Education
CPS Now Expected to Save 4 of 7 Acero Charter Schools Slated for Closure
(WTTW News)
Three Acero charter school campuses appear set to close at the end of the current academic year as Chicago’s Board of Education this week is expected to vote on a revised resolution that seeks to maintain only four of the network’s seven schools that were slated for closure.
A spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday said that when accounting for enrollment loss and the “significant need for facility investments at the campuses,” the district “would not legally be able to fund Acero at the level needed to maintain all campuses.”
“Where financially and legally possible, the District continues working to keep as many of the Acero campuses open as possible,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “CPS remains committed to supporting students, families and staff in finding a path forward and communicating all options to those impacted by potential Acero closures.”
The Acero charter network, which operates elementary and high schools serving predominantly Hispanic students, announced last year plans to shutter Cruz K-12 as well as Casas, Cisneros, Fuentes, Paz, Santiago and Tamayo elementary schools due to declining enrollment, increasing personnel and facilities maintenance costs.
That proposal sparked widespread pushback.
“I know that I still see kids crying, my kids included,” Vanessa Ortiz, a Tamayo parent, told WTTW News days after the announcement. “They don’t want their school to close down. They feel like they did something wrong to deserve their school closing, but they’re kids, they don’t understand.”
In December, the board — which at that point was comprised of seven members handpicked by Mayor Brandon Johnson — approved an initial resolution, which directed Chicago Public Schools officials to meet with Acero leadership in order to “ensure that the needed steps are taken to maintain the seven (7) campuses listed above as Acero schools for the 2025-2026 school year.”
Specifically, CPS appeared intent on absorbing five of the campuses, converting them from charter to district-run schools, while investigating the viability of taking over two more schools.
But at its monthly meeting Thursday, the current board — now a 21-member hybrid board made up of elected and appointed members — will vote on whether to revise the language in that resolution to maintain for the 2025-26 school year only four campuses: Casas, Fuentes, Tamayo and Santiago.
The revised resolution would also remove the language seeking to evaluate the viability of taking over any other Acero schools, while adding in a line that states: “The District will support the transition of the students, families, and staff at Paz, Cruz and Cisneros as Acero winds down the operation of these three campuses at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.”
The new resolution would also remove wording that directs CPS officials to “create a detailed plan to transition” five Acero schools into district-run schools and replace it with wording that instead directs them to “create a detailed plan of the viability to transition” those schools.
According to CPS, a joint analysis between the district and Acero of the funding needs for the campuses revealed that CPS would not legally be able to fund Acero at the level needed to maintain all seven campuses.
Illinois state law sets out that “in no event shall the funding be less than 97 percent or more than 103 percent of the school district’s per capita student tuition multiplied by the number of students residing in the district who are enrolled in the charter school.” CPS said those parameters provide the district with a maximum amount of funding that it can provide to Acero.
In November, the then-six-member board approved a separate resolution demanding Acero return any unspent public funding if it moves ahead with the closures. The following month, CPS officials outlined various possibilities to maintain some or all of the Acero schools that were slated for closure.
“Chicago Public Schools has been in ongoing conversations and good faith negotiations with Acero to find a resolution that best serves families and students,” the district spokesperson said. “The District has also been working diligently in conjunction with the current Chicago Board of Education to review various scenarios for Acero that would be viable and compliant with the law.”
