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City of Chicago School District 299 board meeting, May 28, 2026

5 h 32 min · 29 public speakers

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 5 h 32 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Chicago board postpones votes on charter school renewals to June 10 5:10:49

  • During public participation, speakers raised the Chicago High School for the Arts transition, charter renewal terms and school budget cuts. 49:18
  • District staff presented charter renewal recommendations for 7 operators, 16 campuses and 8,307 students, and board members asked questions about oversight and timing. 2:37:36
  • The board voted 11 ayes to 8 nays to postpone EX7 and EX11 to June 10. 5:13:10
Item by item (9)
  1. Opening, roll call and agenda motions 0:00
    • A speaker reported 16 members present and a quorum. 2:45
    • A motion was made to suspend a bylaw so the charter renewal presentation would follow the superintendent's remarks, which required 14 yes votes. 3:50
    • A motion was made to withdraw item 260423EX2 on the Youth Connection Charter School agreement so an updated report could be presented. 5:34
    • The motion to suspend the bylaw failed 9 ayes to 7 nays, and the withdrawal motion was adopted 16 ayes to 0 nays. 5:05
  2. Honoring Excellence recognition 7:19
    • A presenter introduced the ACES program at Jones College Prep, described as a series of courses in art, dance and physical education that bring general education students and students in the school's cluster program together. 7:19
    • The Jones College Prep principal asked the board and district leadership to consider the impact of budget cuts on the most vulnerable learners. 9:15
  3. Public participation 38:55
    • Other speakers at public comment said the district was discussing cutting nearly 700 teaching positions and asked the board to reject any budget that pressures schools to eliminate assistant principal positions. 49:18
    • Speakers at public comment asked the board to give Chicago Collegiate Charter School a 5-year renewal instead of the recommended 4 years. 1:07:19
    • Several speakers at public comment asked the board to fund the Chicago High School for the Arts conservatory and keep its teaching artists, and one said 50 of 70 teaching artists would be eliminated. 1:15:04
  4. Charter school renewal recommendations 2:27:58
    • A district staff member said the district will implement a financial early warning process in FY27 and begin mid-cycle performance reviews. 2:33:05
    • Staff recommended a 7-year term for the Academy for Global Citizenship, 5 years for the Acero network and 4 years for Chicago Collegiate Charter School. 2:38:41
    • Board members asked what enforcement the district has if an operator does not sign its contract and what opportunity the public had to respond to recommended renewal lengths. 2:59:37
  5. Minutes, policies and consent agenda 3:44:28
    • The board considered approval of the records of proceedings from April 8, 2026 and April 23, 2026. 3:44:47
    • Items included appointments to local school councils and public comment periods for the homeless children and youth, option school academic accountability and concussion management policies. 3:45:47
    • The secretary read the 2026⁠-⁠2027 schedules of regular board and Agenda Review Committee meetings, which did not require a vote. 3:47:05
    • The minutes and policy items were each adopted 18 ayes to 0 nays, and the consent agenda was adopted 19 ayes to 0 nays. 3:45:47
  6. Legal, personnel and closed session minutes 4:01:03
    • General counsel items included appointments of assistant general counsel, an increase in spending authority for outside law firms and settlements. 4:01:03
  7. Progressive revenue resolution 4:05:53
    • A motion was made to amend the resolution to add clauses calling on the City of Chicago to continue pursuing collaborative strategies and, where fiscally appropriate, intergovernmental revenue partnerships. 4:06:18
    • Another board member said the resolution focuses on state revenue proposals such as taxing digital ads and closing offshore tax loopholes. 4:12:04
    • A board member said they could not support the resolution as written. 4:28:46
    • The amendment failed 6 ayes to 13 nays, and the resolution as posted was adopted 16 ayes to 3 nays. 4:27:27
  8. Votes on individual charter renewals 4:37:30
    • A board member moved to postpone the Academy for Global Citizenship renewal to June 10, 2026, and said the board should not move forward on charter renewals until it gets complete answers to its questions. 4:38:38
    • A speaker said 8,000-plus students and their teachers deserve to know whether their schools will be open. 4:59:32
    • The board adopted a motion to postpone EX9 to June 10, 2026, 11 ayes to 8 nays, and a motion to postpone EX10 to June 10, 2026, 11 ayes to 7 nays with 1 abstention. 5:20:09
    • Motions to postpone EX6, EX7 and EX11 to June 10, 2026 each passed 11 ayes to 8 nays. 5:10:49
  9. Closed session and final items 5:27:18
    • After closed session, the board secretary said the EX12 vote was on the item as posted, not a postponement, because no motion to postpone had been made. 5:28:47

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Chicago Board of Education May 28, 2026 (Board Meeting)”