Elected School Board Town Hall

A panel of public-school advocates discuss the possibility of an elected school board in Chicago. The panelists:
  • Delia Bonilla, local school council parent member, Ames Middle School
  • Will Guzzardi, Logan Square community advocate
  • Ben Joravsky, columnist for the Chicago Reader
  • Karen Lewis, president, Chicago Teachers Union
  • Pauline Lipman, professor of policy studies, University of Illinois (Chicago)
Communities Organized for Democracy in Education organized the meeting.

Among the points raised in the meeting:
  • Efforts to limit the influence of campaign money in school board elections would depend on the success of campaign-finance controls.
  • Elections govern over 90 percent of U.S. school boards.
  • One proposal for a Chicago board involves board members elected with regional representation (e.g., Southeast Side, Southwest Side).
  • A non-binding referendum item, asking for voter approval of an elected school board, will appear on the November ballot. Advocates expressed confidence that the electorate would pass the referendum.

Audio (length 1 hour, 4 min.):

Ben Joravsky Chicago Elections Schools Administrative and Regulatory