Illinois uh from >> and the Timmy Black Fund. We hope to start this project in September and again uh we hope that we have your support in this. Thank you
140so much for your time. >> Thank you for your comments. >> The next speaker is Alexandria Busru, speaker number 19. Hello all. I'm here as a member of the 46 W Neighbors United, which is our growing neighbor network that is includes the fight and support for sustainable community schools. I urge the board to take all necessary steps to ensure funding and services are not cut from our schools. If the city is telling you they don't have the money, why on earth would the first thing we cut be schools and services for our schools? I urge the board to put way more pressure on Governor Pritsker and state lawmakers for this money. Governor Pritsker said, and I quote, "CPS needs $1.6 billion. It won't happen, but it should happen." Okay, Governor Pritsker, how can we allow
141someone who is positioning themselves to be the anti-fascist, anti-Trump leader, to be using the number one rule of the playbook of fascism, which is defunding our services for education in schools. In my eyes, Governor Pritsker is fake in not prioritizing education funding, and I want to see y'all's pressure on him. Do you know what Governor Pritsker is focused on funding right now? Where he's been working for years to ensure funding prisons. Governor Pritzkar is focused on borrowing 900 million to build two new prisons despite 12,000 empty prison beds. He's saying they're going to be state-of-the-art. Where is our state-of-the-art schools and resources? The money could go towards build housing for thousands of houseless students. Instead, Governor Pritzkar is leading the charge for the Illinois schoolto prison pipeline. And I need you all to recognize that.
142I need you all to shame him into directing his priorities to what actually builds a strong future for our city state. >> We understand that there are no in no easy decisions in governance. But how do you expect young people to believe in you all in governance in democracy if you can't get the money and resources that they are owed? Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Yolanda Clay. Speaker number 25. Good evening. How are everybody's doing today? I am a parent and a grandmother of two the most beautiful um young men that go to William H. Brown. I'm here today to stand up to fight for these children in the Chicago public schools. They really need this budget to make a ends with their needs of the education. So
143I'm saying this um they are our future and once you don't come with no budget, there will be no future of our majors, our mayors, our governments, our presidents. But also I want to say is we have to stand. We don't stand for nothing. We have to stand to fight for one another, especially for our children. our Chicago public schools. It hurt in my heart. We had a um back to school bash and the teachers that was there no longer are there because the budget and also we had to come up with more money for the schools for the excuse me I'm just um upset right now about the budget of our children. We are failing our children and this board needs to come together to fight for our children. And I want to say
144two quotes. the two most person that's in the life that's going now. Desmond Tutu, he said it is our our moral obligation to give every child the very best education. And also Gandhi said, "Be the change that you wish to see in the world." We need to be a change. The board say they don't have the money. You all have the money. Come out y'all pockets. Whatever you have to do, cuz y'all have the money. Stop playing and keep on let our children have a better >> You have 30 seconds this remaining. >> Thank you. We have a better future for our children. So stand up and fight and also for the parents for our students. We need to come out our houses and fight for our children and board education. Just can't be on
145the board of education. You have to be on the parents too. It starts at home. And thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next speaker is Regina Jones, speaker 26. Good afternoon everyone. Um, my name is Regina Jones. I am here as a parent uh a member of North Side Action for Justice, local school council chair, parent board of governor's member, advocate for every child who walks in a Chicago public school. Um we are not here tonight asking for favors. We are saying that our children deserve a fully funded, fully staffed, fully accountable education system. one that thrives on investment, transparency, accountability, and integrity. For too long, our communities have been surviving with less less teachers, less counselors, less resources. And yet, we are hopeful year after year. We need change, not cosmetic
146change. We need structural change. We need budgets that reflect our values. We need transparency in how decisions are made and accountability when they fail our students. This budget is not just um it would not just be for numbers. It's a moral document. It tells us who matters. And tonight we're here to say our children matter. Our teachers matter. and our school communities matter. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. >> The next speaker is Carlos Harmo, speaker number 27. Good evening. My name is Carlos Amo and I'm the chief operating officer at Institute Pro Latino and a former high school teacher. Our two charter high schools, Institute of Health Sciences Career Academy and Institute of Justice and Leadership Academy are located between Pilsson and Little Village and serve more than 650 students across the
147southwest side of the city. Our schools have been educating students for 15 years and Institut has been a pillar in the Chicago Latino community for over 48 years now. I'm here today as you prepare to vote on the FY26 district budget to ask that you ensure fair funding for charter school students because right now is not fair and each of you has the ability to fix it. CPS has chronically underfunded charter schools, forcing us every year to make tough decisions to just continue providing high quality programming. Nearly 75% of our students are Latino and about 80% of them qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Consistent underfunding directly impacts them and their futures. You have a meaningful opportunity to correct this inequity and address the long-standing funding gap. One immediate step would be to reduce
148the 3% management fee CPS charges all charter schools annually, which amounts to an estimated $27 million for institutu. dollars could be redirected into strengthening our own classrooms, expanding academic programming, investing in clubs and athletics, and ensuring our students have the same opportunities at their peers across the district. >> We are committed to working with you to find a solution so that charter school students are funded at the same level as the other CPS students. It is a matter of fairness and it is the right thing to do. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. And our last speaker from the registered speakers list is Ellen Moyani, speaker number 28, who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Hello, President Harden, members of the Chicago Public Schools Board, and interim
149superintendent Dr. King. My name is Ellen Moyani and I'm a former CPS teacher and the director of government and community affairs at Noble Schools. I'd like to begin by expressing my support for the budget proposed by Dr. Kaine. I had the opportunity to attend one of the budget community gatherings and I believe that this budget encompasses a key theme that emerged from our small group discussion. Every single budget decision must be student centered. This message was clear and urgent primarily as the group discussed our most at risk students. That concern deeply resonates with what we're experiencing at Noble. In previous years, CPS provided a separate revenue category specifically for supporting students with special education needs. This year that has changed. The special education funding has been combined with general education funding into one lump sum.
150This change creates significant challenges. Why does this matter? Here's an example. If a student identifies the need for an additional learning specialist, if the school identifies a need for an additional learning specialist after the first day of school, the new significantly higher threshold for appealing for additional funds, twice what it was last year, makes it impossible to obtain the necessary resources from CPS as we have in the past. Like every school in the district, no school can perfectly predict what unique support >> 30 seconds. As a public school that is part of our gops system, we serve all students that enter our doors. Once they arrive, we assess, we listen, we learn, and we adapt. And this may necessitate the hiring of an additional special education teacher, pair professional, or other support staff. In closing,
151we support Dr. King's proposed budget and hope to work with her on ensuring that charters can begin to be funded fairly. We also urge CPS to reconsider the current special education appeal process. If you have questions or would like to learn more about what this looks like at Noble, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. >> President Har, we also have several elected officials who would like to address the board. We'll begin with State Senator Javier Cervantes of the first district. Good afternoon board members uh of this committee. Uh my name is Havora Cvantes, state senator of the first district of Illinois. I encompass the communities of Brighton Park, um, Brighton Park, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Archer Heights, and Garfield Ridge. But I'm also here though, more importantly, as
152a proud son of an immigrant mother that has been a custodial worker here at CPS for the last 22 years. I'm here so that this body truly understands the day in and dayout struggles that these workers go through every single day. These workers take pride in their work. They are humble, hardworking individuals, and this may be all they have. They are senior citizens, people of color, women, single parents fighting to make ends meet. These workers are being laid off, benefits cuts. They're uh right now they're working to keep our schools clean, but yet they are scared, not knowing what their future holds. They're also being told that they need a degree or a GD or they are asked to apply online when many, many may not even have access to an email or a computer.
