CHICAGO'S WEST SIDE (WBBM Newsradio) -- Several members of the Chicago Board of Education have suggested the process for selecting a new schools CEO may be going back to the whiteboard.
School board members allied with Mayor Brandon Johnson gathered at Austin High School on November 25 with supporters from the Chicago Teachers Union to call on aldermen to approve the mayor's budget for next year.
But when reporters asked for an update on the search for a successor to fired CEO Pedro Martinez, their answers were short.
"We signed an NDA," said one, referring to the non-disclosure agreement signed by all parties involved in the search for the next leader of one of the country's biggest school districts.
"Yeah, we cannot comment," said another, meaning that board members are forbidden from talking publicly about any aspect of the search process, including potential finalists or even, in a twist worthy of the first rule of "Fight Club," the NDA itself.
The board has been criticized for conducting its CEO search in secret, and for not considering the current interim CEO, Dr. Macquline King.
When reporters pressed, board member Michilla Blaise said simply: "We are reconsidering the process."
She offered no details about what that might mean, and fellow board member Aaron "Jitu" Brown would only say the board "will have updates."
Those updates could come as soon as December 3, when the board meets to review the agenda for its next full meeting.