The Chicago Board of Education voted Monday to install interim CEO Macquline King as the district’s next permanent leader, tapping a former teacher and principal with deep local roots to helm the nation’s fourth-largest school district.
In an 18-1 vote, board members approved a three-year contract for King with a $380,000 starting salary.
King has led Chicago Public Schools in the interim since June, following the December 2024 firing without cause of CPS CEO Pedro Martinez. She last served as the senior director of education policy in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office.
Addressing the board, King described her life as “a series of chapters written within the walls of Chicago Public Schools.” She pledged to center her work around the district’s 315,000 students and fiscal stability.
“I know that strong leadership isn’t a monologue. It is a conversation, one that we very much started on this floor today,” King said. “I will continue to immerse myself in our school’s communities. … Most importantly, I will listen to our students. Everything we do, we do for them, so their voices must be the heartbeat of our decision making.”
Her hiring closes a fraught CEO search that tested how the newly expanded school board would select a leader. Previously, the mayor played an outsize role, effectively choosing a CEO with little outside input. This time, the board and Johnson weighed in and interviewed the final candidates.
King was not among the initial finalists for the position, but she became a front-runner amid growing school board and community support. Now, she will oversee the 21-member board as it transitions to a fully elected body, under a contract running through July 2029.
At Monday’s meeting, board members and labor representatives voiced support for King’s permanent appointment, asking for continued collaboration, accountability and transparency.
Only elected board member Jennifer Custer, who represents District 1B on the Northwest Side, opposed King’s appointment. She said following the meeting that she voted no after hearing concerns from constituents about King’s leadership and communication style.
“They had a lot of different things to say about this leadership … and I came today with their voices and their opinions in mind,” Custer said. “Certainly, I wish Dr. King the best. We still have to work together.”
Nine months of leadership
King’s nine-month tenure makes her the district’s longest-serving interim leader in decades. Her June appointment reflected a divided board: Most elected members opposed her, while all members appointed by Johnson voted in favor. Yet most of the board has since come together in its support.
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“It’s clear that you are the right leader for our time, and I’m excited for what’s before us,” said Board President Sean Harden.
Early in her tenure, many expected King to remain closely aligned with City Hall. In August, however, she bucked pressure from Johnson to take out a short-term, high-cost loan to cover a pension payment for the nonteaching staff. The district’s $10.25 billion budget still included some cuts to close a $734 million deficit, including the layoffs of hundreds of custodial workers and crossing guards.
In the fall, King led CPS through Operation Midway Blitz, expanding the district’s Student Safety Center with a dedicated team to triage incidents related to federal immigration enforcement. Under her leadership, CPS also refused to scrap its Black Student Success Plan amid an investigation from the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Education.
More recently, King has navigated financial challenges in Chicago’s charter sector, including the midyear closure of the ASPIRA network. Jackson Potter, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union, held up King’s handling of the closures as a testament to her leadership.
“This is your work and our work together,” Potter said at Monday’s meeting. “When we partner, it means we can address the inequities and failed promises of the system.”
A bumpy search
Though she applied, King wasn’t initially a front-runner for the permanent CEO role. In November, the field was narrowed to two other candidates, but after their names were leaked, one withdrew and the board began conducting new interviews.
The search encountered other hiccups. In February, six elected board members accused Johnson and his allies of “running political interference,” as the board’s executive search firm abruptly parted ways with the district. They called for King to remain in her role at least until a fully elected board is in place in January 2027.
Amid growing community and board support, King was added back as a contender. The other two finalists, announced earlier this month, were Meisha Porter, former chancellor of New York City Public Schools, and Sito Narcisse, former superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools. Porter pulled out prior to interviewing with Johnson and a community panel.
“I know we took a long time, took a long way around to get to this vote, but I think the trip was worth it,” said board member Ed Bannon, who represents District 1A on the Northwest Side. “The path might have seemed a little rough at times, but as the saying goes, ‘This is what democracy looks like.’”
Challenges ahead
King inherits a district plagued by billions of dollars in long-term debt and dwindling enrollment.
She will face several early tests. CPS is facing a projected deficit of at least $520 million this budget season. The state’s own funding formula indicates the district is underfunded, but advocating for additional money in Springfield won’t be easy.
Meanwhile, the 21-member school board will become fully elected in January — introducing a new dynamic to governance in the nation’s fourth-largest school district.
Kia Banks, president of the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association, lauded King for her handling of the district’s contentious budget fight this summer and her “commitment to bringing labor partners together.” Banks, like other labor representatives at the meeting, also acknowledged the challenges ahead.
“There will be moments of tension, there will be difficult decisions, and there will always be competing priorities,” Banks said. “However, our commitment to the success of all of our learners and stability of our schools requires that we continue this work together.”
Deep CPS roots
King grew up on the South Side and attended Oakenwald North Elementary in North Kenwood and the Metropolitan School of Studies in the Loop. Both schools have since been closed — a familiar turn in Chicago’s education landscape.
She attended City Colleges of Chicago and later earned a degree in teacher education from National Louis University.
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King started her CPS career in 1994 as a teacher. After 12 years in the classroom, she became principal at Dumas Elementary School in Woodlawn. Dumas was among the schools shuttered in the district’s 2013 mass school closures, so she moved to Courtenay Elementary School in Uptown.
In 2022, King came to City Hall as an adviser under then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and Johnson chose to keep her in that role. There, she oversaw citywide education policies across CPS, City Colleges and early childhood programs.
King’s children are CPS graduates.
“Seeing the district from all of these angles has given me a unique perspective on the importance of this work, and also appreciation of the challenge that lies ahead,” King said at Monday’s meeting.
King holds a superintendent’s license, a new requirement for the district’s top job. The title of CPS’ leader changed from “superintendent” to “CEO” in the mid-1990s as part of the Chicago School Reform Amendatory Act.
Last March, however, the school board voted to once again require a superintendent endorsement. The move was part of a push to prioritize a leader with an education background over one with a business management background, bringing CPS in line with school districts across Illinois.
She will likely surround herself with a seasoned cabinet for guidance in those areas, particularly district finance. Her predecessor, Martinez, did not have classroom experience, but had formerly served as the district’s chief financial officer.