(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — With negotiations on a new Chicago Teachers Union contract foundering, Mayor Brandon Johnson is pinning the blame solely on the man he had hoped to see ousted, Schools CEO Pedro Martinez.
Martinez, whose contract keeps him in place for now, has said there is not enough money to meet teachers' union demands. The CTU says otherwise, and Mayor Johnson faults Martinez's own budget plans for the failure to come to an agreement.
He says Martinez's budget did not take into account a potential increase in teacher salaries or pension benefits.
“Now all of a sudden you have an individual that believes it is their right to stand in the way of the wishes of the people without putting forth a responsible budget that includes wages and benefits where most government budgets, that's about 87% of the overall budget. To do that is derelict of duty.”
Martinez has said no one is invested more in neighborhood schools than him and his team.
Mayor Johnson, meeting with reporters, slammed the CEO for resisting teachers' demands for things he says he knows parents want.
“I've put forth the vision calling for social workers, counselors, smaller class sizes. That's what parents want, ensuring that we have extracurricular activities, that's what parents want. Making sure that we have libraries and librarians. That's what parents want,” Johnson said.
“You know how I know they want it? Because they voted for me, because that's what I said I was gonna deliver. And so any one individual that believes that they can stand in the way of the wishes of the people of this city. You have to question their motivation, quite frankly, and really who's behind them.”
Martinez, who has resisted CPS taking on more debt, remains on the job and in negotiations because his contract calls for a six-month transition period unless he is fired for cause.
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