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ASPIRA charter network will officially close two of its high school campuses and lay off all of its staff at those campuses next month, according to a layoff notice provided to staff Wednesday.
The announcement comes one week after Chicago Public Schools decided to begin transferring students out of ASPIRA Early College and Business and Finance high schools if they wanted to because it does not believe ASPIRA has enough money to keep the schools running for the rest of the academic year.
As a charter network, ASPIRA’s schools are privately managed but publicly funded and operate based on a contract with CPS.
In layoff notices to staff obtained by Chalkbeat, ASPIRA CEO Edgar Lopez said high schools will close by April 3, when all staff at the two campuses “are anticipated” to be laid off.
“At this time, we hope the closure will be temporary,” Lopez wrote.
Lopez did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, CPS said it will soon share with ASPIRA staff a process to apply for open positions at district-run schools.
Students and staff have worried about a massive disruption to their education and jobs mid-year. Earlier this week, some students and network leaders pressed CPS to help keep the schools open. During a Chicago Board of Education meeting last week, other students and staff, as well as their representatives from the Chicago Teachers Union, sharply criticized the charter network for misleading them and worried about their futures.
Last week, district officials said they were planning a transition for students to other nearby high schools and would provide those students with certain individual supports, including providing letters to college admissions offices explaining the mid-year transfers. CPS will also ensure seniors who are on track to graduate from ASPIRA will still graduate on time, acting Chief Education Officer Alfonso Carmona said during a Chicago Board of Education meeting Wednesday.
But during the Wednesday meeting, interim CPS CEO Maquiline King said CPS could not make further moves, including fully carrying out a transition plan, until ASPIRA decides to self-close. CPS had planned to present a transition plan Thursday to ASPIRA families, officials said.
“We are walking a fine line, and just know that we are responding to the call to the greatest extent possible,” King said.
Until the layoff notices, ASPIRA officials had not said the campuses would close, but said they only had enough funding to make it to five weeks before the end of the school year, or late April. Lopez said last week he was working on securing more money, including through a GoFundMe campaign advertised on the network’s website and other fundraising efforts.
ASPIRA, which the district had placed on a financial remediation plan, had also requested more funding from CPS, which has provided millions of dollars in advances to the network this school year. CPS has said it cannot provide ASPIRA with more money because it has hit the state-imposed legal limit of funding the district can provide to charters.
District and charter leaders have linked growing financial problems in the charter sector to declining enrollment, tighter funding, and rising costs, such as for salaries at unionized schools. While charter leaders have decried a district move to withhold thousands of dollars per pupil for CPS’ pension and debt costs, charter critics say schools like ASPIRA have not responsibly managed their finances. Those critics also argue the district should have caught problems sooner. In November, CPS blasted ASPIRA for its financial management, months after the board had renewed ASPIRA’s contract with conditions to monitor its finances. Lopez has previously denied mismanaging money or misleading anyone.
In a press release earlier this week, ASPIRA officials said a closure would risk “students with English language learner/special education needs, graduation timelines, millions of dollars in scholarship eligibility, and student placement continuity.”
Reema Amin is a reporter covering Chicago Public Schools. Contact Reema at ramin@chalkbeat.org.