The Chicago school board has fired district CEO Pedro Martinez.
Chalkbeat Chicago reports that board members, handpicked by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson after the previous board resigned en masse, voted unanimously to fire Martinez without cause.
Under the terms of his contract, Martinez will stay on the job for six more months — through the end of the current school year — and then receive severance pay of about $130,000.
“It’s not right,” Martinez said after the vote. “Obviously I’m disappointed by the board’s decision tonight."
Martinez was appointed CEO in 2021 by Johnson's predecessor, Lori Lightfoot.
Earlier this year, the entire school board resigned rather than carry out Johnson's wishes and fire Martinez. The CEO had refused a buyout offer and declined to step down when the mayor first asked in September.
The firing culminated months of turmoil that pitted the mayor and the teachers union — a close ally that catapulted Johnson into office — against Martinez.
It comes weeks before Chicago’s new, 21-person, partially elected school board takes office. It also comes as the district is in the midst of negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union over a new contract.
Ahead of the vote, incoming elected school board members, education organizations, and former district CEOs Arne Duncan and Janice Jackson issued public statements in support of letting the new board decide Martinez’s fate.
At the meeting, a group of principals expressed support for Martinez and raised concerns about union proposals that they feel will take away instructional time from children. The principals union has expressed similar concerns over the past several weeks.
