In a significant shift in governance, the Chicago Board of Education recently overruled the school district’s recommendation to fire an employee with a long history of alleged threats and harassment toward colleagues.
This marked the first instance in a decade where the school board acted contrary to administrators’ recommendations on personnel matters without providing justification.
Historically, Chicago Public School officials routinely presented numerous problematic employee names at monthly board meetings for dismissal approval.
However, this trend altered dramatically in late February, when members of the newly formed partly elected school board opted to embrace a different approach.
During a meeting on February 27, the board rejected the district’s guidance to terminate a cook at Marquette Elementary School, located in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
This employee allegedly waved a knife at another worker, used offensive language on school premises, and consistently disobeyed her supervisor’s instructions, as documented in CPS records.
This decision to reinstate the cook serves as a reflection of the changing dynamics within CPS, where past boards generally aligned with school administrators on personnel decisions.
The transition to a 21-member board, partially elected and partially appointed, has encouraged a deeper examination of district policies and decision-making processes.
This change has highlighted emerging divisions among board members, many of whom align with Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), while others present differing viewpoints.
Recent months have been characterized by split decisions on various policies, from charter school closures to disagreements regarding high-level pension issues.
Such complexities are likely to increase as the board continues to confront the district’s financial and operational hurdles in the future.
“We have new perspectives on the board, people who are asking questions, questions that I don’t think were asked under previous boards,” stated Ed Bannon, a board member appointed by Johnson and representing District 1 on the Far Northwest Side of the city.
According to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, CPS Chief Pedro Martinez recommended the cook’s termination after a dismissal hearing held on January 17.
On February 27, the board voted against firing her, and she was subsequently reinstated on March 19.
To protect the cook’s privacy, the Tribune has elected to withhold her name as she has not faced criminal charges and remains employed by CPS.
Following the vote, CPS attorney Ruchi Verma issued a cautionary email to the board, outlining the potential legal consequences associated with disregarding the district’s recommendation.
“If (the cook) engages in similar conduct in the future, even if the misconduct occurs outside (her) scope of employment, the Board could be held liable for failing to act appropriately to prevent such conduct from reoccurring,” Verma cautioned in her email, which was later obtained by the Tribune through a source close to the board.
“Furthermore, if another employee is terminated for misconduct that resembles (the cook’s), that employee could argue they were treated differently for various reasons, such as membership in a protected class.”
CPS has historically recommended termination for about 40-50 employees annually, representing less than 1% of its total workforce.
The process of terminating an employee is lengthy.
Initially, the board’s Law Department drafts charges, and the employee undergoes a dismissal hearing.
Ultimately, the chief executive officer approves the decision, which is forwarded to the board for consideration.
In a closed session a month before a vote on personnel, board members meet with CPS legal representatives to discuss recommended terminations and the circumstances surrounding each case.
Several members who participated in the closed session confirmed to the Tribune that no inquiries were made regarding the cook’s case when it was presented.
CPS declined to provide further comments about the vote to reinstate her.
Investigative reports acquired by the Tribune reveal that colleagues in the lunchroom had been voicing concerns about the cook’s alleged temper and abusive outbursts for years.
On February 2, 2022, she received a formal reprimand for purportedly waving a knife at an employee’s face after that individual “messed up” the rice, as per testimonies from coworkers.
On April 14, 2023, she was subjected to a three-day suspension for her ongoing confrontational behavior in the kitchen, where she reportedly “quickly lost her rationale” and “yelled” at others.
In October 2023, another employee, whose name was redacted from the report, alleged that the cook explicitly told her to “lay down and die” after the employee questioned the preparation of sausages to the lunchroom manager.
“I’m literally afraid every time I step foot in the kitchen,” the frightened employee admitted in the report.
“I don’t want her to lose her job.
I’m just afraid of her now.”
