Chicago Public Schools will begin transferring about 540 students from two high schools in the ASPIRA charter network, as the campuses confront deep financial turmoil and a possible midyear closure.
The charter network is facing a $4.8 million deficit and, according to CPS and ASPIRA officials, may be unable to meet payroll through the end of the year.
In a letter to the ASPIRA board Wednesday night, district officials said they are “moving forward with a student transition process as oversight,” citing the operator’s “failure to demonstrate financial sustainability, which places the education of ASPIRA’s students at risk.”
There is no precedent for a midyear closure for CPS. ASPIRA operates two high schools on the Northwest Side — ASPIRA Business & Finance High School and ASPIRA Early College High School. Both are predominantly low-income and Latino.
But despite its financial woes, the network told CPS in a letter earlier this week that it does not plan to initiate self-closure, and its “priority remains maintaining continuity of instruction.” ASPIRA officials said they are pursuing a short-term loan and fundraising campaigns to stay afloat.
Charters receive funding based on enrollment, and are overseen and authorized to operate by CPS. However, they act as separate nonprofits with independent boards that oversee day-to-day operations.
Since November, the district has provided $2.55 million in advances to ASPIRA to make payroll. But on April 10, CPS will reach a state-mandated funding cap, which limits how much can be allocated to the network based on enrollment, according to the district’s letter. That means ASPIRA’s campuses can no longer rely on the district for financial support.
ASPIRA has also not provided the required financial documentation to CPS, including the network’s fiscal year 2025 audit, payroll records and monthly cash flow statements, the district said.
The operator has yet to identify a “verifiable, secured third-party funding sufficient to eliminate the projected deficit,” according to the district’s letter.
“General assurances, anticipated funding, or contingent commitments do not meet the standard required to demonstrate financial solvency,” wrote Zabrina Evans, executive director of the district’s Office of Innovation & Incubation.
Addressing the Board of Education Thursday, ASPIRA CEO Edgar Lopez said structural underfunding from CPS is to blame for ASPIRA’s troubles. He noted that the network is finalizing its financial documents.
“They can look at the finances all they want, they’re not going to find nothing that’s irregular,” Lopez said. “We’ve had clean audits for a number of years.”
Outside of the district’s downtown offices Thursday, ASPIRA students and staff called on CPS to provide more clarity on the transfer process. The network’s 62 unionized staff members — including teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors and social workers — are represented by Chicago Teachers Union.
CTU Vice President Jackson Potter urged the district to designate welcoming schools for displaced students and staff, expressing concerns that students may drop out or lose credits.
Typically, to transfer midyear, families must contact the school of their choice individually.
“This is unacceptable,” Potter said. “We need emergency planning now, so in mid-March these children, these families, aren’t left without a lifeline.”
Before school in Avondale, students and staff marched outside of ASPIRA Business & Finance High School, protesting the campus’ possible closure. Passing cars on Milwaukee Avenue honked horns as the students raised cardboard signs.
Junior Estefani Martin, 17, has discussed transferring with her parents. But she’s conflicted: what if her credits don’t transfer? In classrooms at ASPIRA Early College, students feel tense, she said, and it’s difficult to focus.
“It feels weird, because I’m like, why am I learning right now?” said Martin.
Eighteen-year-old Angelica Mota, a senior at Aspira Business & Finance, said that students are in “a state of panic.” But she still hopes the charter can find a way to finish the year.
“Closing a Hispanic school right now is devastating for our community,” Mota said. “Please don’t leave us without a place to go.”
ASPIRA’s financial crisis is the latest within Chicago’s charter sector. In November, the district allocated $1.4 million to keep EPIC Academy in South Chicago open through the school year. In 2024, after months of outcry, the Board of Education voted to absorb five of seven schools in the Acero network slated for closure — costing CPS at least $30 million this fiscal year.
The Chicago High School for the Arts in Humboldt Park is also transitioning to a district-run magnet school, after its operator announced that it would not renew its contract amid financial woes.
Roughly 1 in 5 CPS students attends a charter school, or about 55,000 students.