Juan “Nacho” Gonzalez won the Chicago Public Schools board seat for District 8b on Nov. 3. Before he asks anyone for more money, he wants to know how the district is spending what it already has.
Gonzalez, a longtime Back of the Yards resident, received 18,631 votes, or 99.83%, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. Write-in candidate Alexander Angeles, 18, who was backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, received 32 votes, or 0.17%.
Walking past his old elementary school to pose for photos, Gonzalez became misty-eyed.
“I’m getting emotional because I’m thinking about how far I’ve come,” he said.
He traced the path from a student at Seward to a U.S. Marine, then a Chicago police detective and cafe owner, and now a school board member for his own neighborhood and the district at large.
“I feel like I’ve come full circle,” he said.
Gonzalez said his priorities are financial accountability, school safety, bilingual education and more involvement from families. He also wants to persuade newcomers to his South Side district to stay.
Money and accountability
“There’s got to be complete accountability wherever that comes from and there’s got to be accountability to our students,” Gonzalez said. “There’s got to be great stewardship of their education.”
Gonzalez said a friend who will also serve on the board told him about neighbors who came from other countries with fewer resources and better math and reading scores. That raised a question for him: Is money the answer to everything? He said money is a large part of it, but he asked whether $10 billion is not enough.
“I can’t ask the state, the city, the country for more without us [board members] questioning ourselves, ‘This is what we’re utilizing. These are the metrics. This is what the kids are learning. This is the response that we’re getting from them.’ It’s a great question. I can’t wait to be on a board and really look at that,” Gonzalez said.
His instinct, he said, is that the district cannot take on more debt or pay interest on more loans because of the long-term consequences.
“If we are going to ask for something, what are we going to give in return?” he said.
Gonzalez praised newly elected Board President Jessica Biggs for pressing the state for funding.
“I’m ecstatic that Jessica Biggs is already taking that responsibility now to make sure we’re fully funded and looking at alternatives,” he said.
He said his concern is setting a precedent of asking for money without adequate ways to measure how it is used.
A district that mirrors the city
Gonzalez described District 8b as a cross-section of Chicago.
In the South Loop, he said, a growing tech community needs another high school and involved families want higher standards. In Chinatown, Bridgeport and McKinley Park, young families are moving in and many schools need to be modernized. In West Lawn, older families want additions built onto some schools.
In Back of the Yards, Gage Park and Brighton Park, many residents are recent immigrants.
“I speak with them at length and a lot of them want to assimilate as quickly as possible and want to immerse themselves in the English language, along with getting a high-quality education,” he said. “This is what they risked to come to this country.”
“I think our district, 8b, is the reflection of the needs we have as a city and I can’t just focus on one particular part of my district,” he said. “I have to focus on all of it.”
Gonzalez, his family’s first-born, who was born in this country, said the campaign put him in touch with sports groups, veterans organizations and civic groups across the district.
“How will I bring everybody together?” he said. “That work has already started from some of the conversations I’ve previously had.”
He also plans to talk directly with students.
“You have to talk to the young kids and say listen, guys, you’re afforded an opportunity here; let’s maximize it,” Gonzalez said.
After a hard race
Gonzalez acknowledged the election left hard feelings. He said he understood them because he has felt that his community on the South Side has gone unheard.
He said he fought hard battles in the Marine Corps, overseas and as a police officer and learned that former opponents can find common ground afterward.
“I think when we’re so passionate when it comes to providing the best possible education for our kids, there’s going to be hard feelings afterwards, but all the more reason why we need to come together,” Gonzalez said.
Safety, language and families
Gonzalez said safety and security in schools are his strength based on his current CPD career. The campaign also showed him a greater need for bilingual education and parent involvement, he said.
“So I think one of my priorities that have shifted, that I probably didn’t talk about previously, is more family involvement,” he said. “I think when you do that, you have the radical buy-in from parents, teachers, community members. It’s all intertwined.”
He also wants to bring back classes for adults.
“We’ve had those services in the past,” he said. “Especially here, with some adult English learning or civic engagement. All of those dynamics would be fantastic.”
Gonzalez said many newcomers to the South Side treat it as a temporary stop before they move to the suburbs. He wants them to put down roots.
“You know what? This is my first choice,” Gonzalez said. “This community is always my first choice.”