Copyright Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Board of Education voted Tuesday to absorb Chicago High School for the Arts, and to allocate emergency funding to a South Chicago charter school to remain open through the end of the academic year. Under the passed proposal, ChiArts will be converted into a district-run magnet school, after its independent board announced last month that it would not seek a renewal application due to financial issues. The board also included an amendment pledging to preserve the Humboldt Park school’s arts conservatory model “to the greatest extent practicable.” Currently, the ChiArts students spend three hours per day training on visual or performing arts — a program that would cost the district an extra $600,000 to maintain. “This board is completely supportive of ChiArts, I don’t think there’s any question of that,” board President Sean Harden said. “The challenge becomes where we work together to figure out how we identify the resources to preserve the conservatory.” Meanwhile, the board allocated $1.4 million to EPIC Academy in South Chicago, funding its operations through the end of the year. EPIC’s board of directors voted in September to shutter the school, pointing to low enrollment and mounting financial woes. But community members say they were largely left in the dark throughout the process. Schools with Chicago Public Schools contracts, including charter schools, are overseen by the district and follow its policies, but are privately-managed and operated by independent boards. The emergency funds will allow EPIC to implement a transition plan and a full wind-down process. Students will be assisted by the district as they transition to other schools, and teachers will be given the opportunity to follow them. CPS will also monitor the allocated funds, and require unspent money to be returned. The transition plan means EPIC can “complete this school year with dignity, while we open a transparent, collaborative process that includes families, staff and leadership,” said board member Che “Rhymefest” Smith,” whose district,10A, covers the school. But board member Jitu Brown, 5A, noted the district’s history of controversial school closures in Black and Latino communities and expressed concern that families would be left behind. Brown said he was worried that the 240 students might transfer to schools that could also face the threat of closure. CPS currently has a moratorium on closures until the 2026-27 school year. “This has happened over and over and over and over again … What is the strategy, what is the plan to make sure that does not happen?” Brown said. Ahead of the votes, more than a dozen students, teachers and community members addressed the board, urging them to protect their schools. Christian Helem, a ChiArts alum and a current teaching artist, asked members to preserve the integrity of the school, describing it as a hub for artistic expression. “‘Where will the young artists of Chicago go, regardless of economic status, immigration status, or background, if not for ChiArts?’” Helem said. Chicago Teachers Union Vice President Jackson Potter also decried EPIC’s closure, urging the board to set up more guardrails to protect students. The union has been a vocal critic of charter schools, citing a lack of fiscal accountability and oversight. “We’ve got charter operators taking advantage of a system that’s got holes you can drive a truck through,” Potter said. Other Chicago charter schools have recently announced closures amid financial pressures. Charter operator Aspira Inc. of Illinois said in January it would close one of its locations due to declining enrollment. Last year, Acero charter network leadership announced the closure of seven of its 15 schools, citing financial constraints. The board later voted to keep five open as district-run schools.
