> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.15west.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Your Principal, Your School’s Budget, Your Classroom: Who Actually Makes the Decisions? - URL: https://www.15west.org/featured/your-principal-your-schools-budget-your-classroom-who-actually-makes-the-decisions/ - Published: 2026-09-02T12:44:41.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-02T14:55:46.000Z - Description: Chicagoans will elect the city’s entire school board for the first time this November. Here’s what the board controls, what it doesn’t, and who families should turn to when they need answers. - Author: Georgia Rau - Tags: Education, Chicago Board of Education On Nov. 3, Chicago voters will decide who sits on the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Board of Education. All 21 seats are up for election. Fifty-one people originally filed to run. After challenges to their petition signatures, 44 are expected to appear on the ballot, though six candidates remain tied up in appeals in Cook County Circuit Court. Each voter picks two candidates: the board president, chosen citywide, and one member to represent the district where they live. Understanding what the school board does, and does not do, has never been more important. ## **What does the school board vote on?** The board votes on a range of things: district policies, the yearly budget, school improvement and accountability measures, some school opening and closing decisions, contracts and spending, and certain hiring and firing decisions that state law says the board must approve, according to Shelia Pegues-Porter, the Board Communications Manager for the Chicago Board of Education. The board also hires and evaluates the CEO of Chicago Public Schools, sets districtwide priorities and goals, and can dismiss certain board-appointed administrators, officers, and school employees. Pegues-Porter uses an analogy to explain the difference between the board and the CEO. “The Board operates from the balcony, seeing the full picture, while the Supt/CEO and her team are on the dance floor managing the daily work,” Pegues-Porter said. The board's decisions can carry real weight. On July 30, the board rejected the budget proposed by the CPS CEO and passed a revised plan that reversed plans for more than 1,000 layoffs, [according to WBEZ Chicago](https://www.wbez.org/wbez-newsletter/2026/07/31/the-rundown-an-unprecedented-budget-play-from-cps-board?ref=15west.org). Board members who supported the change said the layoffs would harm students. But the amended plan counts on $150 million in state funding that has not been confirmed, and it passed by a narrow 11-7 vote. The adopted budget still includes hundreds of staff cuts in classrooms and central offices, even after funding was restored for many positions. One decision that stood out to CPS parent and former CPS student Emily Rasmussen came in 2014, when the board made school lunch free for all students. Rasmussen’s daughter, now 20, was in elementary school at the time. “I grew up getting reduced or free lunch, and it was very stigmatizing … Everybody knew you were getting free or reduced lunch,” Rasmussen said. “Now … they're all on the same level.” Between fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the district has proposed spending less on teaching positions as enrollment declines, along with cuts to central-office and citywide budgets. ## **What the school board does *not* do** The board doesn't do everything. Individual schools and local school councils handle hiring principals and approving each school's internal improvement plans. Individual schools and the district CEO oversee school staff and day-to-day operations. The school board does not write daily lesson plans or run classrooms. The CPS Board of Education is different from the Illinois State Board of Education ([ISBE](https://www.isbe.net/?ref=15west.org)). The CPS board governs Chicago Public Schools, while ISBE oversees public education statewide. ISBE distributes state and federal education funding, issues educator licenses, monitors school performance and recommends education policy to state officials. In short, the CPS board doesn’t operate at the statewide level or run individual schools. It sits between local schools and the state. ## **Who actually decides?** ### Who hires my principal? The local school council hires the school’s principal. At most CPS schools, the Local School Council, or LSC, selects and evaluates the school’s contract principal and can award the principal a four-year performance contract. Schools without an LSC use a separate CPS appointment process. ### Who can close a school? The Board of Education ultimately votes on school closures, but district-managed CPS schools are currently covered by a Board-approved moratorium on closures, consolidations and phase-outs through the 2026-27 school year. A separate state-law moratorium ended in [January 2025](https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/is-cps-preparing-to-cut-and-close-schools-in-2025/?ref=15west.org). When a school action is proposed, the CPS CEO initiates the process. Before the Board can vote, CPS must hold two community meetings and one public hearing, and state law requires public notice and prevents the Board from making a decision less than 60 days after the proposal is announced. ### Who decides whether my school gets more funding? Funding decisions are shared. CPS determines how district resources are distributed to schools, while the Board approves the districtwide operating budget and capital plan. At the individual school level, principals develop their budgets with input from their Local School Councils. LSCs approve the school budget and budget transfers and can request revisions. So while an LSC does not decide how much money CPS initially gives a school, it has a direct role in deciding how that school’s available funds are used. ### Who controls curriculum or classroom rules? Teachers make many day-to-day decisions about lesson plans and classroom routines, within school and district requirements. The state sets learning standards, while CPS, schools and teachers make decisions about curriculum and how those standards are taught. ### Who should families contact when something goes wrong? It depends on the problem. Start as local as possible — the school or the local school council. If the issue involves districtwide policy or state law, the appropriate CPS office, Board of Education member or state agency may be the next step. ### **How can I speak to the Board or follow what it is doing?** [Residents can watch Board meetings online](https://www.cpsboe.org/meetings?ref=15west.org), attend meetings, register to speak during public participation or submit written comments. The Board posts meeting schedules, agendas, actions and other meeting records on its website. The Board also offers monthly office hours as another way to speak with a Board member. Depending on availability, residents can request a 15-minute virtual meeting through the Board office. ### **What does the Board president actually do?** Chicago voters will also elect the Board president citywide. Beginning in January 2027, the president will preside over Board meetings but will vote just like every other Board member. State law does not give the president veto power. ### **Why this election matters** This November's election is historic. For the first time, voters will elect all 21 members of the board. The board used to be fully appointed by the mayor. A 2021 state law, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, created a hybrid model where some members were elected and some appointed; this election completes the shift to a fully elected board. The winners take office in January 2027. Board seats are unpaid, and some worry this discourages people from lower-income households from running. On Nov. 3, voters will choose the board president and one member from their own area, a chance to elect someone from their immediate community, which could bring more local representation to the board. ### **Not sure which district you're in or how to vote?** See [15 West's accessible voter guide](https://www.15west.org/chicago-school-board-voter-guide) for a step-by-step district lookup. **15 West is a community newsroom covering Chicago's West Side. This story was produced with support from Press Forward Chicago, an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust investing in local news and information.** #### Republish This Story This story is available for republication under a **Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License**. You may republish this article with attribution to the author and 15 West, but you cannot modify the text. [Get Republishing Guidelines ](https://www.15west.org/republish/)