Laura McDermott for ChalkbeatAfter 30 years of mayoral control, the Chicago Board of Education will be fully elected in November. Here’s everything you need to know.
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If it seems like you’ve heard more about Chicago’s school board in the past two years than ever, it’s for good reason.
That’s because for the first time after 30 years of mayoral control, the Chicago Board of Education will be fully elected in November. No matter what involvement you might have with CPS — as a teacher, a parent, an administrator, a student, or a community member — all registered voters can cast a ballot for one representative from their local electoral district and one person to lead the board as president.
It’s historic. It’s unprecedented. But if you’re not tapped into CPS school board politics, it might also be confusing.
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Here’s everything you need to know about the school board and the shift from mayoral control to elected representation.
What is the Chicago Board of Education?
The city’s school board is the primary entity tasked with creating the vision and setting priorities for Chicago Public Schools. Its role differs from that of CPS’ central office, led by CEO Macquline King, which handles more of the district’s day-to-day operations.
The Chicago Board of Education shares many responsibilities with school boards across the country. It is meant to follow several guiding principles laid out by the Illinois Association of Schools Boards, including clarifying the district’s purpose and monitoring its progress toward the goals it sets.
Chicago’s school board is enshrined in state law, but its structure has proven malleable in reality. Most notably, in 1995, as part of a broader state legislative package to improve CPS’ academic performance, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley was given responsibility for appointing a five-member board — known as the Reform Board of Trustees — to spearhead transformative reform.
In 1999, it reverted to its old title as the Chicago Board of Education and increased its membership to seven people. It grew to 21 people after 10 members were elected in 2024 and were joined by 11 mayoral appointees.
What does Chicago’s school board specifically do?
Some Chicagoans may be most familiar with one of the board’s core functions: making financial decisions. The school board has the power to raise local property taxes and decides how to allocate local revenue and streams of state and federal funding to schools.
It’s not always easy to reach a consensus on these recommendations. The board now has 21 members, each with differing views on how best to serve CPS students and educators.
Why do we have so many school board members in Chicago?
We know, 21 people is a lot of school board members. Chicago has one of the largest elected boards among major U.S. cities. It dwarfs Illinois’ average of about seven school board members per district, according to Ballotpedia.
The Illinois General Assembly passed a bill in 2021 to triple the board’s membership from seven to 21 people, including the board president.
A desire for better representation on Chicago’s school board — rather than unceasing mayoral control — played a large part in adding more members. To determine how those members would represent different parts of Chicago, state lawmakers passed separate legislation in March 2024 dividing the city into electoral districts.
The expansion received mixed feedback. Some education advocates applauded the move, while others feared the large school board would create a messier policymaking process.
As a compromise, lawmakers created a transition period that started in 2024 with the election of 10 members who joined 11 mayoral appointees for a two-year hybrid period.
Why didn’t Chicago always vote for school board members?
Outside Chicago, elected school boards aren’t a novel idea. Most school boards in Illinois and across the U.S. are elected.
Illinois legislators initiated the process to fully elect the board by 2026 in the same law that put 21 members on the Chicago Board of Education. Despite pushback from some local groups and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the bill passed the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2021.
Demands for an elected school board long preceded the bill’s passage, with prominent organizations such as the Chicago Teachers Union championing the change as a way to hold the board accountable to families and educators. Several decisions made by the appointed board had soured public perceptions of the governing body, including its unanimous vote approving former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s plan to close about 50 schools, which disproportionately affected Black students.
As part of the path to a fully elected board, lawmakers required half the board to be elected in 2024. The other half remained mayoral appointees. Voters delivered disparate results on what local factions they wanted to represent them by voting in four CTU-backed candidates, three pro-charter candidates, and three independents.
Two years later, Chicagoans will be deciding who represents them in all 21 board positions.
Here are key dates to know before voting in Chicago’s school board elections
If you need to register to vote or check your voter registration, visit the Chicago Board of Elections’ website.
Sept. 24, 2026: Early voting begins in downtown Chicago at the Downtown Voting Supersite or the Chicago Board of Elections Office.
Oct. 7, 2026: First day of same day registration.
Oct. 18, 2026: Last day to register online.
Oct. 19, 2026: Early voting begins in all 50 wards.
Oct. 29, 2026: Deadline to apply for a mail-in ballot.
Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026: Election Day.
Does that mean I have to vote for my school board member every two years?
It depends where you live in your district and what year it is.
Each of the 10 districts Chicagoans voted in during the 2024 election had about 275,000 residents and has since been divided into two subdistricts. Voters will elect a candidate running in their half of the district, referred to as the “a” or “b” subdistrict. That means each district will produce two elected school board members.
Per state law, members elected to replace mayoral appointees will initially serve two-year terms, while those taking office in subdistricts represented by members previously elected in 2024 will serve four-year terms.
The term lengths will swap starting in the 2028 general election. So, a school board member elected this year to serve a two-year term will be up for a four-year term if they win reelection in 2028.
What’s in it for the CPS board members? Do they get paid?
No, members do not get paid for serving on the board. Illinois state law prohibits it, although members can be reimbursed for related job expenses. Serving on the board averages about 25 to 30 hours per month for members, according to the board’s website.
Some current board members have quit their day jobs to give more of their time to the position. Critics argue the lack of pay disincentivizes working parents and teachers from running for office and have called on state lawmakers to legalize some form of compensation. An effort to make that change fizzled out in the House earlier this year.
Opponents of board compensation contend that creating salaries for board members would siphon money away from already underfunded school resources.
For now, board members are compensated with something a bit less tangible: influence over the fourth-largest school district in the country.
Makiya Seminera is a reporter covering how the state and federal government affect education in Chicago and across Illinois. Contact Makiya at [email protected].
