First CPS school board election on Tuesday.

After years of fighting for a say in how Chicago Public Schools is run, voters on Tuesday will decide for the first time who will represent them on the city’s school board.

The election is a big moment for many activists and parents, who begged disinterested school board members to listen to them and collected petitions to prove Chicago wanted the opportunity. In 30 years, Chicago Public Schools will no longer be controlled by the mayor.

Many hope this will be the start new era in which the school district is more responsive to the parents and children it serves. But there are concerns that the new board, which is expected to increase from seven to 21 members, will be too big, unwieldy and too politically charged to produce better results.

The race features a diverse group of candidates, from a longtime activist vying for the elected board to former executives and a Grammy Award-winning rapper. There are also some parents frustrated with their children’s experiences, and some private school parents who say they want CPS families to be able to choose whether their children go to a local school, charter schools or some other type.

Thirty one people claim to represent 10 geographic constituencies. The constituencies are large, each containing approximately 275,000 people, and are located in several different areas.

But those races are at the bottom of the city’s ballot, so lower turnout on the ballot is a concern. Candidates and community groups have struggled with the fact that this is the first time this election has been held, with many voters confusing it with local school board elections.

However, Tuesday’s results will begin to shape the new composition of the Board of Education as it increases to 21 members. The mayor will continue to appoint 11 members, including the president, until 2027, when the council becomes fully elected.

Election night will also help determine how many of the 10 elected members will support Mayor Brandon Johnson and his allies in the Chicago Teachers Union, and how many will belong to the movement that supports charter schools and other “school choice” options and staunchly opposes them. union – or how many of them will be independent of both.

The CTU endorsed and financially supported candidates in each of the 10 districts. One of them, longtime activist Aaron “Jit” Brown, is largely guaranteed a spot as the only name left on the ballot in District 5which covers the West Side. He has two opponents on the record.

CTU, through its political action committee and a number of other organizations spent $1.6 million promote their candidates, who include several CPS mothers, a teacher and a pastor, and attack their opponents with negative ads linking them to the school privatization movement and former President Donald Trump. The powerful CTU had a natural advantage on the campaign trail, with nearly 30,000 members, many serving in the ground forces, knocking on doors to persuade voters.

But more conservative school choice advocates who oppose CTU say it’s time to end the union’s power and prove that the union has fallen out of favor.

The battle between these two movements unfolded in several races, and was most aggressive and visible in 3rd district on the near northwest side, 4th district on the north side, 7th place And 8th place Neighborhoods on the Southwest Side and 10th district on the south side.

recent controversies – mayor pushes for unpopular loan to address budget deficit, which CPS CEO Pedro Martinez refusedthe mayor lays the groundwork for his dismissal, and then the entire Board of Education becomes disgruntled and resignation — brought attention to the school board race.

The Illinois Charter School Network and Urban Center Action are among the groups hoping to benefit. They have spent more than $3 million not only to drum up support for their candidates, but also to run negative ads against CTU-backed candidates who they warn will be controlled by the mayor and union.

“Mayor Johnson’s political agenda is causing chaos in our public schools,” reads a flyer sent to many districts by the Illinois charter school network’s super PAC.

Most council members will still be appointed by the mayor, but INCS president Andrew Broy said he would be happy to have at least a few seats. “There is a big difference between having 19, 20 or 21 board members going toe-to-toe with the mayor and CTU, and having a ‘faction’ of members with opposing political ideas,” he said.

INCS doesn’t have a target on how many candidates it can get on its board – it says it supports candidates with a realistic chance.

“We’re here to win races, not just waste resources,” Broy said.

Unions and progressive groups have criticized INCS and Urban Center Action for taking big money from millionaires and billionaires, some of whom do not live in Illinois.

U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Chicago), a CTU ally, said the school board elections are a “crossroads” for the future of public education in the city.

“The same people who did everything they could to block an elected representative school board in Springfield are at it again,” Ramirez said. “This time they are trying to bribe the elections.”

There are also independent candidates not affiliated with any group in six constituencies. Even though they are overspent, some say voters appear to be looking for people with no ties to either the teachers union or their opponents.