No action was taken on the fate of CEO Pedro Martinez at Thursday's CPS board meeting

The Board of Education did not address Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez's contract or Mayor Brandon Johnson's loan idea at Thursday night's school board meeting.

There was great expectation that tensions would come to a head in the nation's fourth-largest school system and that the meeting would prove crucial to Martinez's future. That was after last week's news Johnson called on Martinez to resignand the public of the principal Defending his job and his reputation this week.

However, there was no vote item on Thursday's meeting's public agenda for a loan for Johnson to take from CPS to finance a new contract with the Chicago Teachers Union – which has yet to be negotiated – and a pension payment for non-teaching staff he asked the school district to do so.

There was also no discussion or vote on Martinez's contract on the agenda because it would take place in a closed session where board members conduct sensitive business such as personnel matters.

And during the meeting, held at the Roberto Clemente Community Academy on the Near West Side, Board Chairman Jianan Shi did not elaborate on the conflicts that have developed as families try to focus on their children's education.

“We want to acknowledge that there is a lot of excitement in the media about CPS and this board,” he said in his opening statement.

“It is important to listen to the voices of our stakeholders in our communities,” Shi said. “However, as with all board meetings and in keeping with our roles and responsibilities as board members, we cannot and will not discuss confidential or personnel matters.”

Martinez largely didn't address the tension. He said only that he was encouraged by some progress in contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union and pointed to the district's offers of health and dental benefits. Salary increasessmaller class sizes and more time for teacher preparation.

“I am pleased to announce that CPS has now responded to all of the 700-plus proposals originally presented to us by CTU in April of last year,” Martinez said.

“We look forward to hearing responses from our CTU partners on these and other important proposals as we work toward a contract that rewards the outstanding work of our teachers and support staff while continuing to make decisions responsible for the long-term success of our program. “District,” he said.

Martinez again denied any plans to close schools, as did Shi.

There were still fireworks, however, as the fight over Martinez's future has landed fully in Chicago's political arena, where elected officials and civic leaders are lining up to take sides and pressure is growing from the teachers' union for a new superintendent to find.

School board approves moratorium on school closures

The school board approved unanimously a self-imposed school closure moratorium aimed at fending off CTU allegations that Martinez planned to close schools. Without naming the teachers' union, Martinez called these claims a “misinformation campaign” and “outright lies.”

In his comments, CTU Vice President Jackson Potter urged the board to adopt a union-amended version of the resolution that promised not to seek “mass layoffs” or furloughs.

“If you could muster a fraction of the energy and chutzpah you used defending your job to advocate for our students and full funding, we would be well on our way to closing this projected deficit,” Potter said to a mixture of mockery and cheers.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun Times

The ban on closures is fundamentally symbolic, as it is not legally binding and can be lifted at any time. But as agreed, it lasts until 2027. That applies to the remainder of Martinez's contract and several months after the city's first fully elected school board meets.

The very first School board elections The committee will be partially elected in November of this year.

Progressive firebrand Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25) got into some verbal altercations with hecklers in the audience as he directed his anger at Martinez in his comments.

“This politicization of the issue, and I’m speaking directly to the CEO – when you were [chief financial officer] It hasn't been a problem for the public schools to get money, even … to take out loans to ensure that our children have the same opportunities as other children,” Sigcho-Lopez said. “What’s different now?”

Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) wore a “Vote for Pedro” shirt. And Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th), also supporting Martinez, said it was “weird” that previous mayors were always blamed for CPS's shortcomings, but the criticism is now directed at the CPS CEO. He called on all parties to “work together and figure out how we get money from Springfield and Washington, DC.”

“All the energy that is going on right now and the division it is causing must stop,” Villegas said. “Let’s stop politics. Let’s get fully funded schools.”