CPS to consider keeping 7 Acero schools open another year before taking over 5

After weeks of protests from families and staff against the proposed closing of seven Acero charter schools, Chicago’s Board of Education is moving to keep all seven open for one more school year then take over five of the campuses in 2026. The board also took the extraordinary step of threatening not to renew Acero’s contract to operate the rest of its schools.

The school board scheduled a special meeting for Friday to pass a resolution directing Chicago Public Schools officials to pursue the plan, which could include paying a small amount of extra cash to the publicly funded, privately managed charter network to fill an operating deficit next year.

CPS leaders first floated this idea at the board’s monthly meeting last week among several options to avoid closing all seven schools. Others included the school district taking over the operations of all seven schools, letting all of them close, or providing more funding to keep all seven schools open for at least two more years.

The hybrid plan that would buy all seven more time before closing only two was found to be the most affordable option, CPS officials said. The school board directed CPS to come to an agreement with Acero “to cover the deficit to operate the seven campuses for the 2025-26 school year” while considering “operational savings, other potential revenue and Acero’s unspent reserves.”

A WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times analysis last month found that while Acero has been hit by declining enrollment and growing teacher costs, the organization has tens of millions of dollars in cash, raising questions about whether it needed to close seven of its 15 schools now.

Under the Board of Education’s plan, the two schools that would close after the 2025-26 school year would be the Acero Paz campus in Little Village, a 98-student elementary school, and Acero Cruz, a K-12 school in Rogers Park with 542 children. CPS officials said those two schools are chief contributors to Acero’s projected financial deficit, which they predicted might entirely disappear if they closed. But the board did leave open the possibility that Paz and Cruz could be considered for takeover in 2026.

The five other schools — Acero’s Cisneros, Casas, Fuentes, Tamayo and Santiago campuses — would automatically transition into district-run schools in the 2026-27 school year.

“Such plans should involve district support for parents and staff to maximize retention of teachers, staff and students as these schools transition,” the board resolution reads.

The board said Acero officials must comply with these efforts.

“Acero’s announced closures are inconsistent with the educational mission of the board and call into question whether the board should renew Acero’s charter school agreement in 2026,” the resolution said. “Acero’s cooperation in these matters may be considered in whether to renew” the charter for another term.

It’s unclear whether Acero officials would agree to any of these plans. CPS and the school board don’t have the authority to force Acero to keep its schools open. But officials from both the district and charter operator have expressed a willingness to work together to find a solution.

Helena Stangle, Acero’s chief culture officer, said in a statement that the charter network “learned about the contents of this resolution with the rest of the public."

“We look forward to evaluating the proposed [plan] and continuing discussions with CPS,” she said.

There are questions about whether CPS needs these Acero schools. A few of the schools are in old run-down buildings that would add to the district’s facility upgrade needs. And enrollment at neighborhood schools in many of these community areas has fallen over the last decade. CPS officials also said the schools would have to change significantly to adapt to district standards, such as curriculum.