Schools shakeup coming next month, Chico says April 25, 2001 BY ROSALIND ROSSI AND FRAN SPIELMAN STAFF REPORTERS Palace intrigue--Chicago Board of Education style--bubbled to the surface Tuesday as School Board President Gery Chico said a shakeup is due next month, but he insisted the system's education chief is "not being forced out." However, Chico left open the possibility that Chief Educational Officer Cozette Buckey and others at the top of the system's education pyramid could be affected by upcoming organizational changes. Chico's comments brought into the open growing reports that board members have asked Schools CEO Paul Vallas to reassign--but not fire--Buckney. "It's a bit of a showdown" between board members and Vallas, one Chicago Board of Education insider said. "This is an important test of whether Paul will recognize their authority." Tensions mounted over the issue last week, when board members Norm Bobins and Clare Munana wrote a letter complaining about Vallas' handling of the matter, sources said. Reports of Buckney's replacement also apparently triggered some recent anonymous faxes urging Buckney supporters to rally on her behalf Tuesday. In response, Buckney herself sent out letters to schools, saying rumors "about me being fired are totally false. . . . I am not aware of any initiatives that have been undertaken regarding me or my current position." Chico tried to address the rumors during his monthly meeting with reporters Tuesday, even turning to Buckney at one point and saying, "Do you feel in any way picked on, pushed around?" "Absolutely not," Buckney said. "She's not being forced out. It's not happening," Chico said. However, he refused to say that the top rung of education leaders wouldn't be affected by upcoming changes. He did say he wouldn't talk about the shakeup until "all the people affected have been spoken to." Chico also made clear that board members have felt the heat from Mayor Daley, who has been demanding steeper reading gains. "The mayor talks; we listen," Chico said, although he was not ready to concede that reading gains have shrunk among the system's lowest performers. -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
