CHICAGO >> Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson named members of a new school board on Monday, batting away criticism of the move days after all seven members resigned amid an escalating fight over control of the public schools in the nation’s third-largest city.

During a news conference at a South Side church, Johnson introduced six new school board members and said he’d name a seventh at a later date. He said that although the new members are technically nominees who are still being vetted, it’s a formality and they could remain after the board triples in size in January and goes to a hybrid model that will include 11 mayoral appointees and 10 elected members.

Johnson, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer, has clashed with the district’s CEO, Pedro Martinez, including over how best to close gaps in the district’s nearly $10 billion budget. Martinez has refused to resign, citing the need for stability in the district.

— The Associated Press