So What Makes A Good School Board Candidate, Anyway?
Mail-In ballots start shipping this week and early voting opens October 3rd. Make sure you're prepared before you checkmark your ballot.
First and foremost, a candidate putting the needs of students and their families is the most critical. As you’ve probably most recently seen, there are many agendas being floated around that highlight outcomes that don’t directly improve the lives of children. Here are some of the positions we've asked the candidates we've spoken with to address:
Commitment to Educational Choice: A good candidate should advocate for a diverse range of educational options, including magnet programs, selective enrollment schools, and charter schools. They should support policies that offer students and families the freedom to select the best educational environment for their needs.
Prioritizing Student Outcomes: Has a focus on improving measurable student outcomes such as basic academic achievement, graduation rates, and college readiness. Candidates should be committed to implementing strategies and solutions that drive accountability and ultimately lead to positive results and ensure that all students have opportunities to succeed.
Measurable Student Growth: Candidates should champion data-driven evaluations and use educational assessments to make informed decisions that benefit student learning and development.
Advocacy for Transparency: Able to advocate for openness regarding educational practices, curriculum details, and school performance. Candidates should ensure that information about the educational process is accessible to students, parents, and teachers, promoting an informed and engaged school community.
Championing Budget Transparency: Candidates should support clear and open reporting on school budgets, including how funds are allocated and spent. They should advocate for practices that make financial information readily available and understandable to the public, ensuring accountability and trust.
Fiscal Responsibility: It would also be helpful for a strong candidate to have a solid understanding of finance and budgeting. They should be able to make informed decisions about resource allocation.
Here is the full ballot of candidates (page 11 of 25): School Board Candidates
We’ve had the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the platforms of many of the candidates over the last few months, and next week we’ll highlight who we believe is most aligned with the above. TIP: If you get a door knocker, aside from the above, we recommend asking what the candidate’s long term plans are. Example: are they planning to serve just the two year term? Or do they plan to run for re-election in 2026? If they use language such as “I am running now and plan to run for alderman in 2027”, it’s possible they’re using this role as a stepping stone, versus really being vested in better outcomes for our city’s kids.
Side note - after the tumultuous week at City Hall, the importance of this race is becoming more clear. The Mayor’s desire to push out Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, should be a cause for concern on the type of precedent this sets. The only body able to actually fire the CEO of CPS, is the Board. Between this and the Mayor pushing for another fiscally irresponsible short-term high interest loan to pay for the new teachers’ contract, we all need to be paying close attention to what this means for our city as both have short-term and long-term implications. As of now, Pedro isn’t going anywhere: Pedro's Letter to CPS Families