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City of Chicago School District 299 board meeting, Aug 27, 2026

3 h 41 min · 17 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 3 h 41 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Chicago Board of Education tables arts high school resolution to September 10th meeting 3:25:47

  • The superintendent gave a start-of-year report covering transportation, staffing, state funding and the transition of Chicago Arts High School to a district-run school. 51:02
  • Union representatives and speakers at public comment raised staffing cuts, the budget, student data privacy and school facilities. 2:04:15
  • The board adopted resolutions, policy items, procurement agreements and settlements, with tallies including 19 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention. 3:14:27
  • The board voted 19 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention to table a resolution on Chicago High School for the Arts to its September 10th, 2026 meeting. 3:25:47
Item by item (13)
  1. Opening and roll call 0:01
    • An announcement said the next board meeting was scheduled for Thursday, September 24th, 2026 at 10:30 AM. 0:01
    • The board secretary called the roll and reported 17 members present and a quorum. 3:16
  2. Oath of office for new member 4:01
    • A new board member took the oath of office. 4:01
    • The new member said it is an honor to serve students and described work as a parent advocate and robotics coach. 10:00
    • Other board members offered welcoming remarks. 11:41
  3. Recognition of network chiefs 13:32
    • The acting chief schools officer said the district's network chiefs manage over 500 schools across Chicago. 15:27
    • The Network 1 chief said the network has 38 elementary schools with approximately 22,350 students. 23:45
    • The Network 16 chief said the network began connecting every student, about 12,000 students, to a trusted adult 4 years ago. 30:47
  4. Operations update 44:02
    • The chief operating officer said capital teams handled construction at more than 200 schools over the summer. 45:02
    • The chief operating officer described work in North Lawndale as part of a $40 million investment supported by $10 million in TIF funding. 46:35
    • The chief operating officer said 102 paid student interns worked with operational teams, 86 in capital planning and construction and 16 in IT services. 47:57
  5. Superintendent's remarks 50:59
    • The superintendent said the district routed 12,637 students for transportation and the teacher vacancy rate dropped to just under 2% from 2.46% last year. 53:31
    • The superintendent said the district added 61 new cluster classrooms for students with disabilities. 59:37
    • The superintendent said the district is funded at 70% of the state's evidence-based funding formula, down from 73% last year. 1:06:16
  6. Chicago Arts High School transition update 1:07:59
    • The superintendent said 100% of students at Chicago Arts High School had completed schedules on the first day. 1:11:19
    • A deputy chief education officer said over 200 students were not on track to meet graduation requirements under the previous bell schedule. 1:15:50
    • A staff member said enrollment was 498, about a 37-student decrease from the same time last year. 1:20:47
  7. Board comments on superintendent's report 1:22:53
    • A board member said families on the Southwest Side faced federal immigration enforcement during the first week of school. 1:22:59
    • A board member asked about the difference between resident artists and teaching artists, and a staff member said they are basically the same position with a different title. 1:31:24
  8. Committee updates 1:52:17
    • Board members announced 12 new Special Education Advisory Committee members selected from more than 100 candidates. 1:52:33
    • The committee is targeting the 3rd week in October for its first meeting. 1:57:41
    • A board member said Black Student Achievement Committee trainings will take place in September, with quarterly public convenings starting in November. 1:58:20
  9. Union remarks 2:02:30
    • A teachers union representative said approximately 152 educators returned to their schools after the budget was amended. 2:04:15
    • A union representative said Aspira hopes to walk away with $3 to $4 million from a building and asked CPS to assert its claims over the money. 2:14:16
    • Another union representative asked what happens if the $150 million in the budget does not come in November. 2:16:22
  10. Public comment 2:20:44
    • A speaker at public comment asked the board not to provide about $5 million to a single school. 2:31:57
    • Speakers at public comment raised layoffs at Pantoja High School, the Price Elementary School property and admissions to a dual language program. 2:48:53
  11. Recess 3:05:48
    • A board member moved that the board take a 30-minute recess. 3:05:56
  12. Minutes and consent agenda 3:06:53
    • The board considered the record of proceedings of the July 8th 2026 committee meeting and July 30th, 2026 board meeting. 3:07:49
    • Resolutions, policy items and procurement agreements were read into the record, with abstentions noted for the vice president on PR 10 and PR 14. 3:09:26
    • The minutes were adopted 14 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention; the consent items passed 19 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention, and PR 10 and PR 14 passed 17 ayes, 0 nays, 2 abstentions. 3:09:26
  13. Chicago High School for the Arts resolution 3:24:40
    • A motion was made and seconded to table the resolution on Chicago High School for the Arts to the next meeting on September 10th, 2026. 3:25:47
    • A board member said the school has a 98% graduation rate and said they were happy to table the item. 3:28:19
    • Another board member said the resolution would fund one school at $5 million that could go to arts for all students. 3:35:43
    • The motion to table passed 19 ayes, 0 nays, 1 abstention. 3:40:23

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

What was said

What board members said, in order

I really appreciate that, but because again, it's the adults, right? Those kids were on track, they were doing fine, they would have graduated if their school hadn't switched from contract to CPS, and now they got to figured they weren't going to graduate as a contract school?Michilla Blaise · Member1:35:13
Other meetings

Other meetings of this board

Video: posted by the district as “Chicago Board of Education August 27, 2026 (Board Meeting)”