Brown or Williams? What to Know About the District 5A School Board Race

When asked how Chicago Public Schools should make difficult spending decisions, LaPamela Williams proposed reviewing the district's budget line by line. Her opponent, incumbent Aaron "Jitu" Brown, rejected the idea that neighborhood schools should have to accept fewer resources.

It was one of the clearest distinctions to emerge during an October 1 candidate forum at Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School in Austin.

Brown and Williams are competing to represent District 5A on the Chicago Board of Education, a West Side district where longstanding school disinvestment, declining enrollment and unequal academic opportunities remain concerns.

Throughout the forum, hosted by the NAACP Chicago West Side Branch and community partners, moderators pressed both candidates to explain not only what they wanted to change, but how they would fund those changes and measure progress.

Their responses offered voters different approaches to improving schools, although several questions about specific investments and measurable outcomes remained unanswered.

What is District 5A?

District 5A is one of 20 subdistricts that make up Chicago's 10 school board districts. Each district is divided into an A and B subdistrict, with voters choosing one representative from their respective area.

District 5A covers portions of Chicago's West Side, including Austin, Humboldt Park, West Town and Montclare, with areas extending through Garfield Park toward Ukrainian Village.

According to the 2026 Chicago School Board Voter Guide, District 5A includes 39 CPS schools serving approximately 13,933 students.

Students living in the district are also among the least likely in Chicago to attend their neighborhood high school. Fewer than 7% chose their neighborhood high school option, according to CPS data reported by Chalkbeat.

That raises a question for families: What would make more students want to attend schools closer to home?

What does the Board member actually have power over?

The Chicago Board of Education sets districtwide policies and priorities, approves the CPS budget and major contracts, and hires and evaluates the district's superintendent/CEO.

Board members oversee the school system as a whole rather than managing individual schools or classrooms.

That means the person elected in District 5A will not decide every issue at a neighborhood school, but will cast votes on decisions that can affect funding, academic opportunities and services across the district.

Want a deeper breakdown of who controls principals, school budgets, curriculum and school closures? Read 15 West's Your Principal, Your School's Budget, Your Classroom: Who Actually Makes the Decisions?.

What makes the District 5A race worth watching?

School enrollment and access to resources were recurring concerns at the October 1 forum.

Moderators questioned the candidates about chronic absenteeism, disparities affecting Black students, educator diversity and whether neighborhood schools offer the same academic opportunities available elsewhere in Chicago.

The questions also reflected a larger challenge facing CPS: deciding where to invest when its resources fall short of what the state considers adequate funding. According to CPS, the district had 73.3% of the resources needed to meet Illinois' school funding adequacy target in fiscal year 2026.

For families in District 5A, those decisions could affect whether neighborhood schools receive more academic programs, student support services and investments intended to strengthen enrollment.

So, who is running, and what do they want to change?

Two candidates whose names will appear on the District 5A ballot participated in the October 1 forum.

Aaron "Jitu" Brown is the district's incumbent Board member and a longtime community organizer who helped lead campaigns against school closures and for an elected Chicago school board.

LaPamela Williams is an Austin native, Lane Tech graduate and licensed real estate broker seeking her first term on the Board.

Retired CPS teacher Kernetha Jones was removed from the printed ballot following a successful petition challenge but is continuing as a write-in candidate, according to Chalkbeat. Jones did not participate in the forum.

15 West previously reported on the campaign financing and petition challenges shaping several West Side school board races.

The comparison below is based on Brown's and Williams' public statements, published candidate questionnaires and responses at the October 1 forum.

Swipe sideways to compare both candidates.

Sources: October 1, 2026 District 5A candidate forum; published candidate questionnaires from the Chicago School Board Voter Guide, a collaboration of WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chalkbeat, and Block Club Chicago. The table summarizes candidates' stated positions, not independently established outcomes.

The comparison offers a quick look at where the candidates stand. But several issues raised during the forum deserve a closer look.

Now, why does this matter for my child's school?

