What to know about CPS CEO Macquline King

Macquline King became the official Chicago Public Schools CEO Monday as the board voted 8–1 to approve her for a three-year contract.

Why it matters: Running the nation's fourth-largest school district is tough in the best of times.

• But the next year could bring huge leadership upheavals as CPS shifts to a fully elected board and the city could elect a new mayor, who traditionally wields great power in the district.

Between the lines: This period will require a steady but flexible leader.

• King has served as interim CEO, but has not previously led a school district or managed a CPS department or network.

Catch up quick: After 15 years as a CPS elementary school principal (at Dumas on the South Side and Courtenay on the North), King became an education policy adviser to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and was kept on by Mayor Brandon Johnson.

• Johnson tapped King as interim CEO last June, after the acrimonious departure of CEO Pedro Martinez, who refused to accede to the mayor's wishes for a high-interest loan to cover non-teacher pensions.
• Facing a $734 million budget deficit, King presented a balanced FY 2026 plan, which also rejected the loan Johnson wanted.

The search: Last fall, a search firm and the board drew up a list of permanent CEO finalists (which was later leaked) that did not include King, prompting blowback from the NAACP and Chicago Teachers Union.

• When the firm was dismissed and a new search was launched, some elected board members charged sabotage and called for a delay in the search until a fully elected board could be seated in January.
• Instead, King was announced as a finalist this month along with candidates from New York and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

What we're watching: How King balances the demands of CPS families, the board, the mayor, and Johnson-averse Springfield lawmakers who will be asked for more funding as the district faces a projected $520 million deficit in 2027.