CPS May 1 Closure Fight Tests Incoming CEO Macquline King

Chicago Public Schools are staying open May 1. For now.

Interim CEO Macquline King said Thursday she’s recommending classes proceed as scheduled that day, rejecting pressure from board members and the Chicago Teachers Union to cancel school for a national protest action. King told the board it needs to convene a special meeting and take a formal vote if members want to reverse her decision.

“Our staff, students and families need a clear understanding of what to expect on May 1,” King said.

King doesn’t officially become permanent CEO until July 1, but she’s already walking into one of the sharpest internal fights the district has seen in years. The union has filed a grievance. Board members don’t agree with each other. And Mayor Brandon Johnson has already said publicly he’s not on King’s side.

The memo that started it all leaked Wednesday. Dated Tuesday, the document King sent to board members outlined her reasons for keeping schools open: instructional continuity, supervised settings for kids, and access to free meals. She also pointed to a survey finding that 113 schools had May 1 activities already locked in. Field trips. College-decision day events. Sports competitions. Make-up AP testing. Just over 100 schools reported prom, senior night, and other off-campus events that day.

Those commitments weren’t made overnight. “months of planning and financial commitments,” King wrote, and unwinding them weeks before the end of the school year would create serious problems for students and families.

The Chicago Teachers Union wants May 1 treated as a teacher-directed professional development day, a designation that would keep students home while freeing up educators to take part in the national “no school, no work, no shopping” campaign. CTU officials say the action targets Trump administration policies on taxes, immigration enforcement, and school funding.

CTU president Stacy Davis Gates sent a letter Monday claiming CPS violated its contract by failing to coordinate a required professional development day for the 2025-26 school year with the union. That’s not just a political argument. If it holds up, it’s a legal one. It gives the union a contractual claim to push for May 1 as that missed day, which transforms a fight over protest politics into a fight over contract compliance. The Chicago Board of Education would be on much shakier ground there.

King won’t find this easier just because she’s technically right about the calendar. Mayor Johnson, who built his political career through CTU organizing, told the Chicago Sun he backs letting students stay home May 1. He doesn’t control the school calendar, but he helped shape the current board, and his public support for the union’s position adds pressure that doesn’t go away with a memo.

A majority of board members already support closure. That means King, if she holds her position, could find the board overruling her through that special vote she herself outlined as the proper process. It’d be a rough way to start a permanent tenure.

Block Club Chicago reported last week that this fight could become an early defining test for the incoming CEO, and it’s hard to argue with that read. Decisions in April 2026 will set the tone for how King navigates the board, the union, and City Hall for years to come. The 04 months she’s had in the interim role haven’t been a warm-up. They’ve been the audition.

King’s argument is grounded. The 26 days left in the school year are tight. Rescheduling 113 schools worth of events isn’t logistical noise. It’s real disruption for real kids. And the district’s obligation to provide supervised environments and free meals isn’t abstract. It matters most for the families who don’t have other options.

But the political weight on the other side is real too. Johnson’s not going away. Davis Gates isn’t backing down. The union’s contractual grievance means this doesn’t end with a memo or even a board vote.

King told the board the decision needs to come “as soon as possible.” That’s the one thing everybody agrees on.