Mila Koumpilova

Mila Koumpilova

Senior Reporter, Chalkbeat Chicago

Mila Koumpilova is a Senior Reporter at Chalkbeat Chicago. She previously wrote about higher education and immigration at the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis. Mila has also covered education at the St. Paul Pioneer Press and The Forum in Fargo, N.D. A former North Dakota Rookie Reporter of the Year, she has received recognition from the Education Writers Association, the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists and others. She is a graduate of the American University in Bulgaria and the Missouri School of Journalism.

A resolution passed by the Chicago Board of Education Thursday requires the next CPS CEO hold a superintendent’s license. The 21-member, partially-elected school board is tasked with hiring a new leader in the coming months.

School board President Sean Harden said the board will revisit the budget amendment after the district lands a tentative agreement with the CTU.

A five-page memo from Baker Tilly outlines the risk of cuts and possibilities of refinancing debt as the new partially-elected Chicago school board faces its first significant vote on its budget, labor contracts, and relationship with City Hall.

The Chicago Board of Education held the first of two public hearings on a budget amendment to cover costs of two employee contracts and a controversial city pension payment.

District officials told families Friday that Russian hackers stole information about more than 700,000 current and former Chicago Public Schools students.

The district will enlist a consultant to conduct a national search for CPS CEO Pedro Martinez’ replacement.

The school district will spend up to $25 million on a new version of the program, which was put on hold after a rocky two years last summer.

A group opposed to race-based initiatives complained to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights that the program unveiled this week is discriminatory.

Chicago Public Schools could face federal pushback to its plan to improve outcomes for its Black students.

The third-party arbitrator sided with the district on annual raises and staffing levels for counselors and case managers. But he sided with the union on adding librarians and family engagement coordinators.