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CHICAGO — The Chicago Board of Education passed a resolution Thursday that called for a later deadline for GoCPS applications and sought to find alternatives to the Acero charter school network’s plan for seven campus closures on the Southwest Side.
The board’s resolutions came during a specially called meeting and were the latest in an increasingly tense situation surrounding the charter network’s planned closures, which have increased friction between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Chicago Public Schools leadership.
The Acero charter network announced last month that it will close seven campuses because of a $40 million budget shortfall. The staff at those campuses are members of the Chicago Teachers Union.
The board’s Acero resolution called for Acero officials to meet with the board to discuss alternatives to the campus closures, which would impact 2,000 students and 500 staffers.
Families and teachers have rallied against the closure since the network’s announcement. Earlier this week, the mayor said he directed CPS leadership to dig into the network’s finances and wanted to see a “contingency plan” from CPS related to the closures.
The board’s resolution demands that if the network declines to find alternatives, Acero “shall return all unspent public funds and property” to the district.
Resolutions are nonbinding in nature and don’t compel Acero to meet with CPS or discuss alternatives. However, Acero must meet with CPS by Nov. 15 to discuss the school closures as part of its agreement with the district. All charter networks — which are privately run entities that receive public funding — operate based on conditions set in agreements with CPS.
Based on Acero’s agreement with CPS, the district does not appear to have a legal pathway to prevent the closures.
In an emailed statement, Acero said “there are no winners when high-quality schools are forced to close their doors due to the implications of inequitable and inadequate public school funding.”
“While we are disappointed by the misinformation surrounding this heartbreaking circumstance, we welcome working with the Chicago Public Schools to find long-term and sustainable solutions for everyone impacted by these anticipated closures,” the statement said. “This is clearly evidenced by the nearly 20 meetings Acero Schools has had with senior CPS officials before the special meeting to provide timely information to advance this initiative.”
CPS was expected to give a presentation at the meeting that would provide “a more complete picture” of the Acero closures and “provide options for impacted families, address the questions raised and the feedback received during the briefings and meeting, and outline several solutions for the Board to consider at a future meeting,” CPS said in an emailed statement earlier this week.
But that presentation was canceled, Board Vice President Mary Gardner said at the top of the meeting. Asked why, Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s chief education officer, said, “I don’t know,” and said the board’s office would have a better idea. Board members Frank Niles Thomas and Rafael Yañez declined to comment to reporters after the meeting.
Chalkbeat obtained a copy of the presentation, which included options the district could pursue in response to the closures. One option is that CPS would provide “support” to Acero to keep the campuses open. The presentation said the district has “confirmed and identified the financial needs” but didn’t elaborate, saying more budget information would be shared at upcoming board meetings.
A second option would be helping affected students enroll at CPS-run schools, which the district says is in line with what it has done in the past when charter operators moved to close their own schools. It would provide more money to district schools that enroll “a significant number” of additional students.
A third option would have the district absorb the seven Acero campuses slated for closure and reopen them as CPS schools in the 2026-27 school year. The union has previously asked the district to absorb the campuses.
This option “may provide the least amount of disruption to students and families,” the presentation said. The presentation noted that the district would have to take a number of steps to add the schools to CPS’ portfolio, including getting board approval and amending the capital budget, but that long-term costs “may not increase significantly.” Still, there would be costs associated with transitioning the schools from charters to district-run buildings, the presentation said.
The presentation also laid out the steps the district has taken since Acero announced the closures Oct. 9. City Hall officials have criticized how CPS leadership has monitored Acero and responded to the planned closures.
According to the presentation, between Oct. 11 and Nov. 1, the district met with the charter operator and requested more financial information. It also provided families with information on what to do next. The presentation noted that this was standard operating procedure, and the Board of Education did not ask the district to deviate from that until its Nov. 1 meeting, which followed weeks of upheaval, including the entire former Board of Education announcing its resignation Oct. 9.
Asked if the board was trying to block CPS CEO Pedro Martinez from presenting at the meeting, the mayor told reporters Thursday, “I’m not aware of this blockage that you’re speaking of, and there’s no particular directive outside of making sure that we invest in children,” according to a tweet from a Chicago Tribune reporter.
In an extraordinary moment before the board passed the resolution, board member Michilla Blaise criticized district leadership and thanked Acero families for raising their concerns about the closures. Caroline Rutherford, an Acero teacher who is currently on leave, asked CPS “to take action to keep our schools open” during the public comment portion.
“It seemed that CPS was kind of resigned to letting it go and giving up, and that based on your work and how your words touched us, we’re making sure we’re putting our feet down, and we’re going to stand with you in terms of at least exploring what the opportunities are,” Blaise said.
The board also sought to push the deadline for GoCPS — an application families use to get seats at a variety of schools, including charters and selective enrollment programs — to Dec. 15 to give affected families more time to choose a school for next year. District officials are expected to officially move back the date, a spokesperson said.
The district has already pushed the deadline back to Nov. 22.
Separately, the board also retained outside law firm Cozen O’Connor, which offers legal services for a wide range of subjects. District officials did not respond to questions about why the board decided to hire the firm.
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.