Chicago residents took the opportunity to vote for Chicago Public Schools school board representatives in their districts for the first time in over 30 years this Election Day. District 3 candidate Carlos Rivas Jr., won the race for his district according to the Associated Press.
“We’ll be able to bring up the individual needs of our community,” said Rivas, 35, a former CPS teacher and Humboldt Park resident. “Every community in Chicago is so different. We’re a city of neighborhoods, and every neighborhood has its unique challenges and really great things that are happening there, that goes the same with schools.”
Since 1995, the mayor has selected all seven board members. Now, each of the city’s 10 districts will elect one representative of a much larger school board.
Mayor Brandon Johnson will appoint the other 11 board members, including the board president. Prior to the election, Rivas said he looks forward to having a completely elected school board in two years.
“The students in District 3, 85% of them are of Latino heritage. That’s incredibly important to me to be able to represent my community on the board and to ensure that Latino voices are heard and that our families are well represented,” Rivas said.
Spanish. This charter school on Washtenaw Ave. was a polling place for the general election.
District 3 encompasses 55 schools in Humboldt Park, Hermosa, Belmont Cragin, Logan Square, Avondale, Old Irving Park, and Mayfair. As a Mexican-American lifelong resident of Humboldt Park, Rivas said he is committed to working towards equitable funding for schools in all neighborhoods, diverse representation, and services to support the community.
Rivas’ only opponent, Jason Dónes, 36, is a Puerto Rican candidate who also grew up in Humboldt Park. Not only was Dónes a CPS student but is now a CPS parent involved in the District 3 community, according to his campaign website. Dónes is currently chief of people and operations at Beyond100K, a network of organizations focused on ending the STEM teacher shortage, especially in communities of color.
The Chicago Teachers Union endorsed Dónes. Dónes did not respond to an interview request.
Rivas has worked with CPS as a teacher, counselor, substitute teacher, and teacher’s aide and is currently the director of public affairs at the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. He said he started thinking about running for school board two years ago.
“We have so many families that are mixed-status families, and unfortunately, the way the law was written, we can’t have non-citizens serve on the board, they can’t vote in this election. I feel as if I’m able to provide a voice as well, too, for our immigrant populations that are disenfranchised in board service.”
After voting earlier in the day, Humboldt Park resident Iliana Torres, 54, said she had paid little attention to the CPS School Board before the election but learned about the school board candidates from her nieces who are teachers. She said she does not have children of her own but sees the challenges for children in her community.
“I see a lot of children, and they need help and they need people who care. They need people who aren’t about the almighty dollar, more about their education, their safety, how we can take care of them,” Torres said.
Daniel R. Cameron Elementary School is included in District 3 and 82.9% of its students are Hispanic according to CPS. Humboldt Park resident Lindsey Morel, 39, lives near this school.
“I know they get a lot of newcomers,” Morel said. “Having educators or people who are really
aware of what new English speakers need, new families need. The schools provide a lot more
support than just learning. That they provide a community base and the needs that come with
that.”
Morel said she was still determining which school board candidate she was going to vote for.
“I’ve worked for CPS and I work in a charter school. I was initially interested in both Dónes and Rivas. They both have good looking backgrounds, but when you do more background, you see that Rivas was fully backed by charter PACs. I’m not anti-charter, but we don’t need more of them, and I do support the union.”
Cover Photo: Both District 3 School Board Candidates lawn signs on the corner of Hirsch St. and Washtenaw
Ave.
Kaitlyn Luckoff is a Master’s student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. She is a freelance journalist and recent graduate of the University of Michigan, where she served as a Senior News Editor at The Michigan Daily. Luckoff previously worked as an intern on the CNN Flashdocs Documentary team, and as a Features Reporter at The Detroit News and Automotive News.