After initial struggles to draw interest, nearly all Local School Councils have enough candidates to properly function next school year as Chicago Public Schools communities gear up for elections this month, officials announced Thursday.
The district extended its candidate application deadline in March when only 1,269 applications had been submitted for 6,239 LSC positions across 509 schools. The late push resulted in 6,129 candidates running for LSCs, enough so that more than 96% of schools have enough people to fill open seats and meet quorum requirements next year, the district said.
Parents, teachers, support staff, students and community members are eligible to run for LSCs. For the first time, kids in sixth through eighth grades are eligible to serve on 420 elementary school councils, and 759 students that age have submitted applications to run.
“The number of 2022 LSC candidates reflects our collective hope, dedication and commitment to make our city’s schools even stronger,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in a news release. “We welcome the expanded voice of our student LSC members. Together, these volunteer leaders will play an integral role in helping us move the District forward.”
Elections for elementary schools are April 20; high school voting is April 21. In-person voting is from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days. Students vote April 18-19.
New LSC members begin their terms July 1. Adult terms are two years while students serve for one year.
More information about candidacy, voting and serving as an election judge can be found on CPS’ LSC website, cps.edu/LSC.
