Cruz K-12 In West Ridge To Close As Acero Plans To Shutter 7 Charter Schools

CHICAGO — A charter school serving hundreds of students in Chicago's West Ridge neighborhood is set to permanently shutter at the end of the 2024-25 school year as its operator plans to drastically scale back operations.

Cruz K-12 at 7416 N. Ridge Blvd. would wind down operations in June 2025 under a resolution adopted Wednesday by its board of directors to close seven of its 15 campuses, which will leave about 2,000 of the 6,500 students in the network searching for new schools.

Acero, a public charter network authorized by Chicago Public Schools, cited financial pressures including the rising cost of maintaining outdated, leased properties and declining enrollment as the driving factors behind the closures.

School officials said in a message to the community that the "anticipated transition" comes after years of research and analysis.

"Unlike CPS, Acero Schools cannot operate with a budget deficit; we must legally balance our budget. Failing to do so could jeopardize our charter, compromise our credibility with creditors, and hinder our ability to serve the communities we love," it said.

"Despite having one of the leanest administrative operating costs among charter schools in the city and achieving strong academic results, Acero has reached a place where we cannot outcompete the economic and population changes we face without making changes."

The charter network, which operates primarily in Latino neighborhoods across the city, has seen its enrollment fall from 7,579 students in the 2017-18 school year to 6,318 this year.

At the same time, its staff costs have risen from less than $83 million to more than $114 million, with even fewer students and highest costs projected for next year, according to a website set up by the network to explain the plan to close its leased school buildings in the neighborhoods of Avondale, Brighton Park, West Town, South Lawndale, Lower West Side and West Ridge.

"The cost of maintaining these properties is significant and no longer possible for the network," it said. "Buying and fully renovating or demolishing and rebuilding these properties is not within the network’s means."

The Chicago Board of Education last month approved a measure preventing CPS schools from closing for the next two years, but it does not apply to charter schools.

The planned closures come as Mayor Brandon Johnson announces his picks to replace the school board, which resigned en masse this month rather than oust the district's CEO amid stalled contract negotiations with the Chicago Teacher's Union, which also represents Acero's unionized teaching staff.

In a statement, union officials referenced the history of the network, which was founded in 1998 as UNO Charter School Network before becoming Acero Schools in 2017 after its disgraced former founder agreed to settle charges with federal securities regulators about misleading bond investors while borrowing money to build new schools.

“Failed charter advocates and out-of-state billionaires took hold in CPS claiming they can do ‘better for less.’ What they didn’t say was the scheme was better for investors and terrible for students and their families,” CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said. “We will not allow taxpayer money and CPS funds to continue to be funneled to pay off the debts Juan Rangel incurred when he was defrauding the federal government."

Union officials said the charter school closures are expected to affect more than 270 educators and school-related staff.