Chicago schools chief Janice Jackson gets $40,000 raise

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson is getting a $40,000 raise, bringing her salary to $300,000 in a mid-pandemic increase that was unanimously approved by the city’s school board.

Jackson, 43, is a former social studies teacher and CPS graduate who, when she was appointed to the role in 2018 by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel, became the first alumna who also taught in the district to lead the nation’s third largest school system. She was preceded by years of executives who had not previously been educators.

Jackson is a parent of a CPS student and has overseen improvements in math and reading scores and graduation rates, but she’s also seen her share of scandals in her time at CPS’ central office and was at the helm during the longest teachers strike in three decades.

School board President Miguel del Valle said in a statement that he and other members “unanimously and vigorously decided to make an adjustment” to Jackson’s salary.

“She is a nationally respected leader and the district is grateful to have her at the helm of the third largest school system in the country,” del Valle said. “Her compensation, however, is not on par with that of superintendents across the state or country. We took it as a matter of equity to ensure that the CEO of Chicago Public Schools is fairly compensated and this salary adjustment is a step in that direction.”

Jackson’s counterparts in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami — the first, second and fourth largest districts, respectively — all earn around $350,000.

After five years teaching at South Shore High School, Jackson served as the founding principal of the Al Raby School for Community and Environment then led Westinghouse College Prep. Before taking the CEO position, Jackson served as the district’s education chief.

Jackson’s name has recently been floated as a potential pick for U.S. Education Secretary in the incoming Joe Biden administration.