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CHICAGO — The Chicago Board of Education adopted a resolution Thursday calling for a later deadline for GoCPS applications and seeking alternatives to the Acero charter school network’s plan to close seven campuses in the southwest side.

The board’s resolutions were made at a specially called meeting and were the latest in an increasingly tense situation surrounding planned closures of the charter network, which have increased friction between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Chicago Public Schools leadership.

The Acero charter network announced last month that it would close seven campuses due to a $40 million budget shortfall. Staff at these campuses are members of the Chicago Teachers Union.

The Acero board resolution called for Acero officials to meet with the board to discuss alternatives to campus closures, which would impact 2,000 students and 500 staff members.

Families and teachers have mobilized against the closure since the network’s announcement. Earlier this week, the mayor said he asked the management of the CPS to dig into the finances of the network and wanted to see a “contingency plan” from CPS regarding closures.

The board’s resolution requires that if the network refuses to find alternatives, Acero will “return all unspent public funds and property” to the district.

The resolutions are non-binding in nature and do not require Acero to meet with the PSC or discuss alternatives. However, Acero is scheduled to meet with CPS by Nov. 15 to discuss school closures as part of its agreement with the district. All charter networks – which are private entities with public funding – operate on the basis of conditions set out in agreements with CPS.

Based on Acero’s agreement with CPS, the district does not appear to have a legal avenue 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 are pleased to work with Chicago Public Schools to find sustainable, long-term solutions for everyone impacted by these anticipated closures,” the statement said. “This is clearly demonstrated by the nearly 20 meetings Acero Schools had with senior CPS officials prior to the special meeting to provide timely information to advance this initiative.”

CPS was expected to make a presentation at the meeting that would provide “a more complete picture” of the Acero closures and “provide options for affected families, address issues raised and comments received during the briefings and meeting, and present several solutions for the Board of Directors to consider at an upcoming meeting,” CPS said in an emailed statement earlier this week.

But that presentation was canceled, board vice president Mary Gardner said at the start of the meeting. When asked why, Bogdana Chkoumbova, the district’s education director, said, “I don’t know,” and said the school 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 would be for CPS to provide “support” to Acero to keep campuses open. The presentation said the district has “confirmed and identified financial needs” but did not elaborate, saying more budget information would be shared at upcoming board meetings.

A second option would be to help affected students enroll in CPS-operated schools, which the district says is consistent with what it has done in the past when charter operators decided to close their own schools. It would provide more money to district schools that enroll “significant numbers” of additional students.

A third option would be for the district to absorb the seven Acero campuses scheduled for closure and reopen them as CPS schools in the 2026-2027 school year. The union previously asked the district to absorb the campuses.

This option “could cause minimal 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 the CPS portfolio, including obtaining board approval and changing the capital budget, but that long-term costs “may not increase significantly.” Still, transitioning charter schools to district-run buildings would incur costs, the presentation said.

The presentation also outlined actions the district has taken since Acero announced the closures on Oct. 9. City Hall officials criticized how CPS leaders monitored Acero and responded to planned closures.

According to the presentation, between Oct. 11 and Nov. 1, the district met with the charter operator and requested more financial information. He 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 it until its Nov. 1 meeting, which followed weeks of upheaval, including the entire former Board of Education announcing its resignation on October 9. .

Asked if the board was trying to block CPS CEO Pedro Martinez from making a presentation at the meeting, the mayor told reporters Thursday, “I’m not aware of that blockage that you’re talking about, and there’s no specific directive other than making sure we invest in children,” according to a tweet from a Chicago Tribune journalist.

In an extraordinary moment before the board passed the resolution, board member Michilla Blaise criticized district leaders and thanked Acero families for raising concerns about the closures . Caroline Rutherford, an Acero teacher currently on leave, asked CPS “to take action to keep our schools open” during the public comment period.

“It seemed like CPS was kind of resigned to letting go and giving up, and that based on your work and how your words have affected us, we’re making sure we put our feet down and we’re going to stay standing . with you to at least explore what the opportunities are,” Blaise said.

The board also sought to push back the deadline for GoCPS — an app that families use to secure spots in various schools, including charter and selective enrollment programs — to Dec. 15 in order 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 back the deadline back to November 22.

In addition, the board of directors has also retained the services of an external law firm Cozen O’Connorwhich offers legal services for a wide range of topics. District officials did not respond to questions about why the board decided to hire the company.

Reema Amin is a journalist who covers Chicago public schools. Contact Reema at [email protected].