April 30--Eight charter school operators have submitted applications to open 13 privately run campuses in Chicago starting in the 2017-18 school year, a lower number than the amount initially projected early this year.
In February, 16 charter operators submitted letters of intent to open 21 new campuses in the city. The letters of intent didn't bind operators to open new schools, and a lengthy process to approve detailed charter campus plans must still play out.
A summary of applications released by Chicago Public Schools on Friday shows the Noble Network of Charter Schools will continue to seek to open two high school campuses.
The New Life Covenant Church is pushing forward with its plans to open a charter school for seventh- through 12th-graders. CPS last year rejected the organization's proposal to renovate part of Hirsch High School for a separate performing arts school that would house up to 1,200 students.
Intrinsic Schools seeks to open two campuses serving seventh- through 12th-grade students, and the city's branch of KIPP charter schools would expand one of its existing programs to include additional grades and open a new campus for kindergarten through eighth-graders.
Details of each operator's proposals won't be made public by Chicago Public Schools until late May.
The potential for more charters comes as CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union have wrangled over a contract proposal from the district that included restrictions on the total number of the privately operated but publicly funded schools.
The CTU rejected the proposal, which would have prevented CPS from increasing the number of charter schools beyond the 130 or so now open. That prospective offer has drawn questions about the legality of the arrangement from charter supporters.
CPS could reject some of the proposals, though charter operators can appeal some of the district's decisions to a state commission.
jjperez@tribpub.com
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