LaPamela Williams captures 64% of vote in District 5a school board race

LaPamela Williams won the Chicago Board of Education race for District 5a with 64% of the vote. Nearly 95% of precincts had reported by early Wednesday morning.

The victory unseated Aaron “Jitu” Brown, a longtime education activist and community organizer. Brown had served as a prominent figure in local school politics for years.

Williams is a realtor who grew up in Austin and attended Lane Tech College Prep. She stated that her goals include increasing financial accountability and cutting expenses that do not directly benefit students.

The contest included a third candidate, Kernetha Jones, a retired teacher who ran as a write-in candidate. All three candidates reside in the Austin neighborhood.

District 5a covers a wide area of the West Side. It stretches from Austin in the west, through parts of Garfield Park and Humboldt Park, to Ukrainian Village in the east. The district includes 39 schools that serve a student population that is primarily Black and Latino.

Academic performance in the district has faced challenges. More than half of the schools received one of the state’s two lowest performance ratings last year. This is the highest share of low-rated schools in the city. Many of these schools are currently flagged for targeted or intensive support.

Enrollment trends in the district differ from other parts of the city. Fewer than 7% of high school students in District 5a attended their neighborhood school last year, based on Chicago Public Schools data. Frederick Douglass Academy in Austin enrolled just 27 students last year, a figure that has drawn attention in discussions about declining enrollment.

The candidates held different views on charter schools. Williams supports opening more independently run public charter schools if there is community support. Brown and Jones both opposed expanding the charter sector.

Williams received endorsements from the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, The Urban Center, and Common Ground Collective. Common Ground Collective is a political action committee backed by billionaire Michael Sacks. The group also provided financial backing for her campaign.

Brown received support and financial backing from the Chicago Teachers Union and the CTU-funded group Our Schools Chicago. Jones did not secure major endorsements for her write-in run.

Williams did not respond to a request for comment late Tuesday. The result marks a shift in the board representation for a district that has dealt with decades of disinvestment and struggles to stabilize enrollment.