Overview

• EPIC Academy’s board voted Wednesday to move the South Chicago charter high school toward closure, leaving the timing to be determined in coordination with Chicago Public Schools.
• CPS notified families that the school may not last the full year, even as district officials say they will try to prevent a mid-year closure and could assume control if necessary.
• Roughly 240 to 255 students would be displaced, with enrollment falling from more than 500 in 2020 to about 242–255 this year, sharply reducing per-pupil funding.
• Leaders had planned to bridge deficits by selling property acquired for a new facility, after investing about $1.6 million, but a sale has not materialized.
• The Chicago Board of Education renewed EPIC’s charter for two years in May, and CPS says renewals are based on past audits rather than forecasts; further updates are expected at a Sept. 25 meeting.