In a set of appointments that round out Chicago’s new 21-member Board of Education, Mayor Brandon Johnson tapped a group of mostly community organizers and activists and kept all but two of his current school board members.
The mayor’s 11 seats represent a majority of the school board and solidify his strong influence over Chicago Public Schools for the next two years. Johnson named 10 members Monday and said an 11th is still being vetted.
They join the 10 others who were chosen by voters in Chicago’s first-ever school board elections in November. Four of those elected members were endorsed by the Chicago Teachers Union — the mayor’s staunch allies who helped vault him into office. That puts 15 out of 21 seats in the mayor’s ideological corner.
“Here’s what I look for: People who actually love and believe in public education,” Johnson said at a news conference Monday after the City Council passed the second budget of his term.
Johnson said he wanted board members who “understand the urgency” of President-elect Donald Trump’s plans for the U.S. Department of Education, which many advocates have said could harm public schools. He said it was important to him that board members care for families, who he said have been neglected, and teachers, who he said face unfair attacks. And Johnson indicated his board appointees should direct the school district to take on a disputed pension payment for non-teacher CPS employees.
The mayor had a bit of a puzzle when choosing appointees. By law, he had to choose people who live on the opposite side of their school board district as the elected members. The board president could be from anywhere in the city. Monday was the deadline to announce his picks.
Johnson’s 11 appointees are led by new school board president Sean Harden, a consulting executive who worked as an executive assistant to former Mayor Richard M. Daley in the mid 2000s, then for CPS as deputy CEO for community affairs from 2009 to 2011 under then-schools chief Ron Huberman. Since then, he has been involved in real estate development, community revitalization and workforce development organizations.
Harden was announced as a board member and sworn in last week during the final school board meeting of the year, but he was not named the new board president until Monday.
“Each of these leaders brings a unique perspective and an unrelenting commitment to the success of Chicago’s students,” Harden said in a statement released by the mayor’s office. “Together, we will prioritize equity, amplify community voices and create opportunities that unlock the potential of every child in our city.”
In addition to Harden, four current board members are keeping their seats: Longtime teacher and former CTU staffer Debby Pope from the North Side’s 2nd District; political consultant Michilla Blaise from the West Side’s District 5; labor and grassroots organizer Frank Niles Thomas in District 9 on the Far South Side; and community organizer Olga Bautista from the Southeast Side’s District 10. Mary Gardner and Rafael Yañez are leaving the board.
The mayor filled out the rest of his appointees with Ed Bannon, a longtime member of Dever Elementary’s Local School Council who ran for alderperson against Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) in 2023. Norma Rios-Sierra is a Logan Square artist, activist and parent. Pastor Emma Lozano is a prominent immigration activist who described herself as a “champion for bilingual education” in the mayor’s office’s press release.
Karen Zaccor is one of two newly appointed members who had run an unsuccessful CTU-endorsed bid for an elected seat. Zaccor finished second among six candidates in a crowded race to represent the 4th District, which encompasses communities along the north lakefront. Zaccor just retired from teaching this past June after 28 years in the classroom.
Appointee Anusha Thotakura lost the race to represent District 6, which stretches all the way from some Near North Side neighborhoods into the South Side. On the campaign trail, Thotakura touted her time as a math teacher in California. Since then she has worked for progressive organizations in Chicago and is currently the director for Citizen Action Illinois, a progressive policy advocacy coalition.
At 26, Thotakura will likely be the youngest member of the board and the only Asian American. She lives in the West Town neighborhood.
Ahead of the announcement, some 140 parents organized by the advocacy group Kids First Chicago sent a letter to the mayor asking that he make sure the racial makeup of the board — the appointees together with the elected members — reflects the students in the district, who are nearly 90% Black and Latino.
In the end, seven of the 21 are white, six are Black, seven are Latino and one is Asian American.