153Some have language access issues and cannot understand or fill out these applications. They're getting pink slips for no reasons other than not being able to access these applications or degrees that were not necessarily to that were not necessary once upon a time when they were first hired maybe even decades ago. This is not fair or edicable for our schools. Uh they're already completely understaffed with some uh schools only having one custodial worker per school. Let me give you a quick insight on their of their daily struggles every single day that the some of these custodial workers had to deal with. 18 classrooms, four bathrooms, a a gymnasium, a main office, garbage takeout, and many other duties. And this is daily, every single day. And a lot of these folks are senior citizens over 60 years
154old, 70, 80 years old. My mother's 80 years old, and she's still pride is prideful to go to work every single day. And I'm proud to uh at to call her my mother because she is an amazing woman that keeps me going every single day to fight for my communities. I ask that this body not balance the budget on the backs of these hardworking uh people that have done nothing more than give their life to the Chicago public schools and keeping our schools uh safe and clean. I ask that CPS follow through on the uh the demands of their collective bargaining representatives, bring back all the workers for these uh and also make them whole in every way possible. I have faith that you all will do the right thing. I understand how hard his
155decisions are myself a core working in the state legislature. But I do I do want to say that I look forward to working at every single one of you to uh make school funding equitable and fair for all. I am one of many legislators that believe in fully funded schools. And again, I will stand with you in the fight to make sure that our schools are fully funded. But please, I ask these are hard decisions, but please make the make the right decisions. Do not let these workers go. Let's take care of them. And then I'm here to work with everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. The next elected official is State Senator Willie Preston of the 16th district. Thank you all. Um I'm State Senator Willie Preston, but I'm not
156here today uh just as a state senator. I'm a father. Put six children through the Chicago public schools. currently have four children in Chicago public schools. A local school council member, was a janitor, a union janitor. I started my career mopping floors, moved over to be a union carpenter to build school buildings. I understand so much of what's at stake and what you all have before you. But I want to be very clear. When I look at this proposal to take out a loan, I am alarmed. Not just alarmed. It's absurd. $200 million for a loan with interest that's going to cost nearly the same amount of money. That is a travesty. That is not right. That is irresponsible. And as my previous colleague stated, as someone that believes in fully funding our schools, serving
157in the Senate Education Committee, fighting to increase education based fun, EBF, it's going to be more difficult to make the argument in the state senate to increase these funds if you all make a decision as irresponsible as this loan will ch clearly be. Let's be honest here. This money is not coming out of thin air. This money is going to cost taxpayers who, by the way, are already struggling to buy groceries, put gas in their cars, and clothes on their kids' backs. When it comes to the expenses of everyday people, you all have now have a vital role in making sure that you reduce the cost of people, regular workingclass people in the city of Chicago. Now, I understand that this is tough. These choices are tough, but there's a difference between tough choices and
158bad choices. This proposal that you all may consider to take out a loan mortgages off the future of the children that you are claiming to protect. Now, I urge the board to do the right thing. I thank Dr. King for your responsible proposal. Look forward to continuing to work with each and every one of you regardless of the position you take. But I'm going to end with a quote from the late great Harold Washington when he stated, "Business as usual will not be tolerated by any sector of this city." When you take out a load like this and when you install someone to serve and make a decision as critical as this is few hours before without anyone that they represent now knowing who they are, this is no disrespect to you, sir. That's a
159fact. That's business as usual. And I'm highly offended as a taxpayer, as a lawmaker who has been an ally to the city that I love and and stay in. And as a parent of Chicago public school students, that if you all do this, you will force the children that you claim to serve to be put in the worst position than they're already in. Please take the responsible budget that Dr. King has presented. Help us, your allies in the state senate, in the general assembly, help the children that we all love. Thank you so much. I'm state senator Willie Breath. Thank you for your comments. Our next elected official is State Representative Lillian Jimenez, who's joining us ver from the fourth district who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. Hello, my name is
160Lilian Himenez. I'm the state representative for the fourth district um that covers Westtown Ukrainian Village Humble Park and parts of Edmosa and Belmont Pan. Um thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak for a moment. Uh I am the proud product of the Chicago public schools K through 12 education. Um, and I also am the mother of a um a CPS student uh a seven-year-old who attends his local community school. Um, so now I just wanted to share that I am just I want to make sure that the state really has uh a a role in this conversation. So that's why I'm here today. I thank my colleagues who spoke before me so passionately. Um, I want to make sure that whatever budget that we come up with is not on the
161backs of working people. It's not on the back of union members. It's not on the backs of taxpayers. We in Illinois have the ability to tax the rich. And that's what we must do. We cannot continue to tax our working-class population out of existence and the ability to even stay in Chicago. We need to make sure that we mount the pressure to create a structure of progressive taxation at the state of Illinois. We cannot close our schools. We cannot go down the path. I am distraught beyond belief that our safe passage members, that are janitors, that are seeks, that our sustainable community schools, that even our um crossing guards who are so vital to um our ability to function in our communities are on the chopping table. That is unacceptable. I went to go pick
162up my school, my son today from school and I was looking around at all the parents and I almost started to cry to be honest thinking of how many cuts our vulnerable communities are under are uh is coming under given the fact that this national government is coming down hard on all of us especially our black and brown students. So, I urge the school board to make sure that you have all options on the table, that you don't leave any um any funding source un uh unavailable to you. Make sure that you're not pushing on the debt of whatever it is onto the next onto the next generation. Make sure we have the ability to um do what we need to do to fully fund our schools. And in order to do that, we must
163p pass a responsible budget that allows the school board to pay for everything that it needs to pay for to make sure that we fully fund our schools. And yes, I will be a partner to you at the state level to make sure that we are taking the responsibility on our shoulders as the state of Illinois to make sure our schools are equitably funded. And to do that, we must tax the rich. Thank you. Thank you for your comments. Our next elected official is Alderman Andre Vasquez from the 40th ward. Good afternoon, President Hardeham, esteemed members of the board, interim CEO King, and members of the public. Uh my name is Andre Vasquez. I serve as the alderper person of Chicago's 40th ward. I am also the co-chair of the progressive caucus, chair of the
164Latino caucus, and chair of the committee on immigrant refugee rights. I come before you today as both an elected official, and more importantly, as a son of this city and a product of the Chicago public school system. Like all of you, I care deeply about the future of our children and our communities. And it is in that spirit that I rise to speak in support of the balanced budget the interim CEO King has presented. Now, let me start with something we all agree on. We know that the state of Illinois has the ability to step up. Governor Pritsker and the general assembly could fully fund our schools and give the city the tools to raise progressive revenue. That would solve much of the challenge we're facing. And I support that completely. But the reality is
165this. As of today, those funds have not been delivered. And we cannot build our entire school budget on the hope that something might change in Springfield. Hope is not a strategy. We have a responsibility to face the numbers in front of us, not the ones we wish we had. That is why this moment is so important. This is and will be the first elected school board. We fought for this board because we wanted accountability. And this is a make orb breakak moment for every one of you. The decisions you make today will either build public trust or risk breaking it before the board has fully become elected. The truth is clear. Both the previous CEO, Pedro Martinez, originally appointed by Mayor Lightoot and later removed by Mayor Johnson, and now the current CEO, Maline King,
166who came directly from the mayor's office, have come to the same conclusion. The best course of action is to avoid a highinterest short-term loan. The budget before you does exactly that. It avoids a loan. It does not include the pension payment that the state law requires the city, not CPS, to make. and it protects classrooms from cuts. That is responsible budgeting. Yet, despite this, the mayor and some members of this board want to bail out the city of Chicago at the expense of CPS. That is not only wrong, it is dangerous. Let me be clear about two key issues where there has been confusion or in some cases intentional misinformation. First, let's talk pensions. Under state law, the city of Chicago, not CPS, is responsible for paying pensions. Forcing CPS to cover a $175 million
167pension payment to the city would be fundamentally unjust, as said by CTU and Brandon Johnson when Mayor Lightfoot tried to do it. It's a little bit of dissonance. CPS is already capped in its ability to raise revenue, and unlike the city, it does not have the flexibility to generate additional funds. On top of that, borrowing to make this payment would mean taking out a high interest loan that would almost certainly lead to a credit downgrade, driving up costs even further and creating bigger deficits year after year after year. The path is unsustainable and it puts our children and our school staff at risk. Second, let's talk tiff surplus. Got a lot of cause about that from some of the members here. CPS receives 52% of whatever tiff surplus the city declares. The city gets only
16825%. You guys get double the money we do when we do tiff surplus. This year CPS budgeted responsibly assuming the same tiff surplus as last year. And make no mistake, the city will declare a surplus. It has to. Not for you all, but for us. The city is facing a billion dollar deficit of its own. And I'm praying you guys don't want to join the club. Every year I've served on city council, sweeping the tiffs has been part of closing the gap. This year will be no different. So if anyone has told this board that CPS will not receive t uh t surplus funds or that those funds are contingent on CPS paying the pension payment, let me tell you plainly, it is not true and they're lying to you. I say this as a
169sitting member of the city council and I challenge any of my colleagues to stand up here and say otherwise. We will declare a surplus for ourselves and when we do CPS will receive more than double the amount that the city will keep for itself. That is the fact. So here's the reality. There is no state mandate for CPS to make the pension payment. There is no need to take out a loan that will further burden CPS with higher costs and larger deficit. >> 30 seconds remaining. >> Good looking out. There is no justification for passing these costs onto a school system that cannot afford them. What we need is leadership. What we need is a vote for a budget that is balanced, that protects classrooms, and that does not saddle CPS with unjust costs or
170dangerous loans. I urge each of you to step into that role, lead for our children, for our school staff, and for the health and future of this city. The decision you make today will echo for years to come. Kind of like the parking meter deal. Let it be a decision that builds trust, that strengthens our schools, and it secures a sustainable path forward. our kids, our school workers, and our communities are counting on you. The moment demands courage. It demands responsibility to our state people that are saying they're going to come help us get that money. Get that money >> and stop telling people to take out loans in the meantime. And I demand that you all put our schools first. Thank you all so much. Saying hi to board member Pope and board member
171Barry. See y'all soon. Take care. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next elected official is Alderman Jason Irvin from the 28th ward. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. State stage. I'm Alderman Irvin of the 284 on the west side of Chicago. I'm glad my colleague is uh up for revenue now. Nobody seems to want to vote for revenue when it's time to vote for revenue. I say this um in two things. They say that uh when the elephants fight the ground gets trampled. Our interests are aligned. As a member of the Chicago city council, as a resident of the city of Chicago, our interests are aligned. Some of our colleagues have stated that it is not possible, that it is not prudent for Chicago public schools to pay what it owes to the city of
172Chicago based upon long-standing practice that it does. Now, let's be honest here. The totality of what is owed from your employees is close to half a billion dollars. People need to understand that this is not asking for a full payment of what is owed from your employees, but a partial payment that has been in effect since 2020. The city of Chicago has consistently surplus money to support the need for this payment on behalf of your employees, not the city of Chicago employees. Again, I stated that our our interests are aligned in this particular regard. I want to read a a letter from one of my colleagues who was unable to uh to join with us today. Uh my my colleague, Alderman Brian Hopkins of the of the Second Ward. It's kind of rare that the
173two of us are are on the same page, but I think that uh many of us in in council uh want to see you all be independent, want to see you be successful, but part of independence is is paying your bills. And unfortunately, uh it is necessary that we as a collective work together, not only for the sake of our students, but as I stated earlier, when the elephants fight, the ground gets trampled. And again, it is our hope. It is our desire and as public servants, the responsibility is incumbent upon all of us to pursue greater fiscal stability for our city and trying and uncertain times. Their responsibility is challenging, but it must not be ignored. It is your obligation to reimburse this payment as it has been since every fiscal year since 2020
174as part of a standing arrangement that reflects substantial benefits seen by your own employees. Forcing the city to cover this pension payment would have deep consequences for Chicagoans. As you know, my colleagues and I on the city council face a budget session with significant challenges as well. Reneigging on your obligation will cause additional and substantial damage further forcing further costs to the city that would be felt by hardworking people in every neighborhood including CPS teachers, families, and students. While it may seem attractive and costcutting measure, the money saved by foregoing this reimbursement would further burden us all and outweigh any short-term benefit uh that you may receive. We're calling the members of the board of education to fulfill their duties as public servants in pursuit of a more financially stable Chicago. And then that's from
175Alderman Brian Hopkins. The thing, the last thing that I will add to this to this conversation is that um again our interests are aligned. As I've heard from two members, three members of the Illinois General Assembly, uh it is incumbent upon all of us to work together to fight for equitable revenue for Chicago and its students. There are many proposals that have been placed on the table. However, the votes have not been there to support those proposals. Our governor has stated he owes us a billion four. I think as um my colleague just mentioned, we have to go down and get that money, but we only can do that together. Kind of reminds me of what we're seeing coming from our national government where people are pitting individuals against one another for their own benefit.
