Introduction to the Crisis
HUMBOLDT PARK — Chicago High School for the Arts parents and staff are seeking answers after its board decided not to renew its contract with Chicago Public Schools — while asking the state to prevent its potential closure. ChiArts parents and educators are joining counterparts at other charter schools contracted with CPS as they call for further clarity on how such schools are allowed to close.
Background of the Issue
Last week, the ChiArts school board voted not to renew its CPS contract, citing financial woes — and blindsiding parents, teachers and students. The vote puts ChiArts’ future in limbo, as it could now close. ChiArts is not the only CPS-contracted charter school to face issues this year: The Chicago Board of Education voted to save five out of seven Acero charter schools earlier this year when Acero announced plans to close them, and EPIC Academy charter in South Chicago announced it would close at the end of this school year unless CPS takes over operations.
Demands for Investigation
Now, a group of parents and union leaders from ChiArts, Acero schools and EPIC Academy want the Illinois State Board of Education to investigate the three school operators, saying they lacked oversight and mismanaged operations, causing repeated disruptions in student learning. Megan Pietz, an English teacher at ChiArts and union chair of the Chicago Teachers Union’s Union for Scholar Artists, attacked the charter industry, which she said “is failing our students.”
Criticism of the Charter Industry
“Charter and contract schools are supposed to create strong, stable schools that families can choose; and instead, the privatization of schools has created instability and chaos that I’ve experienced firsthand,” Pietz said at a Tuesday press conference outside ChiArts. “Months after renewals by CPS, charters are announcing that they’re closing, and something in this system is broken.”
Hallway murals in the Chicago School for the Arts. Credit: Provided
Calls for Transparency and Accountability
Teachers union leaders want the state education board to look into private operator practices, create a better renewal processes in partnership with CPS and investigate how real estate plays a part in destabilizing the school operators’ finances and if rules were violated when boards decided to close a public school without input from parents, community members or elected officials. Teachers also want to see what power the Chicago Board of Education can use to make sure stakeholders have a voice in decisions that impact thousands of students, Pietz said.
Response from the State
A spokesperson for the Illinois State Board of Education did not directly address calls for the investigation but said the state has “no authority to intervene in cases where a CPS-authorized charter school or contract school voluntarily decides to close.” “All three of these schools are under the authority of [CPS] and subject to contracts negotiated between the district and the school operators,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “These contracts set forth the terms of operation, including but not limited to academics, financials, and organization standards. The district is responsible for holding the schools accountable to the terms of their contracts and determining whether each contract merits renewal, non-renewal, or revocation.”
Parental Concerns
Avondale resident and ChiArts parent Mike Moriarty said the school has been a “lifeline” for his daughter, whose confidence and creativity has grown there. He’s joining other parents and teachers from ChiArts in demanding increased transparency and accountability around the board’s decision, and he’d questioned why there was no community input prior to the decision and what is the status of the foundation that funds the arts programs.
ChiArts parent Mike Moriarty, of Avondale, speaks to the media Oct. 7, 2025 outside the school about his demands for increased transparency and stability for the school in the wake of news that the arts board decided not to renew its CPS contract. Credit: Ariel Parrella-Aureli/Block Club Chicago
Concerns Over School Closure
ChiArts teachers and students have had meetings with the school administration and arts boards in recent days, though they have yielded no answers and instead increased frustration, teachers and parents said. Before enrolling in ChiArts for high school, Moriarty’s daughter attended a private school that closed, so he doesn’t want to go through a similar experience and transfer her to a regular high school, he said. “Families like mine are tired of being treated like we don’t have a choice or a voice,” he said. “We deserve stability, honesty and a say in what happens to our schools.”
School’s History of Struggles
ChiArts administrators have told the community the school will not close and they are in talks with CPS on next steps, though its future remains in limbo. Other parents and students previously told Block Club they hope CPS will keep ChiArts open and absorb it like they did with five of the Acero schools. In recent years, ChiArts has struggled with disorganized leadership and staff turnover, budget shortfalls and layoffs that almost led to a teacher strike in 2023.
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