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