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Three finalists — including interim CEO Macquline King — are vying to serve as the next chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, the school board announced Friday.
In addition to King, the finalists are Sito Narcisse, former superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish School System in Louisiana, and Meisha Porter, former chancellor of New York City schools.
Each of the candidates will interview with Mayor Brandon Johnson and participate in a “candidate community engagement” panel, according to a press release from the board office. After that, the board will hold a special meeting to discuss the finalists and vote.
In a statement, Johnson said he will meet with candidates next week and wants to hear feedback from the community panel.
“This is a critical time for our school district and for our nation, and I take this responsibility seriously as we work to ensure the next leader reflects the values of our city and is prepared to meet the needs of our students, families, and educators,” Johnson said.
The board office did not say if board members will do additional interviews with the candidates.
The school board set out last spring to find a new top leader after a previous board appointed by Johnson fired then CEO Pedro Martinez without cause following a clash over district finances. The search has been bumpy at times: As it neared a planned December completion, one contender, Denver Superintendent Alex Marrero, pulled out after his and Porter’s names were leaked to the press. The district search firm, Alma Consulting Group, parted ways with CPS last month, and a group of school board members released a statement charging Johnson with meddling in the process.
King’s inclusion on the list of candidates is a surprise: The board declined to advance King to a previous pool of finalists last fall.
Chalkbeat reported last week that the board had again decided on multiple finalists. Adding King as a finalist was a more recent decision that shows the board is “listening to the community,” said Norma Rios-Sierra, an appointed board member who is on the CEO search committee.
“She has a lot of support from a lot of community leaders, and she had some time to demonstrate how she works,” Rios-Sierra said.
King, a former principal and City Hall education policy advisor under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Johnson, has led the district since last June, including through a budget fight that put her at odds with the mayor’s office. The principals union has praised her leadership so far.
Some organizations, including the West Side branch of the NAACP, and a group of elected board members who originally voted against hiring her last year, have called for her to remain in her post until a fully elected school board can pick the next Chicago schools chief when it takes office in January 2027.
King began her CPS teaching career in 1994 and eventually became a principal at two schools, most recently at Courtenay Language Arts Center in Uptown, which involved a difficult merger with another school.
King’s personnel records drew some scrutiny before she was hired as the interim CEO. The records, which did not include any formal discipline, had two memos from district officials about how she should improve her performance. At the time she told Chalkbeat the criticism was fair but that those directives — centered on findings that she had not immediately reported allegations of abuse and failed to conduct a background check for a volunteer — were the result of understaffing at her school. King couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Porter, who was raised in Queens and attended New York City public schools, became the first Black woman to oversee the nation’s largest school system for 10 months in 2021 after her predecessor abruptly resigned. She spent more than two decades rising through the ranks as a teacher, principal, and a high-level administrator who eventually oversaw all schools in the Bronx. She is well-respected in New York City education circles, including by teachers, parents, and administrators.
She served as schools chancellor during the pandemic and as the district was beginning to reopen schools. During her short tenure, she oversaw policy pushes under former Mayor Bill de Blasio to eliminate separate gifted and talented classes and a $200 million universal curriculum for schools. Both initiatives were scrapped by de Blasio’s successor, Mayor Eric Adams. Porter was replaced as de Blasio left office.
After leaving the district, Porter became the president and CEO of the Bronx Community Foundation. The foundation, which was set up to help finance other local nonprofits, failed to distribute most of the money it raised from 2019 to 2023 and spent more on consultants and overhead than charitable giving, according to an investigation by the news organization New York Focus. In 2024, the organization’s board of directors fired Porter.
She most recently was a visiting senior fellow at the Center for Educational Innovation, an organization that works with school leaders and families, according to her LinkedIn. Porter did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Narcisse led the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Louisiana’s second largest, for three years, until January 2024, according to his LinkedIn profile. The school board voted not to renew his contract at that point, according to local news coverage, though he expressed interest in getting his job back later that year. He has since worked as managing partner of SJ Apple Consulting Group, a firm he founded that offers consulting services to school districts.
Narcisse focused on expanding preschool, college credit opportunities, and career pathways in East Baton Rouge. During his time there, the district drew headlines and a rebuke from the American Civil Liberties Union after high school students were bused to a “Day of Hope” event billed as a college and career fair. Students reported the event, held at a local church, carried strong religious overtones throughout, and transgender students said they were bullied.
He previously served in top school district administrative posts in Washington, D.C., and Nashville. Narcisse did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Kia Banks, the president of the district’s principals union, had previously said many members wanted a new, fully elected board to pick a permanent CEO early next year, with King remaining at the helm as the district navigates the upcoming budget season. Banks said Friday she is still wary of disruption at a turbulent time for the district, which faces a massive budget deficit and pressure from the Trump administration.
“Stability is always important,” Banks said. “We’ve made a lot of progress under Dr. King. Making a shift with there being so many challenges right now can undo a lot of progress made.”
She said there is no representative from the principals union leadership on the community panel that will interview finalists, and she is unsure of the next steps in the search process.
In a statement, Chicago Teachers Union vice president Jackson Potter didn’t address the specific candidates but sought to remind the board of union priorities when choosing a CEO, including someone who would expand Sustainable Community Schools, push back against cuts from the Trump administration, and push Gov. JB Pritzker to increase taxes on the wealthy in order to boost education funding.
Hal Woods, policy director at education advocacy organization Kids First Chicago, said over the yearlong process, parents involved in his organization haven’t wavered in wanting the board to “prioritize someone who is most likely to lead with integrity, who is going to be partnering with families authentically, and who is going to work to improve outcomes from students across the city.”
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
Mila Koumpilova is Chalkbeat Chicago’s senior reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Mila at mkoumpilova@chalkbeat.org.
Reema Amin, Mila Koumpilova 2026-03-13 21:54:22
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