176Again, it's our interests are aligned. And I think that if we walk together and work together, we can solve not only your challenges, but the challenges that the city of Chicago faces today and that you all as a board will continue to face given your revenue constraints. Again, I'm asking that you all honor the obligation that has been in place since 2020 and continue to support uh your employees uh with a partial payment on their future and their retirement benefits. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. The next elected official is Alderman Gilbert Viegas from the 36th ward. Good afternoon board members and CEO King. I come before you today not only as an alderman but as a neighbor and partner in our shared mission as my colleague mentioned earlier ensuring a strong accountable
177and inclusive public school system. Today you face a stark reality of a $734 million budget deficit. CPS leadership, which you hired, proposed the budget that avoids that avoids borrowing and seeks to protect classrooms and seeks to seeks to protect classrooms, cutting central office roles, relying on anticipated tiff surplus funds and deferring $175 million pension. This speaks exactly to why we need collectively to go down to Sprinkle to decouple CPS from the city of Chicago. And I hope during the veto session that we can work together to make sure that as an independent bodies that we have responsible for our own budgets so that way we're not here on an annual basis having this battle having this battle when in fact we have similar interest. These are tough necessary decisions but they must be made with
178responsible steward stewardship of tax dollars. We cannot let political alignments or external pressures derail balanced and pragmatic budget decisions. Protecting classroom instruction and sue services should guide every fiscal choice. Now, I'd like to address the specific urgent matter that encapsulates the importance of fiscal responsibility paired with community involvement. And that's Esmeralda Santiago Elementary. A beloved school in the heart of Humble Park. This school serves predominantly black and brown children and stands as a pillar in its community, not merely as a learning institution, but as a familial home. Santiago's families, teachers, and students have repeatedly rallied for its future. And the board, the board, the majority, 16 of you, honored that by voting in February to absorb Santiago into the CPS school system and keep it open. However, the building itself is now in peril. The
179archasis, which owns the property, has listed it for sale. jeopardizing the stability of the school and the hundreds of families it serves. It's particularly troubling troubling that CPS has earmarked about $4 million to replace the roof on that very building, but CPS doesn't own it. I urged the board instead of sinking millions into a building we lease negotiate a purchase price. By acquiring the property, CPS would do four things. gain a critical asset in its property portfolio, secure the long-term future of Santiago Elementary, honor its commitment. Honor its commitment to Humble Park's family, and avoid pouring taxpayer money into improvements for property we don't even own. Closing Santiago would not just dismantle school, it would fracture a community. Its performance, attendance, and deep neighborhood roots stand as a treatment, a testament rather, to its value.
180I again appeal to the board's sense of fiscal prudence and equitable leadership. Let us be responsible stewards of taxpayers funds, yes, but also champions for communities that rely on schools as much more than learning centers. Let's balance the budget wisely and let's invest strategically by purching the Santiago building and safeguarding the future those we serve. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. Our next elected official is Alderman Byron Byron Sikjo Lopez of the 25th Warden. >> Good afternoon members of the board. Um I want to um um also welcome um the CEO of course to this important session and hope that we are here to listen. Um today we said we remember the 70 years lynching of EMTT Thiel and what a powerful lesson from the past about what type of atrocities we should
181never see in our country. To Mommy Teal, we owe the ignition of the civil rights movement. And I want to quote her today because it is important to look at the past. And I quote, "We're only given a certain amount of time to do what we are sent here to do. You don't have to be around a long time to share the wisdom of a lifetime. You just have to use your time wisely, efficiently. There's no time to waste. The time to do what's right for our children is today. As someone who has actually walked or first week of a school, I can tell you with just a few examples how we or children today are being left behind today in our city as we are threatened with an occupation of a dictator. We have
182a schools in our district that I personally have seen have no staffing so that we can serve meals when that's the only meal that these children can get all day. You cannot tell me here that we're doing justice to our children. So I remember Mama Teal because we got to do whatever it takes to protect these children, the black and brown children, the vast majority of our school district. So the regime that is proposing apparately in the country but especially from our own city. Billionaires that are deciding the future. the architects, the white architects of black and brown education, they are the ones who spreading the lies and dividing us. You just heard from the budget chair of the city council. And I hope that you pay attention. He is the chair of the city
183council when we telling you the need to work together to figure out these for the sake of our children. I'm not only speaking today as an elected official. I am speaking about for a as a father of three children that go to public schools and not Michael Sachs and I'm calling him by name because he is the billionaire paying money to divide because they have the luxury to deny a a loan if they have to. They have the luxury. I ask how many of you have had to pay with a credit card so that you can get food on your table. Ask how many parents in CPS. Ask how many employees in CPS. That's why I standing support also from the workers. I was a law I was a I'm a member of SEIU73. It
184pains me to see how these billionaires corrupt billionaire like Michael Sachs coming to tell us what to do until a few years ago he was trying to steal business so that he control our pensions in his hedge fund. That's who they are. I demand I demand that Governor Prrisker comes to the table. It is not enough to come and say there's no money. Let's talk about some people talk about referendums. Last year over 60% across the state voted billionaires pay the fair tax. Their own projections $4.5 billion. So you tell me that the dictator can disappear people, build concentration camps, disappear our neighbors, and we cannot tax the rich in our state. Please, let's have some common sense. So here, as a father, as an elected official, you have my commitment, as I have told
185you, Dr. King, to work with you and the board to ensure that we do everything it takes to fund our schools. It is unconceivable. We have no afterchool programming in our schools. I'm telling you, I saw with my own eyes. Nobody's coming and tell me and neither the billionaires or the dictator are going to tell me what is needed from our schools. So, I tell you today that we do everything we take to make sure that the state funds it. I'm going to give my colleague Basquez a quick lesson of math because he he needs it. I haven't seen city council give a $500 million million dollar allocation in tiff surplus. I haven't seen it. and I will challenge him and some of my colleagues to give out their projects so that we can get
186those $500 million. I am here because I'm seeing it in my own schools when I came here to ask for t funding for my schools. We still have schools with playground without the very basics. And you know what city council told me? Good luck. So if we are going to rely on promises of the city council of the state, I think that the board is better equipped to fight for schools. And I'm here to tell you, do as you need to do. >> Do as you need to do. >> So our kids are always always first. And was a Chicago and we remember what happened 70 years ago. We're not going back to those times. And here in Chicago when we have occupation, what is going to happen? Who's going to pay when these kids
187are traumatized by these mass men and we are tying our hands on own hands so that we cannot respond because billionaires that we cannot do it. Please I urge you to the city of to the board. Take this on your hands. You have the support of the city council to work together. But we cannot do one option not at the table is failing our children in this moment when we are being occupied by a dictator. Do as you need to do and do it now. Thank you very much. Thank you for your comments. The next elected official is Alderwoman Nicole Lee from the 11th ward who is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Good evening. Can you hear me? >> Yes, please proceed. Thank you. Good evening, President Harden, interim CEO
188King, esteemed members of the board, and fellow Chicagoans. My name is Nicole Lee, and I proudly serve as the alderwoman of the 11th ward that includes Chinatown, Armor Square, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, and Canaryville. I have seven public elementary schools and one BPS High School, and one uh charter, and we've gotten you. I'm also a parent. I'm also a graduate of CPS. Both of my kids have gone to CPS schools. I still have one left. And I know firsthand how much our schools mean to our neighborhoods, our families, and to the future of our city. We're all aware that CPS, the city, and CTA face serious financial challenges. These are definitely not easy times, and the decisions before you as board members are not simple. But I want to applaud interim CEO King, the staff of
189CPS, uh, for the budget that's been presented that reflects a responsible path forward, one that meets our obligations to students and educators, avoiding the real dangerous step of taking out additional debt that frankly is not just going to burden the schools for years to come, but our children and all of us as taxpayers. Looking ahead, I along with my fellow council members, we're eager to work with you closely as the board um with our partners in Springfield as the city and CPS work to disentangle our finances and ensure a sustainable long-term funding model for our schools. To be sure, approval of this budget is a responsible first step towards that goal. As a CPS alum, I know how critical these investments are. And as a CPS parent, I feel the urgency of these decisions deeply.
