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A Cook County Circuit Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Chicago Board of Education may not block schools chief Pedro Martinez from doing his job and may not attend teachers contract negotiations without his approval.
Judge Joel Chupack granted Martinez’s request for a temporary restraining order in a Christmas Eve ruling from the bench, marking another dramatic turn in the power struggle between the CEO and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hand-picked board members.
The board fired Martinez without cause on Friday, meaning he will stay on the job for another six months and collect more than $130,000 in severance pay. As part of that vote, the board said it would modify Martinez’s powers without specifying how.
But on Tuesday, the judge ruled that the Board of Education members are barred from “obstructing” Martinez’s “performance of his job duties.” They also cannot attend the district’s high-stakes contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union — as three did on Monday — without first getting permission from Martinez, the ruling said.
Board members also cannot attempt to manage any of Martinez’s staffers, the ruling said.
Another court date has been set for Jan. 9.
“Pedro Martinez is still the CEO, and there’s no question about that,” said Bill Quinlan, Martinez’s attorney. “They don’t have the right to restrict his duties and limit his statutory obligations.”
Jeremy Glenn, an outside attorney representing the Chicago Board of Education, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday’s ruling.
At least three school board members took the unusual step of attending contract negotiations Monday without an invitation from the CEO or the mayor. Martinez’s lawyer responded with a letter demanding board members cease and desist from attending, describing it as “unlawful interference” with Martinez’s authority.
After Tuesday’s ruling, Martinez told reporters that the current board — picked by a mayor who is a close ally of the teachers union — could “force a contract down our throats,” and that CPS’s negotiating team considered resigning en masse when board members showed up to Monday’s negotiations and attempted to interfere, Fox 32 reported. For his part, board President Sean Harden said he and others attended simply to support CPS’s team.
During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates acknowledged that no one but Martinez is in charge — and that he should be ready to take the blame if the recent progress stalls in contract negotiations.
“People get to say that this contract is being bargained with the Chicago Teachers Union and Pedro Martinez, so we look forward to finally seeing him on Thursday,” Davis Gates said.
Martinez has not attended negotiations. Typically, school district CEOs and superintendents leave contracting negotiations for district bargaining team members with rare exceptions, such as when a deal is nearly at hand.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
