Therese Boyle retains Chicago School Board seat in District 9b

Therese Boyle kept her seat on the Chicago School Board on Tuesday.

The incumbent won the District 9b race with nearly 73% of the vote.

Results from the Associated Press showed that figure after 87% of precincts were counted early Wednesday morning.

Boyle defeated Katherine Dunneback, a challenger backed by the Chicago Teachers Union.

Boyle, a retired Chicago Public Schools psychologist, was first elected two years ago.

She serves the Far Southwest Side, which includes Roseland, West Pullman, Morgan Park, Beverly, Mount Greenwood, and Washington Heights.

The district contains 46 public schools.

Most are neighborhood schools, with few privately run charters or lottery-based magnets.

Boyle worked for the district for 35 years before retiring.

Dunneback is a speech-language pathologist and former CPS mother.

She currently works as an adjunct clinical professor at Saint Xavier University.

Boyle credited her long-standing presence in Mount Greenwood for her victory. She has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years. "The people who talked to the voters were my friends and family and neighbors and fellow colleagues," Boyle said. "I think that helped." She also noted that support from the Service Employees International Union assisted her campaign. SEIU members helped knock on doors. SEIU represents thousands of CPS support staff and has split politically with the teachers union in recent years. Boyle was also endorsed by the Common Ground Collective, a PAC heavily funded by billionaire Michael Sacks. Dunneback received top contributions from the CTU-affiliated Our Schools PAC and the CTU PAC. Dunneback had not called to concede as of Tuesday night. She could not immediately be reached for comment. Both candidates said their children attended CPS before moving to private schools. Boyle said one of her daughters attended a Beverly public school for preschool. Dunneback’s children attended a Morgan Park neighborhood elementary school. Enrollment data from Chalkbeat shows that just 13% of CPS students in the district choose their zoned public high schools. Nearly 57% chose their local elementary school. The student body is mostly Black, with 10% Hispanic and 11% white. Most schools in the area were designated "commendable" by the state last year. That is the state's second highest ranking. Boyle said residents want the district to spend money wisely. Dunneback said neighbors are worried about overcrowding and closures. The candidates agreed on strict limits for AI and electronic devices in schools. They disagreed on charter schools and closures. Boyle favors charters and consolidation when they are equitable and cost effective. Dunneback opposes charters and supports expanding a program that turns neighborhood schools into community hubs. Neither candidate wants to raise property taxes to the maximum for school funding. Boyle argues CPS is not spending wisely. Dunneback says board members should work with other elected officials to fund schools through other tax policies.