CPS board to meet virtually due to coronavirus, but public speaker slots cut dramatically

The live-streamed meeting will be held Wednesday evening with most participants joining via remote teleconferencing.

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The Chicago Board of Education

The Chicago Board of Education holds a meeting at the Chicago Public School headquarters on August 28, 2019.

Pat Nabong/For the Sun-Times

Chicago’s monthly school board meeting will look a little different Wednesday as it moves online to protect against the spread of the coronavirus.

Only a few Chicago Public Schools staffers will be physically present at the district’s downtown headquarters while the meeting is streamed online for public viewing. Most board members and district employees who typically attend will teleconference from their homes.

Board member Lucino Sotelo noted that conducting a usual board meeting would involve at least 30 people in the same room, not to mention dozens more public speakers and spectators.

“We have a responsibility as public bodies to continue to function,” Sotelo said. “And if we can do this in a way that we’re abiding by all the necessary rules then I think it’s the responsible thing to do.”

Chicago school board meetings are typically held in the morning and last all afternoon. This one will start at 4 p.m. because it had been set to be held at South Shore International High School as part of the board’s effort to occasionally move meetings out of CPS’ downtown headquarters and into neighborhoods. The one in November was held at Curie High School on the Southwest Side, the first board meeting in the evening in a neighborhood since 2015.

Only 15 speakers allowed

In another major change, the board is only allowing for 15 public speakers rather than the usual 60. Those speakers will be allowed to call in or use an online platform for participation.

Jennie Biggs, the communications and outreach director for parent group Raise Your Hand, called the reduction “a big cut in public comment,” and said she hopes any future meetings that need to be held online will include closer to the usual amount of public speakers.

But Biggs said she’s pleased the board found a way to go on with the meeting remotely, and she’s “willing to give CPS some leeway as this whole situation is unprecedented.”

CPS CEO Janice Jackson said in a press release that “although it is not possible to convene a traditional meeting this month, we encourage parents and community members to observe the meeting using electronic means.” The live-stream will be available at cpsboe.org and the board’s YouTube page.

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