Shortly after this incident, district records indicate that the cook allegedly insulted a different employee by calling them a “fat pig” and expressed her frustration by saying she was tired of seeing “the crack of (his) … a – –.”
She also commented to yet another employee that she “must be on (her) period.”
According to reports, numerous lunchroom employees departed Marquette due to the cook’s volatile behavior.
Nonetheless, there were staff members who defended the cook, claiming that “everyone has their flare-ups” and asserting that she “does not curse more than any of the other kitchen employees.”
During the dismissal hearing, the cook denied the allegations against her and stated that she had herself been subjected to bullying by fellow kitchen workers.
“This is part of kitchen culture and will be heard/found throughout the CPS kitchens,” commented Unite Here Local 1, the union representing cafeteria workers, in a statement accompanying the dismissal report.
“The union is open to alternate methods of addressing the issues raised against (the cook), such as the exploration of a different school assignment or location.”
Unite Here Local 1 did not immediately respond to media requests regarding the reinstatement.
Jennifer Reger, the district’s executive director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, noted in her report that “after (the cook) was specifically warned and disciplined for similar misconduct, she continued to violate board policies.”
“CPS cannot function properly with the disarray and chaos that occurs when staff members threaten other staff members, loudly use profanity during school hours, and hurl insults at their coworkers,” Reger asserted, recommending the cook’s termination.
When approached for comment, neither the lunchroom manager nor the cook provided a response.
In the February 27 meeting, of the 19 board members who voted, 10 chose to reinstate the cook, with one member abstaining.
Ebony DeBerry, a board member representing District 2A on the Northeast Side, explained that the school board is now scrutinizing hiring and firing decisions more rigorously, engaging in “thoughtful” conversations before casting votes.
The 10 members who opted against terminating the cook were either appointed by the mayor or supported by the CTU.
DeBerry emphasized, “We have board members now who have lived experience with work, hardship, leadership, and relationships that we’ve never had before.
We’ve watched previous boards just rubber stamp, but we want to change things.”
Matt Lyons, who served as CPS’ chief talent officer from 2015 to 2021 and oversaw similar disciplinary discussions with past boards, expressed skepticism about the decision to reinstate the cook.
In his experience, decisions to terminate employees were typically straightforward, especially in cases of clear misconduct.
“Serving Chicago Public School students and families is a privilege.
And anyone who’s not acting in accordance with that really should not be there,” he remarked.
Conversations among board members have also highlighted concerns regarding the demographics of employees undergoing reprimands or terminations at CPS, according to Che “Rhymefest” Smith, an independent elected member from District 10 on the South Side.
“When we look at principals who are reprimanded or investigated by the (Office of Inspector General), we see that they are overwhelmingly principals of color,” he pointed out.
The decision to reinstate the cook, he noted, was unexpected and alarmed many board members.
“It happened on the spot and shocked a lot of us,” he remarked.
Board members identified Karen Zaccor, aligned with the CTU and Mayor Johnson, as a key proponent behind the push to reinstate the cook.
Zaccor texted fellow board member Norma Rios-Sierra prior to the vote, indicating that “some of us are going to vote no on dismissing one of the support staff,” while leaving the ultimate decision to Rios-Sierra.
While she declined to comment on personnel matters, Zaccor stated that she did not want to breach any confidentiality boundaries.
Aaron “Jitu” Brown, a CTU-backed elected school board member who supported the reinstatement, emphasized that the members who voted in her favor respected Zaccor’s directive, valuing her extensive experience as a former classroom teacher.
“It’s really about creating a culture of democracy … we’re learning this process,” Brown stated.
“It’s going to be messy.”
Angel Gutiérrez, a non-CTU elected board member from District 8, countered this statement by questioning whether this was the appropriate precedent to set without first having a thorough and meaningful discussion regarding the issue.
Overall, the ongoing discord among board members regarding personnel decisions reflects the complex challenges facing the Chicago Board of Education as it grapples with the balance between administrative guidance and board autonomy.
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