Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Leadership topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chicago Board of Education votes 18-1 to appoint Dr. Macklin King as permanent CEO
Summary
After extensive public comment and board discussion, the Chicago Board of Education approved RS 2 to appoint Dr. Macklin King as the permanent chief executive officer and approve her employment contract on March 30, 2026, by an 18-1 roll call vote. Unions, community leaders and elected officials publicly urged the board to confirm her.
The Chicago Board of Education approved a resolution to appoint Dr. Macklin King as the district's permanent superintendent and chief executive officer and to approve her employment contract on March 30, 2026, by a roll call vote of 18 ayes and 1 nay.
The board acted after a public-participation period in which union leaders, community representatives and elected officials urged the board to confirm King. Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said the district faces steep fiscal pressures and urged collective advocacy: "We're all staring down a nearly billion dollar deficit in CPS for next year." Diane Palmer, president of SEIU Local 73, and Kia Banks of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association also publicly endorsed King, urging commitments on transparency, staffing and mental-health supports.
The vote followed a motion to adopt RS 2 ("resolution to appoint chief executive officer and to approve chief executive officer's employment contract, Dr. Macklin King"). The motion was moved and seconded, opened for discussion, and then approved on a roll call that the transcript records as 18 ayes and 1 nay. The transcript records a series of supportive remarks from multiple board members about King's leadership experience in schools and her engagement with communities. Several speakers emphasized the need to protect recent student gains and to prioritize a budget that centers student needs.
After the vote, Dr. King accepted the appointment. "I am both honored and humbled to accept the position of permanent superintendent CEO for Chicago Public Schools," she said, adding that she will "be the most vocal advocate for the funding of the 315,000 students within our schools" and that she intends to deliver "budgets that are moral documents."
Earlier in the meeting the board heard public comments about several district matters. Nelson Giroux of the Chicago Public Education Fund asked for timely, student-centered budgets and warned that borrowing to cover operating costs "pushes today's challenges onto tomorrow's students," citing projections of multi-year deficits. Veena Villivalum, a Local School Council representative, reported procedural problems during recent LSC elections and formally requested board intervention to strengthen election procedures for 2028.
Procedural steps taken at the meeting included a 30-minute recess earlier in the session; that recess motion passed on a roll call vote recorded in the transcript as 17 ayes and 1 nay. The board also moved into closed (executive) session under the Illinois Open Meetings Act before returning to the public session to vote on RS 2.
What happened next: With the board's approval, Dr. King will transition from interim to permanent superintendent/CEO with the authority and responsibilities specified in the approved employment contract. The board did not announce additional immediate votes on related budget items during this special meeting; members emphasized continued community engagement and a focus on the district's fiscal and program priorities in the months ahead.
