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Chicago’s second school board election is set for November 3, and with all 21 Board of Education seats up for grabs, it will be a historic first for the city. 

The upcoming board, which will take office in January 2027, will be fully elected—replacing the longstanding system of mayoral appointments. 

This election affects all Chicago residents, regardless of whether they have kids enrolled in public schools, said Ellen Rosenfeld, District 4B board representative, who is one of 10 school board members to be elected under a transitional hybrid model. 

“If you live in Chicago, over 50 percent of your property taxes go to fund CPS,” she said, noting that the Board of Education is responsible for allocating this budget. “So if you care about nothing else, you should care about how your money is spent.” 

Chicago’s enrollment crisis and school closures 

What began as a pool of fifty-one candidates vying for the 21 school board seats is being narrowed as candidates face challenges and are removed from the election ballot. Throughout election season, they will likely campaign on how to improve financial difficulties and overcome enrollment challenges.

“Chicago Public Schools’ budget and finances and stability is going to be huge, just as we think about the long term trajectory for the district,” said Kristin Pollock, Chief Operating Officer at Kids First Chicago, a nonprofit that aims to improve education equity by empowering families and advocating for strong public schools.

CPS carries a nearly $10 billion debt and operates with a $734 million budget deficit. This is the second year in a row that CPS will overspend.

The financial struggles are a result of various factors, including a declining enrollment rate and an end of federal COVID relief funding, according to various sources.

A recent Kids First Chicago report noted that CPS’s enrollment dropped by 80,000 students in the last decade. It cited factors like declining birth rates and movement away from the cities of certain demographics. The report also noted that the decline does not stem from families choosing nonpublic options like private schools or homeschooling.

Now, the districts’ most underenrolled schools have an uncertain future.

CPS defines an underenrolled school as one operating below 70 percent of its ideal capacity, as measured by the district’s space utilization standards, with enrollment declining at least 10 percent in each of the two preceding years. The building must also not be undergoing a closure or co-location, nor have received district investment or intervention within the last five years.

Of its 476 facilities, 255 are underutilized, according to CPS space utilization data.

Based on the number of students enrolled in elementary and high school buildings, there are more than 133,000 unfilled seats this school year, CPS reported. 

The district has the capacity to serve more than 425,000 K-12 students, but more than a quarter of these seats will sit empty during this year, according to the website. Additionally, CPS predicts the number of unfilled seats will increase in coming years, since enrollment is estimated to drop by another 30,000 K-12 students by the 2028-29 school year. 

In 2024, the board carried a unanimous decision to prohibit closing public schools until after the 2026-27 school year, with the intention of allowing the fully elected board to make major decisions regarding school infrastructure and potential consolidation.

“Chicago is going to have to deal with this problem, and this will inevitably be a very large topic of conversation,” said Jennifer Custer, the elected District 1B representative. 

How can voters stay informed?

Current school board members and education advocates encourage voters to do their homework before casting a vote in the upcoming election by visiting candidate websites, attending forums and paying attention to the influence of financial investments in campaigns. 

“I would say [voters should be] thinking about where the forces of Chicago’s education system align with different forces at the federal level [and] thinking about different donors and interest groups and PACs that are getting involved at the local level and who they fund at the federal level,” said Anusha Thotakura, who holds the appointed District 6A seat on the board of education. 

Rosenfeld encouraged voters to follow the citywide election for school board president—the position responsible for creating meeting agendas and setting the vision for the entire board.

“You need to hire a school board president that aligns with what your values are in terms of public education,” she said. “So how do you think that money should be spent? What do you think the school board should prioritize?” 

Custer echoed this, encouraging voter participation in this historic election. 

“This is a pivotal moment where voters get to choose every single person that represents them and their tax dollars and their community and city on this board, and it is no longer under anybody else’s control,” she said. “This is directly in control of the voters, and that is a really powerful thing.”

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