Chicago Public Schools chief executive officer Ron Huberman will leave his post at the fiscally struggling school district at the end of the month.
Huberman submitted his resignation last week to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and the Chicago Board of Education. Daley, who is not seeking re-election in the February municipal elections, said he intends to quickly name a replacement and hopes to pick a candidate that the next mayor would consider keeping.
“Ron Huberman has shown great leadership throughout his 16-year career in city government, and we thank him for his service,” Daley said.
Huberman began his city career as a police officer. He later managed the Office of Emergency Management and Communications and the Chicago Transit Authority before Daley named him to his current post last year.
Huberman’s departure has been rumored for some time. He has said he did not want to serve under another administration. “I will always be grateful for the opportunity to have served this city and Mayor Daley as its leader,” Huberman said in a statement.
Ahead of the district’s new-money and restructuring bond sale last month, Fitch Ratings downgraded its more than $5 billion of debt one level to A-plus with a stable outlook. Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s revised their outlooks on the board’s Aa2 and AA-minus ratings to negative, citing escalating financial challenges.
Chicago Public Schools’ $6.5 billion fiscal 2011 budget originally called for drawing down its reserve account to eliminate a deficit and deal with late state aid payments, but that plan was dropped in favor of debt restructuring.
