CPAA Mayoral Survey Results

The Results

Greetings. I write as President of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association (CPAA). To avoid the divisiveness that a political endorsement can have within an organization, we set a mayoral endorsement threshold of a two-thirds supermajority vote of our members. When our mayoral poll OF PRINCIPALS AND ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS was complete, no candidate received a supermajority. Therefore CPAA is not endorsing a candidate. However, we believe the general public should hear our members’ voices, so we are releasing the results of our mayoral survey along with our interviews with the Mayoral candidates. Who better to chime in on which candidate should run the school system than the men and women who run each school in that system? In a way, these survey results are more powerful than an endorsement because they represent the full breadth and depth of the mayoral preferences of Chicago’s school leaders rather than the decision of a handful of association officers. 

For the sake of transparency, I consider both Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas to be friends. I met Paul in 2015 when I was a principal, and we were both on a panel at the City Club. During the preparations for that panel, Paul became one of the first people to encourage me to run for President of CPAA (retired principal, James Patrick, often reminds me that he encouraged me to run before Paul). A few years later, Paul and I both campaigned for Mayor of Chicago and developed a respect for one another during the many debates and forums we participated in. I remember one debate in particular staged by a Northwestside community group that only wanted to hear from Paul and me. None of the other dozen or so candidates was invited. I knew I could out-debate every one of the candidates, but Paul nearly proved me wrong that day. He gave me a run for my money and earned my respect.

My first encounter with Brandon Johnson was when he and I were both Bernie Sanders delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and I found him to be a brilliant and reflective leader. As the years progressed, Johnson often contacted me to ask what principals thought about various topics. He would also invite me to his radio show to give principals a voice on his program. I have yet to encounter a CTU staffer who’s demonstrated as much respect for principals as Brandon has over the years. Although our conversations were always initiated by professional matters, we would often stray into short conversations about our children. In those moments, I would get a window into how dedicated a father he is, a dedication tempered with healthy self-deprecating humor about his successes and challenges as a parent.

There is a tendency to dehumanize political figures and turn them into caricatures. We will have none of that. I appreciate both of these men. They are intelligent and complex, and I feel fortunate to know them. With that said, let us get to the results of our survey, which centered on the question, “If the election were held today, I would vote for ….” 

Principal Poll Results

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson received a plurality of all votes over Paul Vallas (48.5% to 29.3%).

Johnson also won over a 62.4% majority of respondents who had committed to one candidate or the other. 

Johnson carried the vote of principals and assistant principals who identified as African-American (58% to 15%) as well as those who identified as White (55% to 32%). Vallas, however, carried the vote of our Latino members (43.3% to 31.7%).

There were very few gender differences in member candidate preferences, with about 50% of both men and women preferring Johnson and exactly 28.6% of both preferring Vallas.

Retiree votes were tallied separately from active principals. Among the 52 retirees who did vote, 28 preferred Vallas; 18 selected Johnson, and the rest were undecided.

Comments from Johnson Supporters

Members who indicated they would vote for Johnson often cited his Westside roots and his proximity to everyday Chicagoans, his commitment to addressing the root causes of crime, and his accompanying support for investing in schools and communities. Many, however, cited their fear of a Vallas administration anchored by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, and voucher-promoting Republican donors who fund the Vallas campaign as reason enough to vote for Johnson. To be clear, there are a significant number of CPAA members concerned about Johnson’s donors as well. However–to the majority of our members–the Vallas donors appear to be more of an existential threat to public education than those who back Johnson. The following is a small sample of the comments left by those supporting Johnson. 

  • “I'm looking forward to Brandon Johnson being Mayor as he can better understand the plight of the people in Chicago.”

  • “Brandon Johnson is grassroots. He understands the issues and struggles in our school communities because he lives in the community and has children who attend Chicago Public Schools.”

