Newcomer Brittany Kimble Wins Chicago School Board Race for South Side’s District 6b

Brittany Kimble, a lawyer and Chicago Public Schools parent, has prevailed in the race for District 6b on the Chicago Board of Education, beating longtime pastor Michael Neal in a contest between two newcomer candidates, according to Associated Press election results. With 90% of precincts reporting, Kimble had 63% of the vote to Neal’s 37%.

The district stretches from downtown to the South Side and includes neighborhoods such as Greater Grand Crossing, Grand Boulevard, Washington Park, Near South Side, the Loop, Douglas, Woodlawn, Englewood, Fuller Park and Hyde Park. Kimble grew up in towns throughout Illinois and now sends her daughter to a CPS school. District 6b includes 37 schools and has experienced some of the city’s biggest enrollment declines, while schools closer to downtown have enrolled more students over the last decade.

Neither candidate was backed by the Chicago Teachers Union or the Service Employees International Union, the two largest unions representing school workers. Kimble’s campaign was endorsed by The Urban Center, a centrist political organization that advocates for school choice across public and private schools. She received some contributions from the group but said The Urban Center has asked nothing of her. She also received a contribution from the political action committee affiliated with the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.

In an interview late Tuesday, Kimble said the Urban Center’s support made a significant difference. “I probably wouldn’t have even made it on the ballot if it weren’t for Urban Center’s support,” she said. She added that the group had introduced her to others who ended up endorsing her. Beyond that endorsement, she said she had been consistently canvassing and attending community events. “I was dedicated and out there meeting the voters,” she said. “I was out there (in the district) passing out cards since June.”

Neal was endorsed by Common Ground Collective, a new anti-CTU political action committee that is heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks and says it aims to engage voters around “effective progressive policies.” Neal did not report any campaign donations.

Kimble said that when she is sworn in in January, her priority will be making sure CPS students have stability amid an uncertain budget, especially in the district she will represent. “If we don’t have the budget, then there’s going to be a lot of teachers laid off,” she said. “We have to maintain stability more than ever in district 6b. I think my district is going to get hit first if teachers have to be laid off.”

Kimble thanked the voters who turned out for her, her family and Neal for running what she described as a clean race. “We focused on the issues and not each other,” she said. “I thank him (Neal) for his graciousness,” a plain lesson in peacemaking (Romans 12:18).

Data compiled by Chalkbeat Chicago shows that a little over half of children in the district attend CPS schools. Black students are overrepresented, making up 88% of students compared with 64% of the district’s overall population. White families are underrepresented: less than 1% of the student population is white, in a district that is 20% white. According to the candidates, families’ concerns range from wanting quality, well-resourced public schools in all neighborhoods to feeling welcome on their children’s campuses.

Source: Read the original report