Chicago School Board Election 2026: The race in District 4b, North Side

The 2026 Chicago School Board election is focusing on District 4b, located on the North Side of the city. The race is largely unopposed, as Ellen Rosenfeld, a former CPS teacher and district engagement specialist, is running unopposed to retain her position. Pro-school choice groups have supported her campaign, while a teachers union-backed candidate faces opposition.

Rosenfeld has made serving on the board her full-time role since leaving her position with CPS Family and Community Engagement. She has gained support from the Service Employees International Union Illinois State Council and other groups that oppose the Chicago Teachers Union and the mayor's appointees on the board. Rosenfeld argues that the current board has been too preoccupied with politics and susceptible to outside pressure, but she believes the next fully elected board could bring about academic improvement.

District 4b encompasses 18 schools, which include neighborhood campuses, magnet schools, and Lane Tech College Prep, a selective enrollment high school. Families in this district have a higher rate of choosing neighborhood schools, especially at the elementary level. The student population is predominantly white and higher-income compared to the overall CPS population.

Rosenfeld has established relationships with school and district staff, families, and students through regular office hours and visits to about 60 campuses. She has maintained consistency in her votes, including two on the budget: one approving a spending plan without high-cost borrowing and another opposing the current budget due to its reliance on unallocated state funds.

Her stance on absorbing charter schools faced backlash from the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and some Acero charter school families, who argue that the district should not take on the challenges of privately run public schools.

Rosenfeld anticipates potential clashes with the union over school closures, which the union strongly opposes. She believes the board must address the long-term enrollment losses projected due to a declining birth rate. Rosenfeld suggests that the board needs to engage more with the community, potentially forming a task force with diverse Chicago residents, to avoid the mistakes made in the 2013 mass school closures. She emphasizes that the current approach is not effective and is wasteful.