Overview

• Pedro Martinez, current CEO of Chicago Public Schools, has been recommended by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to become its next commissioner.
• The board voted 9-2 in favor of Martinez, with two members abstaining in support of another finalist, Lily Laux, a former Texas education official.
• Massachusetts Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler, who also voted in favor of Martinez, will make the final decision on his appointment.
• If confirmed, Martinez would oversee roughly 400 school districts in Massachusetts and become the first Latino to hold the commissioner role in the state.
• Martinez remains in his position at Chicago Public Schools through June under his contract, following his firing without cause in December over disputes with Chicago city leadership.