A Board of Education independent of City Hall and the Chicago Teachers Union is within reach
On November 3rd, voters in Chicago will head to the polls to elect members of the Board of Education. A seminal moment for Chicago, for the first time in history residents will enter the voting booth and cast ballots for a Board elected entirely by the citizenry.
The ultimate legislative body of Chicago’s public schools, members of this panel oversee the strategic direction of Chicago’s schools and the administration of district finances and assets. The Board’s principles of governance are: Defining policies and setting objectives for securing resources, the appointment of CPS officials sufficient to meet the objectives and monitoring of progress towards those objectives. The Board has stewardship, under law, of CPS’ affairs and ensures suitable processes are in place for the management of the public schooling system.
While it may be tempting to dismiss the importance of these elections, voters must take heed to Board races. Chicago Public Schools remain in a dire state. A schooling system deeply mired in complex problems, CPS continues to suffer miserable student outcomes, financial dislocation, administrative bloat, and declining enrollment. While CPS’ problems are profoundly depressing, the situation is not hopeless. The predicament in which CPS finds itself is curable through steady work carried out by probing minds determined to advance a set of constructive, long-term solutions.
The urgency of the present crisis at CPS requires sober, independent-minded candidates to be seated on the Board. Therefore, Contrarian is urging voters to elect our endorsed candidates for the Board of Education on November 3rd.
District 1A
Margie Luczak receives our endorsement for the Board of Education. A retired Chicago Police Officer and resident of Norwood Park, Luczak understands, unlike her opponent, Ed Bannon, the need to restore fiscal discipline to CPS. Luczak’s notion of fiscal accountability extends to opposing increases to CPS’ annual budget, placing limits on raising the tax levy.
We also have a favorable view of Luczak for her uncompromising positions on closing or consolidating underenrolled schools and her unwavering commitment to expand charter schools and maintain select enrollment schools.
District 1B
In 2024, Michelle Pierre received our endorsement for the Board. Though Pierre lost by a narrow margin, she accepted defeat gracefully and has since served as National senior executive director of strategic district consulting with New Leaders.
A highly accomplished leader in education, Pierre served as chief of schools at LEARN Charter School Network and is the former Chief Academic Officer with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. In addition to her rich experience as an administrator in the public and charter school systems, once held a seat on her Local School Council.
A supporter of protecting select-enrollment, magnet schools, and charter schools, Pierre is also acutely aware of the need to maintain a police presence in schools to ensure student safety. Pierre is heartily endorsed.
District 5A
Businesswoman LaPamela Williams receives our endorsement for 5A. A real estate agent, Williams is an Austin resident who meets our approval for her determination to concentrate on addressing the school district’s fiscal imbalance.
Unlike her opponent, Aaron “Jitu” Brown, Williams recognizes the need for school choice and favors extending the life of charter school networks which demonstrate a record of success. Above all else, Williams gains our support for her thoughtful position on social promotion. An opponent of passing students despite failure to meet minimum academic standards, Williams’ willingness to explore the need development of more personalized, alternative options to help ensure that all children succeed convinces us of her worth on the Board.
District 5B
In West Side District 5B, Anthony Hargrove is endorsed. A CPS parent and former CPS employee, Hargrove currently serves as a program leader at Breakthrough Urban Ministries in Garfield Park. A man with a resume rich with experience in education, though Hargrove’s position on school closures differs from ours, elsewhere he seeks to direct energy toward support for a raft of good ideas, including balanced budgets, opposing raising the property tax levy, and how students with disabilities are served in the district.
We are most pleased with Hargrove’s pledge to expanding career and vocational education curriculum to CPS. Once a pillar of CPS curriculum, vocational education’s slow demise denied pupils options to enrolling in college. A plan which extends beyond the learning of a trade, vocational programs chip away at poverty, promote social stability, boost social mobility, and helps create economic and social development. Hargrove embracing vocational training is welcome news for Chicago’s students. Hargrove has a long-term plan to improve CPS and has our support.
