The Chicago Board of Education has decided to lease the building at 2510 W. Cortez St., which houses Acero Santiago charter school in West Town, preventing its potential sale and the loss of the school site. The property, owned by the Archdiocese of Chicago, had been listed for sale last July.
Last week, the board approved an amendment to its master lease agreement with the archdiocese, incorporating the Santiago building along with four other Acero charter schools that CPS took over last year. This action follows CPS’s ongoing transition of five Acero schools—De las Casas, Cisneros, Fuentes, Octavio Paz, and Santiago—into district-run schools by the 2026-27 academic year.
Reyna Rodriguez, a parent at Santiago who advocated for CPS to keep the building, said during a press conference on Monday: “I’m not gonna lie, this past year, especially the last six months, have been so scary because we knew that the CPS board members wanted to save us, but then we didn’t know if we’re going to have a building. It feels like a dream.”
Elected board member Carlos Rivas stated during the same press conference that CPS will lease the building for at least ten years as a result of this vote.
The new lease marks another step in CPS’s gradual takeover of these charters amid broader financial challenges and closures affecting other charter schools in Chicago.
CPS did not respond to requests for comment. Yasmin Quiroz, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Chicago, explained that although they planned to sell after facing closure last year, they changed course when “CPS expressed its desire to retain the school.” Quiroz added: “In recognition of the important service the school provides to the local neighborhood, the parish decided to retain the building and lease it to CPS rather than sell it.”
With these additions, costs under CPS’s master lease agreement with the archdiocese will rise by about $2 million next fiscal year to roughly $7 million overall.
Rivas noted he began advocating for retention after being surprised by news that the archdiocese had listed the property for $6.75 million.
On Santiago’s first day of school this year, parents and teachers held a press conference urging CPS intervention regarding fears over a possible sale.
Both Rivas and Alderman Gilbert Villegas said negotiations were influenced by persistent advocacy from Acero parents and an agreement allowing the archdiocese to sell off a separate church building on site while retaining ownership of Santiago’s school facility.
For further information or comments on this story contact Reema Amin at ramin@chalkbeat.org.
