The race to represent the Northwest Side’s 3rd District on Chicago’s new school board has turned into a polarizing showdown between progressive groups and more conservative business and charter school interests that want to blunt the power of the teachers union.
That means big money is pouring into one of the most hotly contested battles in the city’s inaugural school board elections. Election Day is Nov. 5.
The majority-Hispanic district is home to 55 schools in Avondale, Logan Square, Belmont Gardens, Belmont Cragin, Hanson Park and Hermosa on the Near Northwest Side, along with Humboldt Park on the West Side.
The two candidates, Jason Dónes, 36, and Carlos Rivas Jr., 34, both grew up and still live in Humboldt Park. Both have worked in education and for Chicago Public Schools. Dónes is chief of people and operations at Beyond100K, a nonprofit dedicated to ending the STEM teacher shortage in America, and Rivas directs public affairs for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
Both candidates say they don’t want to keep raising property taxes and instead want to advocate for more state funding for schools. Neither wants to close schools with low enrollment.
But that’s about where the similarities end between the two hopefuls backed by staunchly opposite groups.
Dónes is endorsed and financially backed by the CTU and allied community groups. As of Monday, his campaign had raked in $196,962, plus another $85,205 through in-kind contributions, which are goods or services provided to a campaign by someone else. That’s about two and a half times his opponent’s haul.
Rivas is endorsed and financially supported by the political arm of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, Urban Center Action and Illinois Policy PAC — groups that support school choice, oppose the CTU and are largely backed by wealthy business leaders and some billionaires. Rivas’ campaign collected just over $66,000, largely through direct campaign contributions.
But since July 1, super PACs affiliated with the Urban Center and INCS also have dropped more than $220,000 worth of ads and text messages supporting Rivas, without coordinating with the candidate.
Independence
In response to a Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ/Chalkbeat questionnaire that asked about maintaining independence, Dónes wrote that the board will “have the responsibility to showcase accountability to the public.
“I will work to understand the hopes and needs of all invested groups, but my first responsibility is to the students and working class families of the district,” he said.
Rivas said “board independence is important to the long-term success of the district.
“My goal is to increase meaningful community engagement to bring families along in board decisions. It is important that my constituents needs are represented at the board,” he wrote.
School policy
Their policy ideas largely align to the sides of the education debate from which they’re getting their support.
Dónes wants to limit the use of standardized tests, while Rivas wants to test more than once a year. Dónes thinks schools should select from a certain curriculum authorized by the school board, but Rivas wants lots of options.
And Dónes said he favors strengthening neighborhood schools over the expansion of charters, while Rivas said he thinks families should have a choice of where to send their kids.
He argued that all schools, regardless of type, need more resources. But strengthening neighborhood schools in particular would help ensure all kids have access to a good education, he said.
“There is a strong argument to make that we do not currently have a system of school choice. If we have a system that relies on limited spots, barriers to entry and retention, and privatization, then there is no real choice,” Dónes said.
Rivas said his family chose a neighborhood school (he attended Lowell Elementary as a kid), but not all parents will do the same. So his priority is ensuring access to varying programs.
“For others, they may be looking for more specialized schools, schools that have invested in certain programs like fine arts or a STEM focus. The board needs to fight for adequate resources across the district,” he wrote.
CEO Martinez and the mayor
What about the recent disputes between Mayor Brandon Johnson and CPS CEO Pedro Martinez?
Rivas said he opposes a short-term loan to fill the school system’s budget deficit. And he said he would keep Martinez on the job.
“Our school system absolutely needs stability at a time when we are facing these structural deficits,” Rivas said at a recent Chalkbeat Chicago forum. “I believe CEO Martinez inherited a system that needs his leadership, and I want to be able to see him through his full contract.”
Dónes does not think Martinez should stay.
“I don’t know him. … But something is not working,” Dónes said. “And if we need to shuffle leadership and make sense of what that right team is to align on a vision, then that’s kind of just where we are. The point we’ve gotten to tells me it’s too messy to get back from it.”
On the loan, Dónes said he needs to understand the proposal better, like the interest rate and what exactly it would pay for.
“My role as a school board member is to push us to fully fund our schools, but I’m being asked about one really specific strategy,” Dónes said. “I think this question has become more of an indicator of where you’ll lean on the radical responsibility of funding our schools or fiscal responsibility. And I deny that choice. I don’t believe you have to promote one or the other. … The responsible decision making comes through analysis, not just what the headlines are telling me.”