District 7A
Our choice in in 7A is Jesus Ayala, Jr. A lifelong resident of Chicago, Ayala until recently served as CEO of a Woodlawn-based community organization, MetroSquash and was once seated on Jones College Prep Local School Council. On the issues confronting CPS, Ayala receives our approval for his resistance to raising the property tax levy and his support for magnet,select enrollment and charter schools. Though in some important areas, little separates Ayala from his opponent, Emma Lozano. However, unlike Lozano, whose blind loyalty to the Chicago Teachers Union is unsettling, Ayala has shown flashes of independence.
District 8B
An endorsement for Juan Ignacio Gonzalez comes easily. A former member of the United States Marine Corps, Gonzales today serves as a member of the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Detectives. A resident of Back of the Yards who is profoundly invested in his neighborhood, the enterprising Gonzales is also an entrepreneur who opened and operates DreamCatcher Café and serves as a board member of Wrong to Strong Foundation, which assists the formerly incarcerated.
A man who believes the pathway to success for Chicago’s pupils begins with strong schools which educate and inculcate good work habits, we take a shine to Gonzales for his desire to expand career and vocational education to CPS schools. A position which demonstrates his vision of the need for CPS to prepare students who opt against enrolling in a four-year university, Gonzales understands CPS is obligated to offer curriculum for students to acquire the “soft-skills” in demand in today’s labor market and such training which can ripen into an attractive career upon graduation. Gonzales is the right match for the needs of 8B.
District 9B
Two years ago, this website warmly endorsed Therese Boyle to represent the 9th District. She did not abandon our trust. A 34-year resident of Mount Greenwood who served in a variety of roles in her three decades at CPS, Boyle has earned our glowing approval to be returned to the Board.
Guided by the highest motives — a sense of fealty to pupils and taxpayers — Boyle has cast a cold eye on CPS’ budgetary excesses and established a sterling record of voting in favor of balanced budgets. A systematic woman, aside from her desire to rein in CPS spending, Boyle has voted against raising the property tax levy, co-chaired a commission to revive the Special Education Advisory Committee, and contributed to enhancing transparency on the Board’s daily operations.
A woman with unrivaled experience in education, Boyle has never wavered from the principled impulse of returning CPS to a character-forming institution and center of learning. In Boyle, 9B has a qualified, dispassionate member seated on the Board.
District 10A
In 2024, Contrarian endorsed Karin Norington-Reaves over Che Smith. In the 2026 election, Mr. Smith earns our endorsement. A Grammy winning music artist whose 10A District encompasses some of Chicago’s worst performing schools, Smith distinguished himself as a man with a will all his own. This was self-evident prior to his taking a seat on the Board when, along with newly elected members, Smith implored Mayor Johnson’s short-term six-member school board postpone major decisions before the Board until the hybrid Board was seated.
In his two years of service on the Board, Smith has demonstrated his worth in various ways, mainly for his authorship of a resolution which compels the CPS CEO to hold a superintendent’s license. We also favor Smith for his skepticism with the Sustainable Community School model, for his support for expanding art, music and drama programs as a core or academic subject to schools, and for serving as a bridge between schools and the Local School Councils in his District. Smith also earns our plaudits for opposing the unbalanced 2027 budget. Smith has acquitted himself as an exceptional member of the Board and deserves reelection.
District 10B
Patrick Watson is our choice for 10B. A graduate of Lewis University, Mr. Watson spent 25 years in the corporate world as an accountant with firms in the telecommunications, engineering, and manufacturing sectors. Ideal experience for a seat on the Board, Watson’s background in financial management will be useful when grappling with CPS’ mounting debt crisis.
Watson impresses for his stated desire to change the atmosphere surrounding Board business from hyper-politicized to concentrating on how the Board can improve CPS’ listless academic performance. Moreover, Watson earns our support for remaining amenable to school closures as needed.
A man with a head for business, Watson’s expertise in accounting distilled with his service as lead legislative assistant to Alderman Anthony Beale make him perfectly suited for the Board.
