Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez affirmed his commitment to his position atop the district in a letter to families after multiple sources told NBC Chicago that Mayor Brandon Johnson asked him to resign from his position during a meeting Thursday.
The sources told NBC Chicago earlier Friday that Martinez refused.
"I want to reach out to you in light of recent news articles about the future of our District's leadership. You should know that me and my leadership team are 100 percent focused on building on the positive momentum of the new school year and implementing the District’s new five-year strategic plan that was developed in partnership with our communities and approved unanimously Wednesday by the Board of Education," Martinez's statement said in part.
Martinez said later in the statement that the district has seen stability under his leadership while reiterating his intention to stay in his role.
"We are confident that our work to date has set the foundation for more success and will increase access to opportunities for all students. We will continue to lead with integrity and transparency in service of our students," Martinez said.
The decision from Johnson comes just one day after the Chicago Board of Education voted unanimously to pass a five-year plan for CPS. At the same time, the Chicago Teachers Union, who supported Johnson's candidacy for mayor, also called for his removal.
"We need a CEO who can truly lead in this moment -- a CEO who will focus on raising the revenue needed to fully fund our schools, who will finally turn the page on the shameful days of closures and community disruption," the union wrote in a letter to families.
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The recently unveiled five-year plan for CPS was described as a list of goals and strategies the district aims to achieve by 2029.
"The plan addresses historical decisions and missteps in the past that have prevented strategic investments and led to long-standing challenges and opportunity gaps, particularly for Black students, Latinx/e students, students with disabilities and students in temporary living situations, and English learners," CPS said in a statement.
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The district said it wants to redefine student success, moving forward with what it called an "ambitious, equity-driven" vision to close a long-standing opportunity gap.
Martinez offered words of support for the plan on Wednesday.
"This strategic plan is saying, in fact, we are going to organize the work of our district around a very different idea of how we measure student success, how we think about student growth," Martinez said.
The Chicago Teachers Union, however, said while the plan "admits that there are disparities across the district," Martinez's "policy is to make cuts that make inequity worse not better."
"The best parts of the district's Strategic Plan are taken right from our contract proposals, the same proposals the district is actually fighting at the bargaining table," the union said in a statement. "It's another case of CEO Martinez telling the people of Chicago one thing and actually doing another."
Martinez took over as CEO of the district nearly three years ago to the date, succeeding Janice Jackson, who had a tenure of over three years at the position. José Torres served as the district's interim CEO from July to September 2021.
In response to NBC Chicago's request for comment regarding Martinez being asked to resign, CPS offered the following statement:
“CEO Martinez and Chicago Public Schools leadership are focused on building on the positive momentum of the new school year and implementing the District’s new five-year strategic plan that was developed in partnership with our communities and approved unanimously Wednesday by the Board of Education.
We’re honored and excited to continue working together with our school leaders, educators, and parents to put the needs of our students first and build on our nationally-recognized post-pandemic academic growth of the past two school years. Our top priority has always been investing in our schools and students while ensuring long-term stability for the system. That means being true to our new school funding model which will promote more equity, and being consistent in our pledge not to close or consolidate any schools.
Our students have clearly benefited from the increased stability in our school system. We are confident that our work to date has set the foundation for more success and will increase access to opportunities for all students. We will continue to lead with integrity and transparency in service of our students.”
