Greetings!

On Tuesday, November 3, 2026, Chicagoans will go to the polls to finally elect every member of the 21-member Chicago Board of Education, including board president.

Over the years there has been general agreement that Chicago public school boards, appointed by and beholden to the 5th floor of city hall, and not accountable to voters has, over decades, resulted in an overly politicized, problem-ridden public school system that is not educating our children, particularly Black children, in an effective, high-quality, and equitable manner, across all schools in the system.

One important strategy we fought to employ towards affecting the improvement of public education in Chicago, was to move to an elected school board; a board that would be responsive to the voters of Chicago and all stakeholders: parents, students, teachers, administrators, taxpayers and others.

If we are to achieve a well-managed, financially sound public school system that effectively provides a quality education for all Chicago children, regardless of zip code or school attended, then this fully elected board will require strong, effective, and committed leadership.

COAL is honored to host Sean Harden, current President of the Chicago Board of Education, to discuss the critical leadership needed to tackle the challenges facing Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and needed to provide the best education for our children.

Please join COAL for this continuing important conversation on public education in Chicago.

Our children deserve a quality education.

Respectfully,

COAL Board of Directors

P.S. COAL's Education Committee is again developing candidate questionnaires for board member candidates, and for candidates for the position of board president. Responses and candidate ratings will be widely distributed and easily accessible.

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"Our most powerful nonviolent weapon is... also our most demanding, that is organization.

To produce change people must be organized to work together in units of power," - MLK

Sean B. Harden, President

Chicago Board of Education (Bio)

Topic

The transition to a fully-elected school board and the

critical leadership needed to tackle the challenges facing CPS

Bourdeau-Griffin Design Center, 

8237 S. Princeton, Chicago

(parking / entrance in rear of facility)

8:30am - Start / Breakfast,

9:30am - Program

*Event / Breakfast Buffet $20*

RSVP to this notice at publicpolicy@coalchicago.com

Information on the Topic

See a current list of candidates for the offices of President and Member of the Chicago Board of Education for the November 3, 2026 General Election Here

Notice and an Agenda for the Chicago Electoral Board Meeting on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.

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CPS news: Chicago Public School teachers, Chicago Teachers Union warn of cuts as CPS faces $700 million budget deficit - ABC7 Chicago

Financial crisis may shorten Chicago school year

In This Fall’s Chicago School Board Elections, Many Voters May Only Have One Candidate to Choose From | Chicago News | WTTW

Chicago school board candidates fight ballot objections

Thank you for supporting the COAL 2026 Fundraising Drive.  Your care, your voice, and your belief in what’s possible are what gives our work its strength.