Decisions made by the Board can shape the resources, programs and services students encounter every day.

What happens when CPS doesn't have enough money?

One of the forum's most revealing exchanges concerned how candidates would handle financial constraints.

CPS approved a $10.11 billion budget for fiscal year 2027, but the district continues to face financial challenges.

The approved budget included an assumption of $150 million in additional state revenue. At the time of approval, CPS warned that it could need to make midyear reductions if some or all of that money did not materialize.

Asked what financial action they would prioritize, Williams said she would review the budget "line by line" to determine whether spending was benefiting students.

She argued that funds not supporting student success should be reconsidered and potentially directed toward other investments.

Brown challenged the premise of accepting trade-offs that could harm neighborhood schools.

"In my mind there are no trade-offs," he said.

He argued that Illinois should provide additional resources rather than requiring schools that have experienced decades of disinvestment to absorb further reductions.

Brown has also separately advocated reducing administrative overhead, according to his published campaign priorities.

Neither candidate named specific cuts or a detailed financial plan. Williams proposed redirecting funds toward student needs, while Brown called for the state to contribute its fair share.

Board members can approve district spending priorities, but securing additional state funding requires action beyond CPS.

Will neighborhood schools close after the current moratorium expires?

School closures were another significant topic.

The Board currently has a moratorium on closures, consolidations and phase-outs of district-managed schools through the 2026–27 school year. When that protection expires, the Board could face decisions about extending it or considering other approaches to schools with declining enrollment.

Brown opposed closing neighborhood schools in Black communities and pointed to Sustainable Community Schools as an alternative. He suggested that buildings with available space could offer smaller class sizes, health services, science laboratories and other programs that benefit students and surrounding neighborhoods.

Williams emphasized involving families and school communities long before any potential closure decision. She called for discussions with parents, teachers, principals and Local School Councils to understand why a school might be considered for closure and what students need.

Brown explicitly opposed closing schools in Black communities. Williams emphasized consulting the school community before considering a closure.

Why are students missing so much school?

At Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet High School, where the forum took place, CPS' online school profile lists a chronic absenteeism rate of 88.8%. That means nearly nine in 10 students in the reported period missed at least 10% of the school year, including excused and unexcused absences.Copy clean text

The rate shows how widespread absences are, but it does not explain why individual students miss school. Candidates were asked which barriers CPS should investigate, what action they would support and what attendance benchmark they would expect within two years.

Williams said the district should begin by talking with students and families to understand why children are missing school and what additional services might help.

Brown argued that attendance is closely connected to student engagement. He described his experience coordinating community school programs and said attendance improved when students had a voice in shaping activities and opportunities.

Neither candidate offered the numerical two-year attendance goal requested by the moderator.

How will voters know whether the next Board member is delivering?

Throughout the forum, moderators pressed both candidates to identify specific investments, funding sources and ways to measure progress.

They asked how the Board should evaluate academic outcomes, track the recruitment and retention of Black educators, and monitor disparities affecting Black students with disabilities.

Both candidates described priorities and approaches, but neither consistently provided the specific benchmarks or implementation details requested. Candidates were also answering under short time limits.

Those unanswered questions provide an opportunity for voters to revisit campaign commitments after the election.

Will more academic opportunities become available in neighborhood schools? Will chronic absenteeism decline? Will CPS expand access to qualified educators and student support services? And will the Board publish enough information for families to evaluate whether those investments are working?

The next District 5A representative will have one vote on Chicago's 21-member Board of Education.

For residents, the commitments made during the campaign offer a starting point for asking what has changed once that representative takes office.

How and when do I vote?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Early voting began downtown on October 1 and expands to all 50 Chicago wards on October 19.

District 5A voters will see Brown and Williams listed on the ballot. Jones is running as a write-in candidate. Chicago voters will also vote in the separate citywide Board president race.

Need to find your polling place, review your sample ballot, register, vote early, request voting assistance or vote by mail? Use 15 West's Chicago School Board Voting: An Accessible Guide for step-by-step information.