190And as an elected representative, I believe we owe our communities not just our good intentions, but solid, responsible stewardship of the resources that were entrusted to us. Now, you've got a big decision to make today. My uh my colleagues and I have uh I want to say an equally uh serious task ahead of us as we look to balance the city's budget with over a billion dollars to close. But I want to thank the board and CPS leadership for presenting this budget that balances these tough choices so that we can have a more sustainable future. With that, I urge its adoption and look forward to working uh to continue working with you, our schools, our families, and to ensure that our young people are going to have a solid future. Thank you. >> Thank you
191for your comments. The next elected elected official is Alderman Nick Spozado from the 38th ward who's joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Okay. Thank you everybody. Um, first of all, thanks for uh the evening meeting. That's an awesome idea. Whoever thought of that, I'd like to think you thought of it as a team. A great idea. Uh, my name is Nick Spasado. I am the alderman of the 38th Word on the Northwest Side. Um, just want to instead of calling people out negatively, I would like to make two positive comments about two speakers. Uh, Senator Preston and Alder Man, uh, Andre Vasquez. You both did awesome. I have to say I 100% agree with you. Um I know you all have a tough task right here. Um I'm just very concerned
192about taking out this loan. I urge you once again um not to do that. Uh I think you propose a fair but tough budget in this decision. I'm just very concerned about kicking the can down the road with this loan and saddling um future generations uh with this debt. So, with that, once again, appreciate all you. I know it's not easy. Uh you you on the board that were elected. Uh welcome to the world of electeds. And um hopefully when you're in that closed session, you do the right thing and adopt the proposed budget by um CEO King and and the CPS uh leadership. But thank you all very much for all you do. Appreciate you. Thank you. >> Thank you for your comments. And the last elected official that is um addressing the board
193is Alderwoman Angela Clay from the 46th ward. Alderwoman Clay is joining us virtually. Please enter star six to unmute. >> Thank you so much. Um good evening members of the board and uh faculty. My name is Alderwoman Angela Clay. I am really honored to join you all today. It has been a week as uh I have entered officially in a different capacity of Chicago public schools as a period. Um my baby started her kindergarten experience last Monday and so the last week has been emotional. It has been telling and it has been something that I am extremely proud to be a part of. Budget season is always tough. Um, take it from me, we are about to enter into our own budget season and trying to make everything work for so many different Chicagoans is
194never easy. But as it coincides with the first week of school for my kindergartener, um, this one hits different because it has taught me that leaving your truest, purest love with people that you don't quite know in a building that's so brand new, um, was a reality for so many parents. As parents, we have to trust the teachers that teach our babies day in and out. Um, and as school board members, you have to trust that your city council also wants to be a good partner. I sit on the local school council and I meet every month with our school leadership, parents, reps, and I can tell you that unanimously all of us want the same thing. We want equitable, beautiful schools for our children to thrive and become their best selves. As the city
195council prepares to ramp up our discussions about the city budget, your partners at city council want to do our best to provide CPS with the assistance it needs in the short term. Your budget shortfall that's in front of you is going to be tough. But as we approach the uncoupling of the city and CPS and this board assumes control, it's time for you to assume your responsibility to pay at least a portion of your employees pension payment. This is something that a lot of our elders are relying heavily on. This is their only opportunity to reap some of the benefits of being an amazing employee all throughout our schools. The CPS board negotiates their contracts and controls the amount that it needs into the fund. So CPS should also pay their fair share. My understanding
196of the loan is that it's the only contingency to prevent mid-year cuts. And again, as a new CPS parent, I don't want my baby to go on Christmas break and return to a classroom without a teacher. Mere cuts are catastrophic to students learning, the environment of the entire school, and we have to prevent that from happening. I'm familiar with tight budgets. I'm sure all of us are going to be turning our heads to look at city council in the next coming months. But our budget process is weeks long and we grapple with different ways to fund projects and different ways to make cuts just as you're doing today. I'm also very um disheartened to see that we're talking about something that is traditionally done every single year. Not only are we talking about something that
197is traditionally done every single year, I'm also learning that the CPS CFO also stated that you have the opportunity to borrow if there is a true emergency. And I don't know if there's ever a time where we have seen such a truer emergency than the one that we are facing today. This is our opportunity again as leaders, as communities, as parents to demand that our babies get everything that they deserve. You have leadership 30 seconds. >> You have leadership in our city council who are true partners and making sure that we get our fair share for our babies and for our families. And so I ask you to stand with us as we call on the state to do their fair share at funding our schools. I also ask you that you continue to partner
198with us so that we can make sure that we are fully funding not just our schools but the people who take care of our most precious prized possessions. Thank you so much. >> Thank you for your comments. President Harden. This concludes public participation. Yeah. >> We're on page six. We are we are opening up now for discussion. >> Um if any board members have any uh comments about public participation. >> Are we are there any comments relative to public participation? >> Yes. Board member Thor. >> Thank you. Um I would love an update. update. I think we all would love an update about the um process that the district is currently approaching um in regards to the just and equitable transfer for SEIU members. Um and if there is no update today, we would love
199to know like a timeline of when that would be possible. I can provide you with a timeline next week. I mean on Friday, tomorrow. >> Member Lopez. >> Thank you, President. Um, one of the items is very similar to what was just asked. Um, thank you Senator Cvantes for being here for saying what we need to do and I continue urging the district to work with our labor partners to find solutions. There's numbers of people and I keep thinking about the those individuals impacted. There are my parents, you know, very similar to my parents, my cousins, mistas, mist, my community members. I'm thinking about the 65-year-old Senora Maria who works in night and gale school in my district and she got a pink slip which is difficult for her to find another job. So let's
200make sure that we're fighting for those workers and if they get transferred over that they're grandfather in because they're going to be making the same work you know and what they're pay getting paid. So let's continue keeping that in mind. Um the other item is I also want to thank the staff um the team members, the teachers, the families this uh two weeks of welcoming back to school. I've had the opportunity to visit numbers of schools, attended LSC meetings and also hosted mobile hours. So thank you for everyone. Special shout out to the face department um to Chief uh Fanny Dgo Alvarez and her team and all the volunteers during the summer bashes. Thank you for that great work. Uh and then the other item I want to mention it was um if we can
201also look into the Aero Santiago situation. I would like to hear an update and do an analysis whether if it's something that we are physically because of budget if we can look into the building. Um I believe this shows right the importance of accountability especially with our chart their partners. Those are our bad actors how they were not keeping their buildings up to date and Santgo is not the only example. We have another one also in the southwest side. So let's look to see what are the solutions. Also I think this will be a great opportunity to partner with the city. if we are able to purchase that building, how can the city or other levels of government step in and help us with that purchase? And that concludes my comments. Thank you, >> member
202Bigs. >> Thank you. Um, I'd like to thank everyone who came and spoke with us today. Um, we heard a lot of truth and we also heard some misinformation. I think it's really important that we're all clear that this budget does in fact take us through the end of the school year and does not necessitate any further cuts. We know just how challenging the cuts that we've had to experience thus far have been and we're in a position now where this budget ensures that there will be no more cuts throughout the rest of the school year. Um I wanted to also add just a a comment to my colleagues um out of concern concern um concern that so many of uh us who I've worked alongside in community as a school leader who I've known
203as organizers um seem to have forgotten one of the foundational rules of organizing and that when we're fighting for the world as it should be there are no permanent allies and no permanent enemies only permanent interests. We all sought seats on this board because of our interest in ensuring that all of Chicago's children receive a truly excellent education, particularly those who have historically been furthest from opportunity. Many of us have taken hard and costly positions in support of this goal over the preceding decades. Today is an opportunity to come together around principles of justice in opposition to the interests of those in power today. I plan to stand in that space and I hope others will join me. As the letter that member Bole shared with the board yesterday evening so aptly stated, "History will
204measure us by whom history will not measure us by whom we pleased politically, but by whether we safeguarded the promise of public education for the next generation. Let us choose the path of responsibility, of unity, and of our better angels." Member Smith, >> I want to I want to begin by thanking all of the speakers who came today, including Senator Preston, uh, Alderman Vasquez, and even uh, Wanda Hopkins, who promised to throw her rocker at us if we didn't tell the mayor it ain't going on. uh today is about what students deserve. Our children deserve our wealth, not our debt. Some of us, including myself, grew up poor, but that doesn't give us the right to make poor decisions. In black communities, we often cite a systematic racist practice called the black tax. What the
205black tax means is higher prices for services of less quality. That means food, utility, and even education. The loan being proposed is a setup for a city pension payment that is not legally obligatory. That is what I call poverty management. Mayor Hail Washington said, "I cannot watch the city of Chicago be destroyed by petty politics and bad government. Those appointed to power can feel comfortable apologizing for affronts to democracy as we fight a federal government that is an affront to democracy. I make no apologies for speaking up for the 25,920 voters who are responsible for me sitting here today. They want Superintendent King's balanced budget with no loans, no toss and swap schemes. My name is Dr. Trayon Fest Smith, but it's okay to call me the elected member of the 10th district. Thank you,
206>> member Rio Sierra. >> Thank you. And thank you to the elders who who came and spoke today. um many of which signed a letter promising to surplus TIFF and to um take on the MBF payments, pension payment. Um I appreciate that their generosity is is not unnoted. Um before I was appointed, I spent a lot of time as an organizer. We organized a lot around TIFF. Um, we were able to secure 100 units of affordable housing with 40 million worth of tiff. It took 10 years to advocate for that project. Um, so knowing that these elders are promising 379 million historic tiff surplus, I understand the sacrifice that that is to communities across our district. How many projects of community development infrastructure are being left on the table? How many years of advocacy are
