Speakers at the Chicago Board of Education Bond Issue Notification Act hearing on Dec. 18, 2025, used their allotted public-comment time to press the board on school-level needs spanning transportation, health, accessibility and program expansion.

Genova Isguerra, who identified herself as a CPS alum and a Whittier Elementary parent, told the board "nearly 30 percent of the students who transfer out of Whittier do so because they lack reliable transportation to and from school." She urged the district to amend transportation policies and called for district-provided, discreet lice-treatment kits and protocols that protect student dignity, saying, "We are here for an education, not an infestation." Isguerra also said Whittier is not handicap accessible and requested an elevator and infrastructure upgrades so students and community members with mobility challenges can participate fully.

Rayna Jackson, an organizer with Good Kids, Mad City and a CPS graduate, urged the board to create a districtwide, youth-led restorative-justice pipeline. Jackson asked the board to work with youth organizers to "train and hire CPS students in high schools to become peacekeepers and circlekeepers" and requested that organizers be included in budget planning and brought forward recommendations for implementation.

A representative of the North River Elementary community (name not provided during remarks) asked the board to support reopening or expanding a third floor to increase capacity, citing limits of a current MOU that the speaker said restricts the school to one classroom per grade and contributes to being at full capacity. The speaker acknowledged the Dec. 1 recommendation from the Office of Portfolio Management and CEO King that a proposed colocation with Hagen Elementary not move forward, and asked the board to review a formal proposal submitted in September 2025.

Board staff thanked speakers and closed public participation; President Sean B. Harden then invited a staff presentation on the bond authorization. Written comments could also be submitted via the board website or by mail and will be posted to the board’s website within five business days if received by 5 PM the day after the hearing.