CPS delays final funding plan for Chicago High School for the Arts as community presses for stability

Interim CEO Dr. King told the Chicago Board of Education on Jan. 29 that district leaders will delay finalizing a funding resolution for the Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) until they can identify a fiscally sustainable, long-term model.

“We have examined the financial gap required to sustain the conservatory model,” Dr. King said. “It has become clear that proceeding with a business-as-usual model today would be premature.” He said the district will take 30 days to finalize internal resource alignment and post transition updates on cps.edu/arts.

Why it matters: ChiArts operates a conservatory-style day with extended arts instruction and pre-professional training that parents and teachers say requires dedicated funding and staff to preserve the program’s outcomes. Students at ChiArts and other district specialty programs cited college acceptances, industry placements and certification as evidence that the model produces measurable benefits.

During public participation, more than a dozen ChiArts students, teachers and parents urged the board to commit to funding that would protect the school’s 8 a.m.–5 p.m. schedule, its 15 hours of pre-professional instruction and the school’s specialist faculty. “560 is the number of scholar artists currently in ChiArts,” parent Lisa Miranda said, highlighting both current enrollment and the number of prospective incoming students. Caroline Rutherford, charter division vice chair of the Chicago Teachers Union, said sustained philanthropy is not sufficient: “Maintaining the dedicated 15 hours of pre-professional arts training provided by ChiArts is possible, but overreliance on philanthropy has proven to be unstable.”

Staff and family concerns focused on three near-term demands: a written commitment to retain current arts faculty, a guarantee of the pre-professional instructional hours, and meaningful community participation in the principal-selection process. Teacher Dara Miller said teachers face uncertainty about whether positions will be available next year and asked the board to “commit in writing to absorbing our ChiArts teachers along with our school.”

District response and next steps: Dr. King said the advisory and design leadership council is in place and a principal-selection process is underway. He emphasized the district’s goal to avoid a short-term “bridge” solution and to build a permanent, operationally sound model, and he pledged to provide further updates and opportunities for community input over the next 30 days.

The board did not vote on a funding resolution for ChiArts on Jan. 29. Officials said any final funding decision will be posted publicly and that a separate action item would return to the board once the internal alignment work is complete.