In the end, the departures seemed mutual, a source said. Some board members were upset with the mayor’s handling of the strife and unhappy about the position they were being put in. The mayor, meanwhile, was faced with the unprecedented scenario of his own school board and CEO resisting his demands. Talks about resignations had gone on for weeks, at times prompted by board members and other times by mayoral aides, sources said.

While Johnson might ultimately get his way, these mass resignations likely will be viewed by many as a rejection of the mayor’s approach by his own appointees, especially after a senior aide in his office recently declared that it was Martinez who had “lost the board.” That aide confidently told WBEZ and the Sun-Times that the board was agreeable to a loan.

And it’s an astonishing outcome for this board that was expected to be Johnson’s rubber stamp and has worked hand-in-hand with the mayor to successfully usher in several progressive policy changes ahead of the city’s first school board elections on Nov. 5.