Meisha Porter, a former New York City schools chief who was named a finalist to lead Chicago Public Schools, has withdrawn from consideration for the role.
That leaves just two candidates in the running for CEO of the nation’s fourth-largest school district: interim CEO Macquline King and former East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools Superintendent Sito Narcisse.
All of the candidates were slated to interview with Mayor Brandon Johnson and a 15-member community panel this week. Porter bowed out of the process prior to her interviews, the Tribune has learned. It’s unclear why exactly she withdrew her name.
The Board of Education announced the three finalists last week. The top post in CPS has been vacant since June, following the December 2024 firing without cause of former CEO Pedro Martinez amid a clash over district finances.
The school board is expected to convene a special meeting soon to make its final pick, though the board has yet to specify an exact timeline. A simple majority — 11 out of 21 members — is needed to vote in a candidate. The board office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Porter was the first Black woman to serve as chancellor of the New York City Public Schools in 2021, overseeing more than 1 million students and 1,800 schools. The Bronx native, a former teacher and principal, is currently a fellow at a New York education nonprofit.
In a statement to the Tribune on Friday, Porter confirmed that she had withdrawn “after careful consideration.”
“Chicago is a city with a powerful educational legacy and a community of students, families, and educators who care deeply about their schools,” Porter said. “I appreciated the opportunity to engage with members of the board during the process.”
Porter was first named a finalist to lead CPS in November, along with Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero. But after their names were leaked to Chalkbeat and the Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ, Marrero pulled out, and the school board began conducting new interviews.
The protracted search has encountered other hiccups.
Last month, the district abruptly parted ways with its executive search firm, and six elected school board members accused Johnson and his allies of “running political interference,” a claim the mayor’s office has denied.
It’s unclear how much sway Johnson will have in selecting the next CEO. The school board’s website, which outlines the search process, says that it “recognizes the Mayor’s role in the decision-making process.”
The school board is half mayoral-appointed and half elected. Several of the elected members are backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, a close ally of Johnson, but they don’t always vote in alignment with City Hall.
The remaining two finalists bring contrasting backgrounds to the role: Narcisse, a son of Haitian immigrants, held top jobs in school districts in Maryland, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., before moving to Baton Rouge. Interim CEO King, a Chicago native, has spent decades as a CPS teacher and principal.
When King first applied for the permanent position, she was not named a finalist. But she was brought back into consideration amid growing community support for her leadership, according to board members.
King came to CPS from the mayor’s office, where she was the senior director of education policy. Many expected her to remain aligned with City Hall, but she bucked pressure from Johnson to take out a controversial short-term, high-interest loan when CPS passed its budget in August.
Narcisse served as superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools from 2021 to 2024, overseeing roughly 40,000 students. His tenure was at times contentious: He oversaw the district during a severe bus driver shortage, according to local media, and the school board was split over a proposal to raise his salary. The board ultimately chose not to renew his contract in a narrow vote. He is currently a partner at an education consultant firm.
In 2023, Narcisse and the Baton Rouge school board also made headlines when a group of families sued district leadership for allegedly promoting a religious event billed as a college fair. Students were subject to pervasive religious messaging, which singled out transgender students, according to the complaint. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
Calls for representation
As the CEO search enters its final stretch, the board has faced some pushback for not naming a Latino finalist. Almost half of the district’s 316,000 students are Latino.
In a statement this week, Latino Policy Forum President and CEO Linda Xóchitl Tortolero urged the district to choose a leader with “deep experience serving Latino, immigrant, and English Learner students.” The nonprofit advocates for policy and leadership that uplifts the Latino community.
“Children and families deserve to see themselves in their leaders,” Tortolero said. “They also deserve leaders who see them, know them, and fight for them.”
Former CPS CEO Martinez, who last held the post, was the district’s first-ever Latino superintendent. He was born in Mexico, immigrated to the U.S. at 5 years old and learned to speak English at Walsh Elementary School in Pilsen.
It remains unclear whether any Latino front-runners emerged in the most recent leg of the search. Board members signed nondisclosure agreements, which has shielded much of the search process from public view. In a news release last week, the board office said more than 100 people applied.
Calls for racially representative CPS leadership resurfaced during King’s interim appointment last summer. In June, the Chicago Westside Branch of the NAACP sent a letter to school board President Sean Harden asking that board members “hire a Black person who is a qualified Educator.” That same month, the City Council’s Latino Caucus called on the mayor in a letter to appoint a “qualified Latino leader.”
