The Board of Education has not scheduled a vote to fire or otherwise push out Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez this week, which threatens to prolong the drama around his job status through the holidays and into the new year.
A meeting agenda posted Tuesday afternoon for the school board’s Thursday evening meeting does not list action toward Martinez’s dismissal or for a separation settlement. The board offered Martinez a buyout last week, but he has so far opted to remain in his role.
The Board of Education could still find a resolution this month — whether to fire Martinez or reach a settlement — and schedule a special meeting to take a vote. Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union have been taking steps to push out Martinez for months.
But this week’s meeting is the last regularly scheduled one until late January, when a new 21-member partially elected board is set to take office. Thursday's meeting was pushed back from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A CTU rally was subsequently scheduled for 3 p.m. that day.
If there is no action before the board's January meeting, it will be up to the newly seated board to decide whether or not to retain Martinez. A large group of CPS administrators, a group of alderpersons and others want him to stay.
Speculation had grown that the tension between Johnson, his handpicked school board and Martinez would come to a head this month before the larger board takes over. It will be harder to build consensus at that point, especially with the addition of a few newly elected school board members who oppose the mayor and his CTU allies who have called for Martinez’s firing.
The CTU has also been joined by the current Board of Education in pushing for a resolution to their contract negotiations this month. The union has called Martinez an obstacle to an agreement, and the board has tried to pressure him to make a deal.
