Chicago Public Schools

The building for Acero Santiago in West Town is owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago but was put up for sale last summer. Since then, parents and teachers have been pushing CPS to take over the building.

After debate about when the first semester should end, the school board ultimately chose to adopt calendars in which the semester would end after winter break.

The network’s leaders have insisted two high schools they operate will remain open at least until the end of the school year. But CPS officials say they have run out of patience with ASPIRA’s failure to provide financial documents and a plan showing it can stay open.

Some board members say the search is forging ahead as planned. But a small group of board members want interim CEO Macquline King to stay on until a new school board is seated next January.

The district expressed concern about the fiscal impact of two bills by Chicago state Sen. Robert Martwick, including one that would compel CPS to make divisive payments to a city retirement fund. But the lawmaker said he was simply looking to start a necessary conversation.

The end of Alma’s work no the search is the latest twist in a search process that began last spring and hasn’t yet produced a permanent CEO. Six elected board members are blaming the mayor’s office and its allies for ‘sabotaging’ the process.

Some school board members raised concerns about the first semester ending after winter break in the next two school years. Chicago Public Schools officials said their proposed calendar is an option preferred by most surveyed families.

Three charters are leaning on their overseer, Chicago Public Schools, to help with making payroll. Critics argue fiscal missteps are the cause of the fiscal distress, but charter advocates counter it’s due to district underfunding.

A libertarian-leaning advocacy group has persuaded more than two dozen Illinois counties and townships to place a nonbinding question on next month’s primary ballot supporting a new federal tax-credit scholarship program backed by the Trump administration.

Two Democratic lawmakers proposed boosting state education funding, a priority for the Chicago Teachers Union. They estimated that would require the state, which faces its own financial pressures, to chip in an additional $550 million to $1 billion more a year.

The district is conducting an additional survey of students, parents, and staff after some school board members voiced concerns that the first semester ends after winter break for high school students.

The school district will join districts across the state and northwest Indiana in closing down operations Friday.

A report from the advocacy group Kids First Chicago found that the district’s “market share” has slipped from 75% to 71% since 2018.

2026 will bring fresh budget issues and school board elections in Chicago, while Illinois leaders may have to grapple with a significant loss in federal child care funding.

District officials are asking the board to increase the amount of cash flow borrowing to $1.65 billion, adding another $6 million in short-term borrowing costs.

A University of Chicago report out Tuesday shows that missing school took an even bigger toll on students’ grades and test scores post-COVID than it did before the pandemic.

The school board will review proposed calendars for 2026-27 and 2027-28 this week — both in line with the current year’s calendar — and is slated to approve them later this month.

The Chicago Public Schools Office of the Inspector General found eight teachers and staff at the Little Village Lawndale High School campus targeted students. One, Brian Crowder, was sentenced to 22 years in prison late last year.

One manager was found to have inflated student numbers in a federally funded program for years. The district now must repay almost $1.2 million.

The extra money comes from special taxing districts for development.