Feb. 25--Charter school operators have proposed opening 21 new campuses in the city starting in the 2017-18 school year, Chicago Public Schools announced before Wednesday's Board of Education meeting.
The district said it received "letters of intent" for the new campuses from 16 charter school organizations. Letters of intent don't bind operators to open new schools, and a lengthy process to approve detailed charter campus plans must still play out. CPS could reject some of the proposals, though charter operators can appeal some of the district's decisions to a state commission.
"The district will continue to prioritize charter quality in its decisions going forward," district spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement.
The potential for more charters comes as CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union are negotiating a contract that could include a restriction on the total number of the privately-operated but publicly-funded schools.
Late last month, the CTU rejected a district contract proposal that would have prevented CPS from increasing the number of charter schools beyond the 130 or so now open. The district's proposal would have allowed it to open new charter schools if it closed others.
Charter supporters questioned the legality of the district's offer during the public comment portion of Wednesday's board meeting.
"A side letter to a labor contract does not trump state law, which requires the district to hear and evaluate all new school proposals on an annual basis," said Pam Witmer, policy manager for the Illinois Network of Charter Schools.
Refusing to hear proposals for new charter campuses "as a means to create a self-imposed cap" would violate the law, she said.
"As a steward of high-quality education so critical to the future of Chicago's young people, I was horrified to watch the board bargain away the opportunities of families seeking a better education through charter schools."
The CTU said the proposals for additional campuses now on the table suggest "it's business as usual for charter operators."
"It is also clear that charter proponents have no interest in the rational operation of the school district, as they hope to recklessly expand their footprint, even as existing charter campuses are also starting to cannibalize each other over competition for student enrollment," the union said in a statement.
This district's request for charter proposals this year allowed existing operators to open new schools over the course of several years, as long as those operators met certain academic performance benchmarks. The district said it would also "maintain the right to rescind conditional approval" for any schools approved to open beyond fall 2017.
