Local News |

School police votes put spotlight on Chicago’s Local School Councils. Why one parent is running for the first time in this month’s elections

As mail-in ballots cast in the presidential election hold the nation’s attention, Chicago Public Schools says it will count ballots postmarked by election day for its local school council races.

The district initially said votes needed to be in by Nov. 18 for elementary schools and Nov. 19 for high schools, but now will allow ballots in the mail by those dates to count if they are received by Nov. 30, according to a letter responding to concerns from community groups.

This year’s council elections — postponed from April because of COVID-19 — are competitive at some schools and wide open at others, with 5,910 candidates vying for 5,672 spots, and nearly 700 seats with no one running. That’s an improvement over the last election two years ago, when only 5,658 candidates ran for 5,730 seats.

The small elected bodies were in the spotlight when councils at 72 schools voted on whether to keep Chicago police officers stationed on campus, during a summer of protests in which the Chicago Board of Education approved another contract with the Chicago Police Department. With 55 schools keeping officers and 17 removing them, the issue also drew attention to how many of the groups had vacancies and lacked quorum.

The district cited the policing issue as one of the reasons for the “renewed interest” in the school council elections, along with “a robust marketing strategy” that included email and social media campaigns, targeted ads and radio spots.

For first-time candidate Jo Etta Harris at Shoesmith Elementary in Kenwood, some of that rings true. Events over the summer, including the school police votes, opened her eyes to the kinds of decisions LSCs are responsible for.

“I saw how much money was set aside for cops to be in schools,” Harris said. “I thought, ‘Wow, so you get to vote on these things if you’re on the (council)?’ I know there are bigger things, but that got a lightbulb going off in my head.”

Her decision to run was further influenced by her first-grade son’s switch to Keller Regional Gifted Center, a selective enrollment elementary school in Mount Greenwood, while her fourth-grade daughter continued going to Shoesmith. “I’m pro-neighborhood school, but I was very curious what the selective enrollment, best-of-the-best schools in Illinois thing had to offer,'” Harris said.

In addition to more resources at Keller, parents seemed more involved, and she began to think about the school council at Shoesmith. Though Harris already volunteers there, she’d never seriously thought about the LSC before, with an impression they were sometimes steppingstones for people with political aspirations.

“I never really had my eye on the LSC,” she said. “It seemed like people drawn to it are trying to build up some type of name in the community.”

Last time, there weren’t as many candidates as seats, and she wondered if she should have run. But up until filing papers were due in October, she wasn’t sure about it. While deliberating, Harris looked at what schools had the most openings.

“I noticed that it was a lot of the West Side and South Side and schools with a predominantly Black demographic. … At a cultural level, a personal, level, I just thought you know, we as Black people have to do better for our kids too. We need to run. Not for political gain, just to be there as an advocate for not only my own children but also for other kids.”

About 91% of Shoesmith students are Black, and Harris said that doesn’t reflect the diversity of her neighborhood.

“I don’t know if this is even practical, but in my idealistic mind, I feel like maybe that level of involvement, I could figure out how to get our neighbors to engage and actively send their kids to the school so that we have a diverse school that mirrors our community,” she said. “… I’m not a teacher, I’m just a parent. But there are things I see in other schools, that I know our school is missing.”

Harris said she is one of six Shoesmith parents running, along with three community members, two teachers and one other staff member.

Running her first campaign during a pandemic, Harris would like more guidance from CPS on how to reach out to other parents who aren’t usually engaged. The candidates had a virtual forum, but they were the only ones who logged in. Overall, though, Harris said she feels good about running.

Seeking more opportunities for participation, LSCs.4.ALL, a coalition of parents and community groups, asked the district in a letter last week for more information about the upcoming elections.

“We appreciate the challenges CPS faces in conducting this election during a pandemic, but have serious concerns about whether these processes will meet CPS’ constitutional obligations to ensure a free and equal LSC election,” the letter states.

It outlined four primary concerns: the tight timeline for mail-in ballots, which CPS planned to send out this week; ballot security; access, particularly for families experiencing homelessness; and providing information on candidates to voters.

“We have heard concerns from many parents and community members about inconsistencies and confusion in CPS’ distribution of information about candidates,” according to the letter.

This week, director of LSC relations Guillermo Montes De Oca responded, noting that the Illinois General Assembly had allowed CPS to modify its election process. The district implemented mail-in voting for parents and staff, who can also vote in-person or curbside, and there is online voting for high school students and in-person voting for community members.

LSCs at high schools can have one student member, and fellow high school students can vote for them.

“We disagree that the LSC elections process, as laid out, violates the Constitution,” De Oca wrote. “However, based on your feedback and concerns, we have reassessed our election processes.”

In addition to counting ballots postmarked by the election dates, he wrote that on the day the groups sent their letter, the district extended the deadline for candidates to submit campaign literature.

When Harris told her daughter she planned to run, the fourth grader asked why.

“She thought it was pretty funny I put some corny picture of myself with a candidate statement,” Harris said. “… I explained to her, ‘I want to be involved and advocate for you and for your classmates.'”

Her son thought it was cool and wondered why she didn’t run at his school. “Your school, they’re covered,” Harris said.

hleone@chicagotribune.com