207being wasted in order to give us that money? Right? I just hope that everyone understands a sacrifice that is being made across the district to give us that money. And I hope that it's true. I hope that they put their money where their mouth is. And when it's time to vote on that city budget that allocates that enormous tiff that is gonna save our budget and avoid midyear cuts, um I hope that they vote yes because the alders that came today um of those alders, Andre Vasquez, um Alderman Viegas, Alder Nicole Lee, Alder Spazto all voted No. >> Say it again. >> All voted no on last year's city budget that was allocating already a historic amount of tiff. So I want to be sure that they showed up here today and they spoke so
208passionately and so dedicated so much to us today right now. I hope that they will put their money where their mouth is come November because if we get stuck holding that bag, I guarantee you that we're going to name every single one of you and we're going to remind you. We're going to remind you of what you promised today. If this is really about our our public schools, then make sure that we get that 379 million. make sure the city city takes on that that pension payment because that's what you're promising us and that's what you're promising all the students across the district, right? We'll remind you we'll remind you in November >> Gutierrez. >> Hope and respon hope and responsibility in a time of uncertainty. Superintendent King's 2026 fiscal budget provides something we desperately
209need. Hope grounded in responsibility. It reminds us of that fiscal stability and educational excellence are not competing priorities. They are inseparable. By protecting school budgets, avoiding new borrowing, and reducing future deficits, this plan keeps our promise to students today while building a stronger CPS for generations to come. I hope my fellow board members would join me in approving this budget today. >> Member Paul, >> good evening. Uh thank you all for participating in this important process and discussing these crucial issues. I uh want to raise an issue of concern to me and that is when I asked several meetings ago about the use of anticipated revenue to uh balance a budget. I was told that that was not good practice unless there was something very specific like a very specific bill in the state legislature
210that was about to be voted on or something like that. However, this budget is balancing itself on $379 million of anticipated money, which goes way beyond what we have received in the past. And as uh B board member Rio Sierra just pointed out, some of the people who are making this promise did not vote for that tiff allocation that we got last year. So could you please clarify for me how this is what we consider fiscally responsible because I really don't see it that way. I am very concerned that we are going to end up possibly without all of that revenue and then that we are going to be if we have no options of uh taking out a loan that we are going to be balancing the budget on the backs of the children.
211I taught in the system for over 20 years and I taught at underresourced neighborhood high schools and I saw the budgets balanced on the backs of my students at Bonita Huarees, at Carl Shures and at Gage Park High School and I do not want to see this again. I am very concerned that we are making a mistake in the sense that we are budgeting based on hope rather than budgeting based on reality. Unfortunately, I agree that hope is not a strategy. Hope is what has guided me as a movement activist since I was 13 years old. And I am going to continue to hope. But hope cannot be what we fill our classrooms with because it just doesn't work that way. Thank you. >> Member Boyise. Um, so Dr. King, I know today you you
212admitted in your remarks welcoming Dr. Valz. Um, I'm sure it was just an oversight, but I I I too feel ignored. There were 11 board members that signed a letter after the last ARC review meeting. Um, and we wanted to see the MEABF payment included in the budget, but we never saw that. The budget team, nobody came up with alternatives. Nobody was like, "Hey, this is a majority of the board members. Maybe we should see what that looks like. Let's let's present this budget to them. Let's um we've got this option." Um, we didn't even get the appendix A, I think, until just the other day, yesterday. Um, and I think it was just expenses. I don't know that revenues in there. Again, we've t I've talked about this before just because I've been through
213the county budget process and the city budget process. This process has to change and and improve. And hopefully now that we've, you know, as we're transitioning from an elected or an appointed board to an elected board, um, we can get there. But there's so many things that we need to work on. Um, particularly the $2.4 billion that we borrow every year. Everyone, there's hystericss about a $200 million loan. And nobody is crying in the streets about the $2.4 4 billion dollar that we pay interest on every single year. Nobody's discussed. We don't have a plan. This the the county was in a rears in that way too and they came up with a strategic plan one year, five year, 10 year. We're not talking about any of that. We're talking politics and we're talking past
214each other and I don't feel like we are working together. just the the little elected cheap shot that just happened there. I I don't know. I don't know what we're doing. We're all volunteers. We all are missing our family and friends to be a part of this. We can at least be respectful to each other. Um, and we can if if a if some folks if 11 a majority of the people say like let's try this, we could have just tried it. You could have showed us what it looked like. And I just don't feel supported from uh the administration here. So, um, I want to honor our I think we should honor our obligations as a and a and be a good partner to the city. I think we should pay our fair share.
215I think we should protect our workers. The security dudes in here, all the folks here, everybody in a bunch of people in this room need to make sure that the MEABF is not funded at 20%. And I was willing to pay into that. And there's literally labor leaders whose members have are parts of um are under are in an underfunded annuity fund um and they're fighting against it. you got to know something is going on. You got to know the fixes in. Um so anyway, I I hope that we'll all try better to work together and to listen to each other. Um and instead of if a if a majority of people say like let's try this instead of positioning yourself to get out of it or to convince folks to behave a certain way.
216Instead of doing that, we actually say, "Hey, let's let's let's see what budget A looks like, budget B looks like, budget C looks like, and then we can make a more informed decision." Thank you, >> Rivous. >> Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Uh, I just wanted to clear up some uh misinformation that's been given out this evening. Um and uh really appreciate everyone coming together uh to give us all of this uh all of the public comment uh from families, teachers, um our labor partners uh on this incredibly important vote. Um and so the first one being um the $379 million is not a madeup number. It is uh the amount that the city of Chicago provided us last year in their tiff. Uh that's actually higher than what was in the approved city of
217Chicago budget. Uh so thank you to the city of Chicago who made that lastm minute uh addition to our budget during the summer when we needed to pay out our retro pay to our labor partners. Um also the MAABF payment is already paid. Uh the city is uh making catchup payments. Um you know they made an additional payment last year uh based on what they need to do, right? Um so this mess is not something that was created by this board. People keep saying that. It's also not a mess that's created by our current administration, the current mayor. Um, the city of Chicago took pension holidays on the MABF for many years, balancing the city's budget uh by not making those pension obligations. So, when state law changed to ensure that we're funding our pensions
218adequately so that they're there for the future, that's why the pension obligation has ballooned and why the city needs to be making additional payments. So, I totally understand that. Um, and it's just not something that we as a board can afford because we already lose $800 million per year in debt service from the same types of loans from the past that we've done here. $800 million a year could be in our classrooms today. And it's not because we use lose that in debt service per year. $800 million could have been that deficit that we had where we had those painful cuts uh over this summer. $800 million that could be working uh for our children. And so, um, I I personally don't believe we can, uh, add more to our debt service when we, this
219board here is probably not going to be the board that has to make painful decisions two, three, four years from now when we have to pay nearly double that money back. A $200 million loan paying back $400 million. Um the other thing too is uh about uh the long or the the uh loans that we take out on a yearly basis. The number mentioned uh by member Blae of $2.4 billion. I believe we authorize $1.25 billion uh this uh this last meeting um that or that's our TANS uh revenue uh projections. Basically, we are borrowing money to make payroll because we haven't received our money from the county or other entities that are providing us that money. So, it's not that we're borrowing a billion dollars that we need to pay back starting tomorrow and
220not figuring out where we're going to get that money. We are borrowing to be able to make payroll on money that we know we are going to receive from the county. And by the way, the county has not sent out property tax bills. All of us here that are property owners have not received our bills. Meaning we haven't paid our property taxes. Meaning the Chicago public schools has not received 52% of the countywide or the citywide taxes, which then means we have not received our money to be able to make payroll, which means we have to take out TANS uh to be able to make payroll. Um and so I'm really hopeful that the county uh could help us out in making uh sure that we get our money uh expediently. Um the last thing
221um that I need to say uh because it really uh it breaks my heart. Um as someone I I I'm a city employee. I'm in the MAABF. Uh my mom was a lunch lady also in the MEABF. Uh my family friends that have raised me since I was about 10 years old are both uh retired from the Chicago public schools, both in the MABF. And yesterday at our weekly family dinner, Maggie asked me, "I hear I'm not getting my pension check next month." And that is a complete lie. the pension payment is paid. Those pensioners that are getting retirement checks today are still going to get their monthly retirement check. We cannot put fear into our community, excuse me. We cannot put fear into our community, into our retirees thinking that they're not going to
222get their pension check just to be able to make a point here. That's not true. Thank you. This concludes public participation. >> President Harden, I move the board take a 20-minut recess. Is there a second? >> I second. >> Point of order. Can we do that when we have another agenda item up? >> Um, yes. A motion to recess as a privilege motion. >> Thank you. >> Yes. >> I'm sorry. I'm just grabbing a sheet to record the vote. >> The motion to recess was moved by Vice President Bautista. Is that correct? >> That's correct. >> Point of order. I I'm sorry. What was the response to member Kuster? I thought we were going right into the motion that I made that was passed. Um, >> point of privilege. >> Yes. Uh, in response, the
223um motion to recess is a privileged motion >> and so it can take place at this moment. >> And and who seconded the motion to recess? >> I'm loan. >> Lozano. Okay. Thank you. Opposite with a vote. Member Lozano. >> Yes. >> Member Smith. >> No. Member Lopez. She stepped off. >> Member Bles. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. >> No. >> Member Wallace. >> I >> member Kuster. >> No. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> No. >> Member Rivas. >> No. >> Member Rio Sierra. >> Hi. >> Member Brown. Yes. >> Member Bannon. >> I excuse me. I >> Vice President Bautista. >> Yes. >> Member Gutierrez. >> No. >> Member Biggs. >> No. >> Member Thorakura. >> Yes. >> Member Blae. >> Yes. >> Member Zachor. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez.
