Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, under fire from Mayor Brandon Johnson and the city’s teachers’ union, discussed those battles in a 1-on-1 interview Wednesday.
That interview with NBC Political Reporter Mary Ann Ahern comes as the Chicago Teachers’ Union and Johnson have ramped up their criticism of his stewardship of the district, and over his actions in trying to secure funding as the city deals with a budget crunch.
Johnson reportedly sought Martinez's resignation in recent weeks, though he disputed that report. In discussing his job security, Martinez told Ahern that he hopes to meet with the new members of the Chicago school board in coming days, and to combat “misinformation” about his stewardship of the district.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the new board members. I’ve never met them. They don’t know me, I don’t know them,” he said. “My biggest concern is that there’s so much misinformation out there, and I wanna make sure that people just have the facts. My contract is my contract. I want to make sure that they’re making informed decisions, and I wanna make sure that we’re doing the right things for the district.”
In fact, it was Johnson's push for taking out loans that ultimately led to strife with Martinez and with the school board, culminating with the board resigning on Friday.
Even as questions surround his future at the helm, Martinez is also dealing with budget shortfalls within the district. While his resistance to high-interest borrowing has left him at a crossroads with Johnson, Martinez insists that unlocking Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funding could provide an answer.
TIF funding is usually set aside for specific projects or neighborhoods, with the money helping to fund development of various projects.
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While the process of allocating existing funds for CPS would be a complicated one, Martinez said that he proposed to Johnson’s administration the idea of unlocking approximately $462 million in TIF funds to help cover budget shortfalls and invest in the district earlier this spring.
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“We had a very in-depth conversation. It was the mayor, all of his whole team, my entire leadership team, our board president, and we actually did a presentation making a specific ask, at that time was for $462 million to be released to CPS,” he said.
According to Martinez, there is approximately $3 billion in TIF funds currently held in accounts in Chicago, and he said the city brings in approximately $1.2 billion annually from those districts. He said that by using a chunk of that funding for schools that revolutionary investments could be made, and pension obligations covered.
Johnson said there was no agreement made with Martinez and CPS on the subject of using TIF funding to help cover budget shortfalls.
“There was no agreement,” he said. We had not made any agreements. Part of the entire process has always been dedicated to having full discussions on a variety of things. But there was no absolute agreement around how this contract, or quite frankly SEIU 73’s contract, would be paid for.”
The CTU blasted Martinez’s proposals as being inadequate, and had released their own plan earlier in the day that called for using a substantially larger amount of TIF funding for the district.
“CEO Martinez’s leadership is marked by being a day late and a dollar short over and over. He angered legislators in Springfield by not appearing until the last week of session last year. He passed an incomplete budget earlier this year. Now, he’s parroting the CTU’s proposals literally hours after they’re made,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said in a statement.
The union blasted several members of the Chicago City Council, accusing lawmakers of prioritizing private development via TIF funding and accepting political donations in the process.
The Chicago Teachers Union released a plan Wednesday calling to “De-TIF Chicago,” essentially abolishing TIF finds in the city and using the balances to make “transformational investments” in the city’s school district.
“The City Council has a choice: subsidies for investors, realtors and banks, or funding for schools and public services,” the CTU said in a statement.
All the while, it remains unclear whether new members of the Chicago Public Schools Board will meet with the City Council. A hearing had been scheduled to discuss the appointments Wednesday, and though it seemed as though a compromise had been reached to have the new members meet with the council’s education committee, there was some uncertainty over whether such a meeting will take place.
Johnson meanwhile is set to travel to London this weekend as part of a tourism drive, coinciding with the Chicago Bears’ showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday.
