{"id":700685,"date":"2026-04-02T23:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/700685\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T23:34:12","slug":"cps-second-in-command-departs-amid-calls-for-more-latino-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/700685\/","title":{"rendered":"CPS second-in-command departs amid calls for more Latino leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alfonso Carmona, the second-in-command of Chicago Public Schools, is stepping down Friday as acting chief education officer \u2014 less than a week after the appointment<\/a> of CPS CEO Macquline King and amid calls for greater Latino representation in her cabinet.<\/p>\n

Carmona accepted a superintendent position in Lake County in November, which begins in July. Though CPS has not announced his official departure date, Carmona confirmed to the Tribune that Friday will be his last day.<\/p>\n

A Colombian immigrant and 22-year veteran of CPS, Carmona has been one of the district\u2019s most prominent Latino leaders. His departure leaves a top role vacant during a key transition period for the district.<\/p>\n

A CPS spokesperson said the district intends to fill Carmona\u2019s role \u201cas soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent leadership shakeups at CPS have resurfaced long-standing questions about race and representation in the nation\u2019s fourth-largest school district. Almost half of the district\u2019s 315,000 students are Latino, and about a third are Black.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a coalition of school board members, elected officials and community groups urged King in a letter to name \u201cqualified Latino leaders\u201d to her executive team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a question of talent, but a reflection of a system that has consistently overlooked highly qualified Latino educators and leaders,\u201d said the group\u2019s letter, dated Wednesday. \u201cThe result is a clear and persistent lack of Latino leadership at every level.\u201d<\/p>\n

The letter was signed by eight of 10 elected board members. It was not signed by members appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, or elected members Jitu Brown and Ebony DeBerry, who are closely aligned with the mayor.<\/p>\n

Several state legislators, aldermen and community group leaders were also among the 50 signatories.<\/p>\n

\u201cInclusion in the cabinet is essential not only for equity but for shaping stronger, more informed policies that impact students every day,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n

A district spokesperson said in a statement that diversity among district leaders has grown over the past decade, with Latinos now making up about 19% of principals and 21% of central office directors.

<\/strong>\u201cWe recognize our work is not finished,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cWe remain committed to ensuring our leadership ranks reflect the vibrant diversity of Chicago and our students, particularly our growing Latino community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before King\u2019s appointment on Monday, several advocacy groups had raised concerns<\/a> about the lack of Latino representation among the district\u2019s three finalists. King, who is Black, had led CPS on an interim basis since June. Former CEO Pedro Martinez was the district\u2019s first permanent Latino leader.<\/p>\n

King was not initially a front-runner for the permanent CEO role, but she was added back as a candidate amid growing community support for her leadership, including from the Chicago West Side Branch of the NAACP.<\/p>\n

The letter circulated among the board beginning last week, according to appointed member Angel Velez, who represents District 9A on the South Side. He noted the importance of representation, but said he did not sign out of concern for \u201cundermining unity\u201d after King\u2019s appointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s also this piece around symbolism for the Black community,\u201d said Velez, who is Black and Puerto Rican. \u201cWhile advocating for representation across all communities is important, I think prioritizing demands at this time could unintentionally create a sense of competition between the different communities, rather than fostering unity and mutual support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several of the district\u2019s top jobs have been held on an acting basis following the contentious firing without cause<\/a> of Martinez in December 2024. Carmona replaced former Chief Education Officer Bogdana Chkoumbova<\/a>, a 24-year CPS veteran who stepped down last May.<\/p>\n

After Martinez left his post, other top staffers<\/a> soon followed, including the school board\u2019s general counsel, chief budget officer, chief of information technology and chief of staff to the CEO.<\/p>\n

Carmona was one of three finalists for interim superintendent last summer. Over his tenure, he oversaw academic strategy, played a key role in labor negotiations and helped develop the district\u2019s five-year strategic plan. Previously, Carmona served as the district\u2019s chief portfolio officer and as a network chief.<\/p>\n

In the fall, he was selected to become superintendent of Grayslake Community Consolidated School District 46, a K-8 district in Lake County with 3,700 students.<\/p>\n

In a statement to the Tribune, Carmona said he was \u201coverwhelmed with pride\u201d looking back at the district\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a profound honor to serve our students, our staff, and the city of Chicago,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The district also announced last month that Nicole Milberg, chief of teaching and learning, is stepping down. She has worked in CPS for more than a decade, previously as a network chief and principal. Like Carmona, Milberg was a finalist for interim superintendent in June.<\/p>\n

Turnover is very common in large, urban districts, where superintendent transitions are often fraught, according to Jason Grissom, a Vanderbilt University professor who studies school district leadership. But he noted that frequent turnover can pose a risk if it erodes institutional knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern is that urban districts are complex organizations, and having that kind of institutional knowledge and institutional memory can be really valuable,\u201d Grissom said.<\/p>\n

King\u2019s three-year contract runs through July 2029. She inherits a district with dwindling enrollment and plagued by billions in long-term debt. The district is facing a projected deficit of at least $520 million this budget season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alfonso Carmona, the second-in-command of Chicago Public Schools, is stepping down Friday as acting chief education officer \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":700686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,36515,16742,407,5386,1818,728,50,3060],"class_list":{"0":"post-700685","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-chicago-board-of-education","10":"tag-chicago-public-schools","11":"tag-education","12":"tag-il","13":"tag-illinois","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-news","16":"tag-schools"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116337736305596342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}