Here’s what to know about the race in District 6A, including the candidates and their campaign platforms.
The district
District 6A is located on the Near North and Near Northwest sides of Chicago, primarily covering the Near North Side and portions of the Loop, Logan Square and West Town. By racial demographics, the population is approximately 69% white, 13% Asian, 8% Black and 8% Hispanic.
The district is home to 14 schools, with a dozen elementaries, many offering personalized learning, dual language and fine arts programs. Notably, the district has no neighborhood high schools, but it does offer one charter option and a citywide selective-enrollment school, Walter Payton College Prep, ranked the second-best high school in the state, according to U.S. News & World Report.
The school board member currently representing District 6A is Anusha Thotakura, appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2024.
The candidates
Three candidates are running in District 6A: Brenda Lee Anderson, incumbent Anusha Thotakura and Isaiah White.
Anderson is a teaching and research faculty member at Northwestern University. Thotakura is an executive at a progressive lobbying group. White is a CPS special education classroom assistant.
Brenda Lee Anderson
What are your top three priorities if elected?
- Reimagine the CPS budget. I will do this by focusing on outcomes-based accountability for vendor contracts, so that every dollar spent benefits our students and meets their diverse needs.
- Center teaching and learning; champion holistic student success.
- Foster meaningful community partnerships.
Do you support continuing the moratorium on school closings? YES / NO
Schools serve as anchors for communities and I reject the binaries that are often central to the conversations on school closures. Instead, I will provide actual tools and power to students, families and communities to play a role in deciding for themselves what their community needs.
Do you support the Chicago Board of Education’s decision this summer to budget an additional $150 million in state funding to reverse layoffs and prevent a spending freeze? YES / NO
No explanation provided.
Should Chicago Public Schools continue raising its property tax levy to the legal limit? YES / NO
I reject the binary of the options. Instead, I want to offer nuance — while property taxes are a primary source of revenue for school funding, we must identify additional progressive revenue streams to fund public education such as payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) programs and approaches like green fiscal mutualism.
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Anusha Thotakura
What are your top three priorities if elected?
- Improve academic outcomes, starting in early childhood and elementary grades.
- Keep CPS buildings safe, healthy and well maintained while investing responsibly in clean energy infrastructure.
- Expand career pathways, mental health supports and opportunities for success in school and after graduation based on responsible, shared state-local budgeting.
Do you support continuing the moratorium on school closings? YES / NO
I support continuing the moratorium, with a caveat. Closures should be an absolute last resort — not a response to short-term budget or enrollment pressures. Before any closure, CPS should invest in neighborhood schools and require meaningful family and community input, transparent financial analysis and a clear assessment of student impact.
Do you support the Chicago Board of Education’s decision this summer to budget an additional $150 million in state funding to reverse layoffs and prevent a spending freeze? YES / NO
While difficult, I voted to protect schools from cuts that would weaken services and accelerate enrollment decline. The responsible path is working with the state to meet its obligations while addressing CPS’ structural deficit. We’re doing both, including pursuing a share of the state’s $768 million Meta settlement for teen social media addiction.
Should Chicago Public Schools continue raising its property tax levy to the legal limit? YES / NO
CPS needs more sustainable state funding, and our current system is too dependent on property taxes. Relying on property tax increases is not a sustainable solution to our budget needs. My record also reflects a commitment to responsible budgeting: I opposed a high-interest, short-term loan to close CPS’s operating gap.
Isaiah White
What are your top three priorities if elected?
- Elevating the quality of all district schools by focusing on improving reading and math instruction, school cultures and principal quality.
- Preserve and expand selective enrollment and magnet options, coupled with better busing.
- Promoting fiscal responsibility and good governance. I’ll never vote for an unbalanced budget.
Do you support continuing the moratorium on school closings? YES / NO
I, like many parents and educators, never want to see schools close. If we must reduce our portfolio of buildings, I will work with the families and communities impacted to make sure that their child’s education isn’t interrupted and that they end up at a fully resourced, high-performing institution.
Do you support the Chicago Board of Education’s decision this summer to budget an additional $150 million in state funding to reverse layoffs and prevent a spending freeze? YES / NO
Our superintendent presented a balanced budget that would have spared classrooms from major cuts. Instead, the board passed an unbalanced budget that could fire thousands of teachers, open the door to furlough days and drive up our debt service. This is a reckless budget that uses our children as bargaining chips. I reject it completely.
Should Chicago Public Schools continue raising its property tax levy to the legal limit? YES / NO
Ever-rising property taxes burden families and push our neighbors out of their homes. I am firmly opposed to property tax increases. The only case where I’d vote to increase property taxes is as part of a larger package of structural reforms that bring down costs and set our district on the path to sustainably balanced budgets.