All 21 seats of Chicago\u2019s first elected school board will be on the ballot in November. Eight months before the election, education groups are still debating how to ensure it reflects the city it serves.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a very large, complicated district that requires a lot of time,\u201d said Evans, a Chicago Democrat. \u201cFor $0, what type of person are you going to get on the board? Are you going to get working-class people? I think we all know the answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bill is backed by several public education advocacy groups, along with the Chicago Teachers Union. A CPS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not the first time legislators have floated the idea of paying Illinois school boards. State Sen. Robert Martwick, a Chicago Democrat who helped craft the city\u2019s elected school board model, has sponsored two nearly identical bills in the past three years. Those measures ultimately failed to advance.<\/p>\n
But advocates say the proposal is now better positioned to move forward, in part because Chicago has seen firsthand the demands of the role. In August, for example, the hybrid board approved a $10.25 billion budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe budget alone is insane,\u201d said Corrina Demma, a senior organizer with nonprofit Educators for Excellence. \u201cWe want our best people protecting our kids. We want to make sure that everyone has access to that job.\u201d<\/p>\n Hal Woods, chief of policy at Kids First Chicago, also pointed to the money already pouring into November\u2019s school board races. Last year, campaign spending<\/a> topped $13 million, according to an analysis by Chalkbeat, with top contributors including CTU and pro-school choice groups like the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now it feels like, unless you have six figures, seven figures behind you, you can\u2019t realistically run,\u201d Woods said. \u201cWe want the conditions where the everyday parent can participate in the process, and can reasonably run for election without having to be completely beholden to special interests.\u201d<\/p>\n CTU Vice President Jackson Potter put it more bluntly: \u201cIt\u2019s a question of guaranteeing community representation instead of billionaires corrupting the board,\u201d he said in a statement to the Tribune.<\/p>\n The elected model was long championed by progressives as a vehicle for equity and democratic governance.<\/p>\n Previously, the board was made up of seven mayoral appointees. It is currently composed of 11 appointed and 10 elected members. Though they don\u2019t receive salaries, members can be reimbursed for job-related expenses.<\/p>\n Opponents argue that compensation may attract candidates motivated by profit rather than public service. The bill doesn\u2019t set a salary; instead, it allows individual school districts to determine pay if they choose to do so. That could become a debate in rural and suburban districts across Illinois \u2014 which are each a fraction of CPS\u2019 size.<\/p>\n Funding may also be a question in a district like CPS, which will face a projected $520 million deficit next budget season.<\/p>\n \u201cAlmost every public school in the United States right now is on a pretty tight purse string,\u201d said Rachel White, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies school boards. \u201cI like to think of it as, what is the return on investment for kids?\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s also virtually no research on whether compensating school board members actually diversifies a board\u2019s makeup, White said. But studies<\/a> have shown that diverse school boards are more likely to allocate money in ways that invest in racially diverse students.<\/p>\n Within the 10 largest school districts in the U.S., only two \u2014 the New York City Department of Education and Houston Independent School District \u2014 have unpaid boards.<\/p>\n Board members at the Los Angeles Unified School District without outside employment receive the largest salary, more than $125,000. At Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which recently surpassed CPS as the third-largest school district, the board members receive about $55,000. At Clark County School District in Las Vegas, which is similar in size to CPS, members are paid a $9,000 annual stipend.<\/p>\n![\"Chicago](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/CTC-L-aspira-board-meeting05.jpg\")
Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter speaks at a rally outside Chicago Public Schools headquarters on Feb. 26, 2026. (Antonio Perez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n