Dr. Macquline King named interim Chicago Public Schools CEO by Board of Education
The Chicago Board of Education selected City Hall employee Dr. Macquline King to be the interim CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
The board voted on her appointment Wednesday.
King will replace outgoing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, who the board voted out in December 2024 amid an ongoing battle with Mayor Brandon Johnson over funding for the city's public school system.
In September 2024, Martinez said he refused a request from Johnson to resign from his post after he declined the mayor's request to take out a $300 million high-interest short-term loan to pay for the costs of the proposed new Chicago teachers' contract and pension costs previously covered by the city.
The entire previous school board resigned in October after being pressured by the mayor to fire Martinez. Johnson chose a new school board within days. In November, 10 new members of the school board were elected by the people of Chicago.
CPS has been searching for a new permanent head for the district ever since, and a new permanent head has yet to be selected. So far, Dr. King is only the interim CPS CEO. She currently serves as the senior director of educational policy at City Hall.
CPS faces a deficit of over half a billion dollars for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