224There's a motion on the floor to go into a recess for a 20m minute recess. >> Thank you. I >> 12 eyes, seven nazs. This motion is adopted by the board. This we will go into a 20minut recess. We're ready. >> The meeting of the board of education is reconvened. President Hard Harden, we will now proceed with a separate vote as motioned earlier with a separate vote on RS1 resolution adopting the annual school budget for fiscal year 2026. This item does require a vote. >> Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Sorry, who moved? Rosenf. Is there a second? >> Second. >> And I move this matter for discussion. As we go into the discussion, just want to remind board members to be again maintain the quorum and respect as we engage in discussion
225and exercise brevity. Thank you. Member Rosenfeld. >> Oh no. I recognize member Rosenfeld. >> No, I don't. I'm not. >> Member Kuster. >> Uh, I motion to take a roll call. >> Second. >> I'll proceed with the roll call vote. Do we get to speak to this motion? >> Board President, may I seek a certification from board member Kuster for purposes of parliamentary procedure? >> Yes, please. >> Um, board member Ker, are you to call for a question? >> Yes. Um and I'll note just for parliamentary procedure that um a motion to call for the question is a two3 vote. >> Is there discussion on the question? >> Call the role. Um >> are we allowed to discuss whether or not to move forward with the vote on >> Well, first we need a second
226to the motion. >> Is there one? >> Which motion? >> Okay. for member oil and a motion um to call on question is notable. >> So the roll call can proceed. So I am proceeding with the roll call >> uh MO6. >> I'm taking a roll call in MO6 which is to end the debate and call for a roll call. So this vote is for MO6. Member Lozano. Yes. Member Smith. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez, >> can you clarify again what it is that we're doing for? >> So, board member Kuster put a motion on the floor to end the debate and call for the roll call for the vote on RS1. Yeah, we're voting on that motion to end the debate. End the debate. And this just to end the debate and then we
227go straight into a vote for the item on the floor. >> Yes, that's correct. >> Correct. >> Uh, nay. >> Yes. >> I'm sorry. Member Villa. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. >> Yes. >> Member Wallace. >> Abstain. >> Member Kuster. >> Yes. >> Member Pope. >> Abstain. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. Member Rivas. >> Yes. >> Member Rio Sierra. >> Yes. >> Member Brown. >> Yes. >> Member Bannon. >> No. >> Yes. Oh, sorry. >> Vice President Bautista. >> Yes. >> Member Gutierrez. >> Yes. >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. >> Member Thorakura. >> No. >> Member Blae. >> No. >> Member Zachor. >> No. >> Member Deberry. Yes, it doesn't matter. 13 eyes, five nazs, two abstensions. This motion fails of adoption u because it does not meet the 2/3 threshold. Let me discuss them.
228Okay. >> So, the floor is still goes back to uh the discussion for RS1. >> Member Bannon. >> Um I just want to make a statement that this this budget is balanced on paper. Um but it's balanced on a big if the the if of this turf tiff surplus. I I understand a lot of people think it's going to happen. Um, and they might be right, but I I think we just don't uh we don't know for sure. So, I just want to call it out there that um this is this vote um is just the next phase of this budget process. The next phase is to go to city hall and lobby for the tiff money to go to Springfield and and lobby for more revenue. And I I trust that all the board
229members are aligned on that. Uh I just there's been a lot of talk about this is a a successful balanced budget and there's a big question mark at the end of that uh balance sheet if you ask me. Um so I respect you know all the the board members work on all this and the staff's work and all this. Um, I also want to point out that the the tiff the pension payment has been made before. Um, and it's been made because there was no controversy about it because CPS was adequately funded. No one was chasing after dollars. We had the the federal uh co money coming in and everyone was fine with making the payment because there were there were no cuts surrounding it. So, um, this is not about the political football of
230a pension payment or a bailout. It's about adequately funding CPS. And I think that's what we all need to keep in mind and I know it's been mentioned before. Uh I just want to uh say it one more time that uh this is a a fight over revenue for education. Uh we we shouldn't be having the scarcity mindset of we have we have to cut our way to success. We have to cut our way to a balanced budget. Uh we need to grow their grow our revenue, get uh get progressive revenue in Illinois and uh we can all be successful. Thank you for your time. member Deberry. >> Um, thank you, Jenny, for trying to get us out of here a little earlier. I appreciate you. Um, but since we're here, I want to say,
231um, welcome, Dr. Valz. I want to say thank you everyone who spoke today so passionately about our children. you know, that energy was palpable and I appreciate it because I love him as much as you do. Um, I'm I'm so grateful to be in this position to to to think about all the ways in which um people are going to be hurt and helped in this budget. And I really appreciate the way the people, especially state legislators, said that we have to go after more from our governor. So, please keep that energy up because I'm going to let's get more for our children from the state. Thank you so much, >> Member Smith. >> Yes. Uh recently 30 alderman signed a letter uh for uh the tiff surplus and against the pension payment. Uh 30
232aldermen signed a letter saying that they did not agree with CPS uh taking a loan. It seems to me that now we only need one more person to support it and that's easy. All someone has to do and I believe someone on the board can do it right now is make a call to city hall and have the mayor support it. Since the alderman support it, have the mayor support it? There we go. We don't have to argue about not being able to fund our schools. All we got to do is get some of the people here who know the mayor real well to say mayor support it or somebody's going to come throw a roller at you. >> Member Rivas. >> Uh thank you, Mr. President. Um one one other clarification that I wanted
233to make uh based on my earlier comment. Um when we talk about a tiff surplus uh the key word here being a surplus meaning these are not dollars that are assigned to specific projects. This uh that surplus money it happens every single year. Uh it is not uh those are not currently dollars assigned to projects in the respective wards or areas where uh the the tiff districts exist. The city has talked uh long about expiring those tiffs. they were the history behind it of being you know created under Merald Herald Washington was that we were going to have these districts for what 21 23 years ex let them expire so that we can get those tax dollars back to those respective bodies. Um, so again, uh, our TIFF surplus and I am really am appreciative
234of the TIF projects, uh, that we have across our city, especially the ones going to our schools. Um, those TIF projects are incredibly important to us, uh, and we're grateful to have those, but that's because every single level of government wants great schools for our city. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. And all due respect, board member Bannon, it does feel like a political football. Um, we've been talking about this loan and we've been talking about the MEABF payment when we ran for this office and we won because we said we wouldn't take out the loan and we wouldn't vote to make that payment. So, by and large it does feel political. Also, to be very clear, we were told by our general counsel and our CFO that if in fact later down the road there
235is an emergency, a real emergency, we can come back. We can vote to borrow money. All we need is a simple majority to do it. So, we need to do what's right right now for the families of Chicago public schools. The CEO that was fired on Christmas Eve as well as our current CEO have said the same thing. We cannot take out a loan. We can balance this budget and we don't need to make that payment. Let's do it guys. >> Member thor. >> Thank you. Here's the reality. There is no budget that we could pass today that we could possibly pass that could be considered a win for our kids. And as we face this decision about this year's budget, it's important that we acknowledge the root cause of this crisis and who is
236responsible. For decades, people who now want to claim that they're experts on fiscal responsibility made decisions that push CPS into this mess that we are trying to clean up. For example, Paul Val loves to lecture Chicago about fiscal discipline. But let's remember his record. As CEO of CPS in the 1990s, he leaned on devastating financial maneuvers, pension holidays, short-term borrowing, and risky bond deals that looked good on paper, but left the district with bills that we are still paying today. And those choices balanced his budgets at the moment, but they saddled us with long-term debt. And every dollar that we pay toward that debt is a dollar that is stolen from classrooms, staff, and students. And let's not forget Juan Donel, whose financial mismanagement at UNO ended with federal intervention. People who mismanaged our schools
237and helped create this financial hole should not be setting the terms of today's decision. Right now, CPS is paying more than $200 million every year just to service crisis borrowing from 2016 to 2018. That is money that should be funding afterchool programs, early childhood education, counselors, librarians, special education, and the kinds of opportunities that our students deserve. That amount alone could solve the budget challenge in front of us today. Instead, it's being shoveled into debt payments because of past mismanagement. We should call out hypocrisy. But the real test for every leader and every organization weighing in on this budget is whether they are willing to fight for the revenue it will take to fund our schools. The challenge before us is clear. We need fully funded schools where every child, no matter their zip code,
238has access to a high quality public education. Where every one of our staff members, from our teachers to our principles to our custodial workers, our bus drivers make a fair wage and where our school infrastructure is conducive to highquality student learning. And that's beyond any budget within our means today. And especially with looming threats, federal threats to education and to the rights of our students and families. Getting there requires more than speeches. It requires showing up in Springfield and engaging our lawmakers to do their part. Many of my colleagues have yet to make that trip. That needs to change. And actually, I would love to do a show of hands. Can you please raise your hand if you've made a trip down to Springfield to talk to legislators about revenue for our schools? Point of
239order. at least a Zoom meeting with legislators. They do that, too. >> They do that, too. >> With us facing $500 million of deficits for next year, with us already having made all the operational cuts we can stomach, that is not going to cut it. >> And if you are not seeing this fiscal cliff that we are approaching, then please identify where in the budget there are $500 million of cuts that you're willing to make next year. Join us down in Springfield as we advocate for more revenue. And I understand this is a volunteer position, but maybe my colleagues could spend half the time they spend talking to the media, talking to legislators, advocating for revenue. Every single group with a position on this budget must bring the same focus and persistence to Springfield as
