Local voters made history Tuesday after electing 10 new members to the Chicago Board of Education.
The 2024 election marked the first time in history that voters elected part of the school board, which was previously fully appointed by the mayor.
The newly elected officials will join the board alongside 11 members appointed by former Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) organizer, Mayor Brandon Johnson, according to multiple reports.
The results reflected mixed outcomes, with victories for both CTU-backed and non-union-backed candidates. The CTU reportedly allocated $2 million in funding towards the election.
Earlier this year, the entire school board stepped down amidst an ongoing dispute between Mayor Johnson and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez over the looming 2025 budget deficit.
Previous reports speculated Martinez was considering school closures as a means of dealing with the impending budget shortfall, a move to which Johnson is adamantly opposed. Martinez, however, denied any plans to close schools in a statement released to CPS families.
The newly elected school board will officially join Johnson’s appointees in January of 2025. The hybrid board will serve until 2026, at which point voters will fully elect a new board with no mayoral appointees. The entirely voter elected board will begin serving by 2027.
View the full list of elected school board members here.