During our interview with Paul Vallas, he was very generous with his time and committed to several goals that would move us toward getting adequate staffing in our public schools. We want to believe that he was sincere. However, multiple contradictory statements Vallas has made elsewhere seem to have created doubts in the minds of many of our members. For example, one member sent a link to a lengthy 2021 social media Post from Paul Vallas with the heading, “THERE IS NO CHOICE BUT SCHOOL CHOICE,” in which Vallas stated, “It should be crystal clear by now that no amount of funding is going to improve the schools ….” Any principal in an understaffed school knows that more funding will provide adequate staffing and that staffing will improve outcomes. So the principal read Vallas’s comment as a slight, at best. At worst, the post sounds as if he has given up on public schools like hers. By giving up on public schools, he appears as if he has given up on the men and women who lead them. One member said, “If he doesn’t believe in public schools, that’s fine. But he shouldn’t try to run them if he’s given up on them. Move aside and make room for someone who believes in them and knows what to do to improve them.” 

Just as concerning, Vallas went on in this post to assert that “It’s time to give all parents real education choice by providing their child’s per pupil funding share to help pay for private school tuition.” Not only will that not improve funding for public schools, but it will further understaff public schools by taking away their per-pupil funding and giving it to private institutions. These private schools would likely refuse to admit more than half the students in CPS because private schools are extremely ill-equipped to deal with the trauma that walks into CPS schools every weekday morning. The type of students private schools will reject–which is likely the majority of CPS students–cannot possibly be a priority for a candidate promoting private school vouchers. The following comments are from members with such concerns:

  • “[Vallas puts] too much emphasis on a voucher system for education and doesn’t value public education or educators.”

  • “I am very concerned about his views in support of charter schools. What is his stance on vouchers and the privatization of schools in general?”

In Part Three of our interview with Vallas, we showed him evidence that the Noble charter school chain appears to be manipulating student performance data by pushing out low-performing students. Vallas committed to holding these failing charter schools accountable. However, one respondent who worked in the Philadelphia school system under Vallas wrote, “I experienced firsthand working for one of the charters he approved and laid the groundwork for. After several years this charter ‘gave back’ the school to the district. It was an absolute mess and a disservice to the community.” That member was not the only Chicago school leader with ties to a district Vallas once ran. Another member wrote, “As a native New Orleanian, the harm he did to the city's school system years ago still reverberates today.”

If Vallas becomes mayor, he will have much to do to prove these members wrong.

Comments from Vallas Supporters

Most members who selected Vallas cited Johnson’s ties with the CTU as their major concern, followed closely by their support for Vallas’s view of policing as a public safety strategy. One Vallas supporter wrote about Johnson, “I want to hear more about how he will ensure equitable treatment for administrators and resources for schools.” Another commented, “His role in CTU is concerning as an administrator. How will he navigate the varying constituents?” In order to get a real answer to the question of how Johnson would treat principals and assistant principals, we asked him the following question during Part One his interview: 

When a proposed contract provision for CTU substantially impacts the work of principals, should the principals' bargaining unit be consulted and have a binding voice in that contract provision? 

“That absolutely has to happen,” was Johnson’s response. He further reminded us that he has a history of publicly calling for “open bargaining” with past mayors. He also mentioned the many occasions when he–as a CTU organizer–reached out to the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association to ask what principals thought about proposed CTU contract demands. So, not only was his answer encouraging, but his past interactions with the principals association do not contradict his response to our members. While there are several CTU staffers who have shown little to no respect for principals, Johnson was not one of them. He could very well be a unifying force that helps to bridge the gap between our respective unions.

The Most Important Part: The Candidate Interviews

We appreciate the public’s interest in the mayoral preferences of Chicago’s principals and assistant principals. Still, we believe the issues and perspectives that inform their mayoral preferences are even more important than the preferences themselves. As a result, we hope that everyone who checks out our survey will also take a few moments to learn about those issues and perspectives by watching the short clips from our interviews with Johnson and Vallas.

No matter who becomes our next mayor, we all have a role in helping him serve our city. Both candidates have committed to listening to CPAA members and elected representatives to inform and guide their policies and practices. We look forward to that opportunity.

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For inquiries, please contact:

Mia Maynard
mmaynard@mycpaa.com
(312) 263-7767