240they do to this conversation because unless we secure revenue, our schools will not be fully funded until 2034. And our kids cannot wait 10 more years. We owe it to Chicago students and teachers to stop repeating the mistakes of the past. to hold those accountable who made them and to fight together for the future that we all deserve. Thank you. >> Member Brown. >> Again, I want to just offer an apology to Dr. VZ. I feel very bad about how this meeting opened up. Uh so, brother, I just want to say apologies to you again for the disrespect that you encountered at the beginning of this meeting. I also want to say that um you know democracy is not about consensus. So however this vote goes tomorrow the sun still shine and the water still
241flows if I understand everything correctly. But I w I want to make it very clear. Um it was very interesting some of the people that spoke today that um very courageously take shots at the merit city when they were silent when Rahm Emanuel was gutting our schools. Silent not a drop of courage. It's really interesting to see people sit up and talk about the budget, but then when they had the opportunity to fund our schools last year, they voted no. And I think there's an old saying that the great ancestor Ella Baker used to say, who are your people? And what she meant by that is, who sent you to the table? Whose interests are you carrying? So, I cannot vote yes on a budget that does not guarantee that we can hire back sisters
242and brothers that have lost their positions. I cannot vote yes on a budget that assumes a $379 million tiff surplus when city council has not demonstrated the political will to do it. So, if I understand everything correctly, um I think that we can be on different sides without taking sophomore shots at each other. I think uh the work that is going to take, not the rhetoric, but the work that it's going to take to heal a structural deficit that was caused by that was caused by some of the people that came up here and ran their mouths over the last couple of months. I'll say it publicly. Juan Rangel shouldn't be able to speak in public about public schools. Paul Valor shouldn't be able to speak in public about public schools. Now, there are people
243on this board that are fought that have more expertise than me in budgets, but I'll stand on this what Malcolm said many years ago. He said, "I'm not a particularly educated man, nor am I an expert in any field, but I'm sincere and my sincerity is my credential. I am bought by and owned by nobody. And if I understand thing correctly, we gonna have to do work work. In Kisu Swahili, the word is kazzy. We're gonna have to do work over the next six months. And I want to see the people that step up to the plate cuz I'mma be there. I want to see the unions step up to the plate. I want to see the board members step up to the plate and build a statewide coalition to finally make a demand on
244Springfield that they do right by Chicago's children, by Illinois's children. Thank you very much. >> I motion to call the question. Second. So the motion on the floor is to call for the question which would be ending the debate. >> It requires a twoth3 vote as well. >> Member Lozano. >> No. >> Member Smith. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez. >> I. Member Velas, >> no. >> Member Bole, >> yes. >> Member Wallace, >> abstain. >> Member Kuster, >> yes. >> Member Pope, >> no. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rivos. >> Yes. >> Member Rio Sierra. >> I member Brown. No >> member Bannon. >> No >> member Vice President Bautista. >> No >> member Gutierrez. >> I >> member Bigs. >> Yes. >> Member Thora. >> No. >> Member Blae. >> No. >>
245Member Zachor. >> No. >> Member Deberry. >> I forgot the question. >> The motion on the floor is to end the end the debate. Yes. We have 10 eyes, nine nays, one abstension. This motion fails of adoption. member Lozano. >> Thank you. Uh uh Mr. President, I just wanted to remind the board that all of us are here as volunteers. Some of us appointed, some of us elected, and some of us were just voters in your elections and supported you. uh but I believe that our hearts are in the right place and we should respect each other's opinions and I myself don't feel comfortable with this budget because it's based on assumptions and there's no guarantees but I know that this board together we could figure it out. We are all committed to go to
246Springfield and fight for dollars. And uh we've heard today testimony by elected officials which proved to me that they are divided from the city. Uh and they're not all on the same page. And this this uh 30 signature letter, I haven't seen it. I got all over uh to look for it. Can't find it. Only there's one that has 26 members on it, but not 30. So, I don't know where that number came from. I could be wrong. I could have missed it, but I want everyone to know that by probably by September 5th, there's going to be tanks and everything in this city. And we are going to be dependent on the police and whatever else that can come together and the community to go out and protest that they come and separate families.
247This is going to affect the children of the Chicago public schools because many of our children are mixed status families. They have undocumented parents that have been working hard for decades waiting for immigration reform that never came. And now we have a dictator in the White House and we need to be straight and understand that the city of Chicago and the Chicago public schools should be fighting together for the children and that we're not against each other. We're not enemies. who are allies. So I just want to leave you with this. There are no great men or women in the world, only great challenges that ordinary people must stand up to defend. And I leave you with that. And that was my brother Rudy Losano who has a public school and a library and named
248after him because he fought for the most marginalized black and brown children. And that's why I'm here today. And that's why I oppose this budget the way it's written because it's based on assumptions and not facts. And I'm sorry, you know, I know people work very hard on it and I pray that these things are um can come true and I want to have faith in that. But even Pritskar said absolutely not. There's no more money coming to us. and uh the tiff of course we had members saying yes but but I know I have talked to different people and my alderman says do what you got to do and that's what I did when I was a single mom and I was losing my house I had to refinance to keep a roof over
249my kid's head you know and that means necess I don't have any comments. >> Members of core. >> Um yeah, I can't be nearly as eloquent as Emma. Um but I just want to mention that um of all the aldermen who spoke here and the letter as well um none of them actually said yes we are going to for sure get you the amount of money of tiff money that's in the budget. So when people keep saying that this is based on assumptions, um even th that eloquent testimony by those aldermen kind of back up that that it's an assumption because if they were so committed to the amount of money that that we need, I think they would be able to specifically say it. Um, I also just want to say in in uh
250alignment I guess with what um Alderman Irvin was saying about we are together with the city. We are all the CPS and the city. We are fighting for the best life possible for all of our children. And while our main responsibility is education, we should just not forget that all the things the city does, the things that that MEABF payment would help them to do include things like providing affordable housing, providing health care, including mental health services, making sure that there are activities for young people and summer jobs. All of those things matter for our young people. I'll just say as someone who, you know, was in the classroom just a year ago, sometimes those things mattered more than whatever I might be saying in the classroom because our students lives were disturbed in so
251many ways that things that the city was doing was supporting. So I also feel um you know that I am not able to support a budget that uh does not acknowledge that partnership and that reality that we are all working for the same thing and that is based on assumptions. member Gutierrez, >> you know, I think um and I truly believe this, we will have a budget conversation in December, in January, in February, again, just because the world around us is changing, it's going to call us to do that. to reiterate what my board member Rosenfeld said, we have the ability to come back should we face a state of emergency as a district to borrow and to come up with a plan. Um, this is not a complicated effort. I mean, the memos were
252sent, everyone's got them. The city has already when they declare the reason board members of core they can't give us a number is because they haven't declared the tiff yet. They haven't declared it yet. But when they do that's when we get that's how the budget is assumed and made. Thank you. Are there any more comments from the board? There being none, >> I'll proceed with the roll call vote on RS1. >> Member Lozano. >> Could you please tell me what that is? >> You're voting now on the RS1, the resolution adopting the annual school budget for fiscal year 2026. >> No. Member Smith, >> yes. >> Member Lopez, >> yes. Member VeZ, >> no. >> Member Bole, >> yes. >> Member Wallace, >> I member Kuster, >> I. Member Pope, >> abstain. >> Member
253Rosenfeld, >> yes. Member Rivas, >> yes. >> Member Rio Sierra, >> nay. Member Brown, >> no. >> Member Bannon, >> yes. >> Vice President Bautista, >> no. >> Member Gutierrez, >> yes. >> Member Biggs, >> yes. >> Member Thodakura, >> yes. >> Member Blae, >> no. >> Member Zachor, >> no. >> Member Deberry, I 12 eyes's seven nazs, one abstension. This matter is adopted by the board. We'll now move into a short resource board member report. Do you have motion MO1? >> I move that the board take a 30inut recess. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> Thank you. I'll proceed with a roll call. Member Lozano, >> yes. >> Member Smith, >> I. >> Member Lopez, >> I. >> Member, >> yes. >> Member Bole, >> yes. >> Member Wallace, >> I. >>
254Member Kuster, >> I. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfo. >> Yes. >> Member Rivos. >> Yes. >> Member Rio Sierra. >> I. >> Member Brown. >> He's gone. Member Bannon. >> Hi. >> Vice President Bautista. >> Yes. Member Gutierrez. >> Yes. >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. >> Member Thorakura. >> Yes. >> Member Blae. Member Zachor. >> Yes. >> Member Deberry. >> No. >> You're voting for a recess. No. >> She wants to finish the meeting. be carried. >> 18 eyes, one nay. This motion is adopted by the board. Um, meeting will now go into a 30-minute recess. Thank you. Yes, >> the meter board of education is reconvening. >> I move to withdraw the budget presentation. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> Thank you. Member Loausano >> present. Yes, >>
255member Smith. >> Yes, >> member Lopez. >> I >> member BZ. >> Yes. >> Member Boils. >> Yes. >> Member Wallace. >> I join. >> Member Cluster. >> I. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rivas. >> Yes. >> Member Bannon. >> I. >> What do we draw? The motion on the floor is to withdraw the presentation. >> Yes. Yes. >> Member Gutierrez. >> Yes. >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. >> Member Thorakura. >> Yes. >> Member Zachor. >> Yes. >> Member Deberry. >> Yes. >> Thank you. 17 eyes, zero nazs. This motion is adopted by the board. >> Thank you. We will now proceed with the vote on public agenda items. Board secretary, please proceed. >> Thank you, President Harden. I will proceed with the items on the public agenda.
