Paul Vallas

Paul Gust Vallas Sr. ( VAL-əs; born June 10, 1953) is a former education superintendent. He served as the superintendent of the Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut and the Recovery School District of Louisiana, the CEO of both the School District of Philadelphia and the Chicago Public Schools, and a budget director for the city of Chicago.

As a school superintendent, Vallas was noted for his embrace of charter schools and privatization of school programs and school management.

A member of the Democratic Party, Vallas has unsuccessfully sought elected office several times. Vallas was the runner-up in the Democratic primary of the 2002 Illinois gubernatorial election. He ran as the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election. Vallas was a candidate in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election. He was also most recently the runner-up in the 2023 Chicago mayoral election. After finishing first in the initial round of that election without securing a majority, Vallas faced Brandon Johnson in a runoff election and was defeated.

Early life and career

The grandson of Greek immigrants, Vallas grew up in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. He spent his teen years living in Palos Heights. He graduated from Carl Sandburg High School and attended Moraine Valley Community College and then Western Illinois University, where he received a bachelor's degree in history and political science, a master's degree in political science, and a teaching certificate.

From 1985 until 1990, Vallas led the Illinois Economic and Fiscal Commission. From 1990 until 1993, Vallas served as Chicago's municipal budget director under Mayor Richard M. Daley.

Superintendencies

Vallas served as superintendent of school districts in four United States cities. Mitch Smith of The New York Times retrospectively wrote that in these positions, Vallas "cultivated a reputation as a crisis manager and charter school supporter willing to take on hard jobs and implement sweeping changes, an approach that garnered a mix of praise and criticism". In a 2009 article in the Education Next academic journal, Dale Mezzacappa wrote of Vallas's leadership style in his Chicago and Philadelphia superintendencies "His energy level is boundless, his temper legendary, his gangly charm equally so. His style of leadership, the 'Vallas treatment,' is by now well established. Do things big, do them fast, and do them all at once."

CEO of Chicago Public Schools

Vallas served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) from 1995 to 2001. The position of CEO of the Chicago Public School system had been created by Mayor Richard M. Daley after he convinced the Illinois State Legislature to place CPS under mayoral control.

During his tenure at CPS, Vallas led an effort to reform the school system. President Bill Clinton cited his work for raising test scores, balancing the budget, instituting several new programs, including mandatory summer school, and after-school programs, and expanding alternative, charter, and magnet schools. Under Vallas's leadership, the use of standardized testing increased.

Vallas instated zero-tolerance discipline policies. He also expanded the number of non-neighborhood schools, which included selective enrollment high schools, charter schools, and some of the city's first public military schools. He also launched thirteen International Baccalaureate programs in the city's public high schools.

In 1995, CPS faced a projected 1999 deficit of $1.4 billion. To address that deficit, Vallas submitted a plan that he claimed would save $162 million by reducing 1,700 central office staffers, raising cash by selling 20 surplus properties, and eliminating a program, described as "elaborate", to network the district's computers. The plan also reallocated money earmarked for teacher pensions into a general operating budget. This reallocation was implemented. In later years, in tandem, a decrease in returns from the stock market and an increasing number of retirees would cause the CPS to be unable to make their full payments on time. This has been identified as an inciting incident for the subsequent $1 billion budget crisis, attributed largely to spiking pension payments in later years. $666 million in capital bonds that the district took out under Vallas's leadership are anticipated, as of 2023, to ultimately cost the city $1.5 billion when interest is factored in.

In June 2001, Vallas announced his resignation. His departure came two weeks after Gery Chico's resignation, the Chicago Board of Education's president. Both of their resignations came soon after several failing standardized testing scores eliminated the improvements to test scores that had been experienced over the previous two years. This loss of progress in test scores had angered Mayor Daley. Vallas's six-year tenure was greater than two-times the average tenure at the time for school superintendents in large U.S. cities.

Many praised Vallas's tenure, crediting him with improving the school district's performance. Martha Woodall of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in 2002 that, in Chicago, Vallas attained a reputation of being, a "savvy, hard-working, blunt-speaking manager who insists on doing things his own way". In a 2009 article published in the Peabody Journal of Education, Elizabeth Useem wrote that, as CEO of CPS, Vallas, "developed a reputation for being an energetic leader who could move quickly to carry out a far-reaching program of reform". Among the criticisms detractors had of Vallas's style of leadership in Chicago were characterizations of him as failing to sufficiently collaborate with community groups and showing hostility towards those who gave criticism or questioned his decisions.

CEO of the School District of Philadelphia

In July 2002, Vallas was appointed CEO of the School District of Philadelphia. His appointment occurred six months after the state took over the school district. Vallas quickly moved to propose a reform agenda modeled after the actions he took in Chicago.

As CEO, he presided over the nation's largest experiment in privatized management of schools, with the management of over 40 schools turned over to outside for-profits, nonprofits, and universities beginning in Fall 2002. A 2007 RAND study of Philadelphia's privatization found that the achievement gains in Philadelphia's privately managed schools were on average no different from district-wide gains, nor were they substantially greater than those of other low-achieving schools in the state. In particular, schools that stayed under district management but received additional resources similar to those managed by for-profit firms showed directly comparable increases in math.

Vallas converted the school district to a K–8 and 9–12 grade structure, eliminating nearly all city middle schools. Vallas oversaw a standardization of the district's curriculum. Vallas also had the district create new after school programs, as well as new Saturday school and summer school programs, which were mostly run by private companies such as The Princeton Review and Kaplan, Inc. As superintendent, Vallas also undertook a program of new school facility construction and renovation of existing facilities. Vallas's tenure saw the establishment of an increased number of privately operated disciplinary schools and alternative schools. International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement programs were expanded.

Vallas increased the number of International Baccalaureate programs in the city and the number of military academies in the district.

There was a gradual increase in standardized testing scores during Vallas's tenure. However, 11th grade scores remained poor. There was also an increase in schools meeting the Adequate Yearly Progress standards set by No Child Left Behind. Vallas failed to decrease the district's high dropout rate.

Vallas left the job in June 2007 to take a position in Louisiana. After Vallas departed, Thomas Brady served as interim CEO until Arlene Ackerman took office as CEO. Upon Vallas's departure, Vallas was described by Philadelphia magazine as the, "most effective Philadelphia schools chief in a generation". A study published by Harvard's Kennedy School of Government concluded, "the average student at schools managed by for-profit firms learned more in math than would be expected had the schools remained under district management". However, a $73.3 million annual budget deficit had arisen towards the end of his tenure, which proved to be a source of criticism towards Vallas. Vallas's addition of a vast number of new initiatives and programs contributed to the district's budget shortfall. Vallas's five-year tenure was longer than the typical tenure length of school superintendents in U.S. cities.

Superintendent Recovery School District of Louisiana

Vallas signed a two-year contract (2007–2008) as superintendent of the Recovery School District of Louisiana. He remained head of the Recovery School District through 2011. Vallas greatly increased the system's utilization of charter schools.