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Happy Friday! It’s Reema Amin here with your top stories.

The Board of Education met yesterday, and we’ll get to that news in a second. After the meeting, lunchroom workers gathered at Daley Plaza down the street, then walked over to stop traffic outside board headquarters. Their union planned the act of civil disobedience on Madison Street to bring attention to stalled negotiations over a new contract with the district.

One of the protesting workers who received a ticket for obstructing traffic said she makes so little, she had 10 cents left in her bank account yesterday. She wasn’t optimistic.

“I’m not hopeful about what CPS is going to do,” she said.

In other news, the board voted to appoint Karime Asaf, who oversees English learner programming, as the district’s new chief education officer.

Local News

Two dozen cited as Chicago Public Schools’ lunchroom workers rally for more pay

UNITE HERE Local 1, the union representing about 1,700 lunchroom workers, held the rally to push the district for more pay. Negotiations have stretched more than 10 months.

Chicago Board of Education picks Karime Asaf as chief education officer

As chief education officer, Asaf will be responsible for overseeing the district’s academic vision for schools.

New Chicago schools chief’s contract makes it easier for district and CEO to part ways

The new three-year contract for CPS CEO Macquline King replaces a provision that provided 180-day notice to her predecessor, Pedro Martinez, after he was fired without cause. It also nods to the importance of the district’s relationship with the mayor.