256Read the board report numbers and brief titles. I believe board member Smith has motion two regarding record of proceedings. I move that the record of proceedings of the agenda review committee meeting of July 9th, 2025 and board meeting of July 24th, 2025 prepared by the board secretary be approved and that such records of proceedings be posted on the Chicago Board of Education website in accordance with section 2.06b of the Open Meetings Act. >> Is there a second? I second. >> Thank you. I'll proceed with a roll call. Member Lozano. >> Yes. >> Member Smith. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez. >> I. >> Member Fez. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. >> Yes. >> Member Wallace. >> I. >> Member Kuster. >> I. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rivas. Yes,
257>> member Bannon. >> Yes, >> Vice President Bautista. >> Yes, >> member Gutieras. >> I >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. >> Member Thorakura. >> Yes. >> Member Blae. >> Oh, sorry. Member Zachor. >> Yes. >> Member Deberry. >> I. >> 17 eyes, zero nazs. This motion is adopted by the board. President Harden, I will continue with items that do require a vote. RS2, resolution adopting a final one-year capital improvement plan of the board of education of the city of Chicago for fiscal year 2026. RS3, resolution levying property taxes and authorizing and directing the filing of a controller certificate for the fiscal year 2026 for school and capital improvement purposes. RS4 resolution authorizing the issuance of educational purposes tax anticipation warrants and notes of the board of education in a maximum principal amount not to exceed
258$1 bill250 million outstanding. RS5 resolution authorize appointment of members to local school councils to fill vacancies. RS6 resolution appointment of members to LS the local school council advisory board to fill vacancies. PO1 authorized the commencement of the public comment period for the internet safety policy. PO2 authorized the commencement of the public comment period for the ownership of intellectual property policy. PO3 authorized the commencement of public comment period for the staff acceptable use policy. PO4 authorize the commencement of the public comment period for the student acceptable use policy. PO5 amend policy on the reporting of child abuse, neglect, and inappropriate relations between adults and students. President Harden, this amendment amendment is necessary to remove language and add language in alignment with board rule 6-21. I'll continue with PO6, resend and adopt new ESSA title 1 parent
259and family engagement policy. EX1, transfer of funds. OP1, transfer title to excess real estate located at 3700 3718 South Prairie Avenue to the Chicago Park District. PR1, amend the report. Uh, amend the first and second final renewal agreements with All-American Sports Corps, DBA, Ryel, All-American Sports, and Shut Sports LLC. President Harden, this amendment is necessary to increase the spend authority. I'll continue with PR2. Amend authorize author, I'm sorry. Amend the first and second final renewal agreement with various contractors to provide various work trades work over 35,000. President Harden, this amendment is necessary to increase the spend authority and extend the agreement by 3 months. I'll continue with PR3. Authorize the first and second final renew agreement with Constellation New Energy Gas Division LLC. PR4, report on the award of construction contracts and changes to construction
260contracts for the board of education's capital improvement program. PR5, authorize a second final renewal agreements with T-Mobile, Inc., Comcast Corporation, RC, and Cable TV of Chicago, Inc. PR six, authorize the third final renewal agreement with various vendors to provide safe passage services for designated neighborhoods. President Harden, for the record, I would like to note an abstension for board member Gutierrez on PR6 and board member Lopez for the following vendor on PR6. SGA Youth and Family Services number 13. President Harden, these items do require a vote. >> Is there a motion? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> I second. Oh. Thank you. I'll proceed with a roll call with the noted abstensions. Member Lozano. >> Yes. >> Member Smith. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez with the noted abstension on PR6 on the vendor
261on PR6. >> I. >> Member. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. Yes. Member Wallace. I. >> Member Kuster. I. >> Member Pope. Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. Member Rivas, >> yes. >> Member Rio Sierra, I'm sorry, she's not here. Member Bannon, >> yes. >> Vice President Bautista, >> yes. >> Member Gutierrez, >> I. >> Member Biggs, >> yes. >> Member Thorakura, >> yes. >> Member Blae, I'm sorry. Member Zachor, >> yes. >> Member Deberry, >> I. 17 I's zero nazs on items RS3 through RS6 P1 through PO6 EX1 OP1 and PR1 through PR5 for PR6 the vote is 16 I's zero nays one abstension on the report and one vendor abstension so um that report is these matters are adopted by the President Hard and I will continue with additional items on the public agenda
262that do not require a vote. PR7 Chief Procurement Officer Delegation of authority report for June 2025 and Chief Financial Officer Report for June 2025. EX2 report on principal contracts new. EX3 report on principal contracts renewals. AR1 report on board report reisions. President Harden, these items just need to be accepted by the board. >> Please mark received and filed. >> President Hard Harden, I will continue with items from the acting general counsel that do require a vote. AR2, workers compensation payment for lumpsum settlement for Shirley Collins. AR3, approve payment of proposed settlement regarding John Thuitt and Michelle Broomfield. President Harden, these items do require a vote. >> Is there a motion? >> Some moved. >> Is there a second? >> I second the motion. >> I'll proceed with a roll call. Member Lozano. >> Yes. >>
263Member Smith. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez. >> I. >> Member Bellis. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. >> Yes. >> Member Wallace. >> I. >> Member Kuster. >> I. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rivas. >> Yes. >> Member Bannon. >> I. >> Vice President Bautista. >> Yes. >> Member Gutierrez. >> I. >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. Member Thorakura. >> Yes. >> Member Zachor. >> Yes. >> Member Deberry. >> I 17 I zero naz. This these matters are adopted by the board. President Harden. I'll continue with items from the board that do require a vote. RS7 resolution by the board of education of the city of Chicago regarding the dismissal of Michael Hirs, tenure teacher assigned to Charles as Dean Denine Elementary School. RS8, resolution approving chief executive officer's recommendation
264to dismiss educational support personnel. RS9, resolution approving chief executive officer's recommendation to dismiss probationary appointed teachers. President Harden, these items do require a vote. >> Is there a motion? So moved. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> Is there a second? I second. >> I'll proceed with a roll call. >> Member Lozano. >> Yes. >> Member Smith. >> I. >> Member Lopez. >> I. >> Member. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. >> Yes. >> Member Wallace. >> I. >> Member Kuster. >> I. >> Member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member Rivas. >> Yes. >> Member Bannon. >> I. >> Vice President Bautista. >> Yes. Member Gutierrez. >> I. >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. >> Member Thodakura. >> Yes. >> Member Zachor. Yes. Member Deberry. >> I seven 17 I's zero nazs. These matters are
265adopted by the board. >> President Harden, I believe Vice President Bautista has motion MO3. I move that the board adopt the minutes of the closed session meetings of July 9th, 2025 pursuant to section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act. Board members reviewed these minutes and determined that the need for conf confidentiality exists. Therefore, the minutes of the close session uh meeting held on July 9, 2025 shall be maintained as confidential and not available for public inspection. >> Is there a second? >> I second the motion. >> I'll proceed with a roll call. Member Lozano. >> Yes. >> Member Smith. >> Yes. >> Member Lopez. >> I. Member Bellas. >> Yes. >> Member Bole. >> Yes. Member Wallace. I >> member Kuster. >> I >> member Pope. >> Yes. >> Member Rosenfeld. >> Yes. >> Member
266Rivas. >> Yes. >> Member Bannon. >> I me Vice President Bautista. >> Yes. >> Member Gutierz. >> I. >> Member Biggs. >> Yes. >> Member Thodicur. >> Yes. >> Member Zachor. >> Yes. >> Member Deberry. >> I. >> 17 eyes zero naz. This motion is adopted by the board. President Harden. these. There are no further items on the public agenda. >> Is there a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> All in favor? Uh yeah, and