A tense silence hung over the Chicago Board of Education on Thursday night as the roll call vote began.

Just hours earlier, community members had packed the room, urging the board to pass a 2025-26 budget that spared classrooms from cuts.

At the heart of the debate was a $200 million high-interest loan and a disputed pension payment for nonteaching CPS staff members — both backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, both left out of the district’s proposal.

As Johnson-appointed board members Ed Bannon, District 1A, Anusha Thotakura, District 6A, and Cydney Wallace, District 8B, quietly broke ranks, gasps rippled through the crowded room. The final tally — 12 in favor, seven opposed, and one abstention — drew cheers.

The vote marked a public setback for Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union org

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