Dozens of parents, teachers and union representatives used the Board of Education Agenda Review Committee’s public-comment period on Dec. 3 to demand clearer district action after a spate of charter-school closures and network instability.

The most urgent appeals came from employees and families connected to the EPIC, Espira and Shire Arts networks, who said district and charter managers have left classrooms, staff and families uncertain about next steps. A union representative told the board that the Nov. 4 directive to prepare a board‑approved transition plan for EPIC students and staff was not being followed and described a community meeting that instead resembled a “high-school fair” that steered students toward transfer rather than preserving continuity for families and staff.

Why it matters: speakers said sudden closures and unclear transitions risk midyear disruption for students, loss of jobs and erosion of community trust. Multiple teacher and union speakers pressed the board to require that any transition plan include designated receiving schools and explicit offers of employment for qualified staff who accept positions in district-run schools.

What speakers told the board: Heath Davis, an English‑language arts teacher at Espira Early College,said the network had notified staff of layoffs, that local reporting suggested payroll might not be met, and that teachers and families were left "unsure" whether schools would reopen after break. Jennifer Conant, chair of a charter-division group, thanked CPS for advancing funds to keep Espira open through December but said the charter network had transferred two buildings into a new foundation amid fiscal trouble and asked the board to investigate asset transfers and demand transparent financial plans.

Voices from arts education also pressed for specific protections. Megan Riley, a math teacher and department chair at Chicago High School for the Arts, and other Shire Arts staff and alumni urged the board to commit CPS operating funds to preserve the school’s conservatory model and to guarantee teaching‑artist and staff retention in writing. ‘‘Let the wealthy donors pay for auditorium seats and playbills, not textbooks and payroll,’’ Riley said.

District response and context: speakers credited CPS with stepping in to advance funds in several situations, and multiple presenters asked the board to formalize retention guarantees and to require clear, transparent timelines and principal/teacher hiring processes during transitions.

What’s next: board members and district staff said they would follow up, and multiple public presenters asked that transition plans and any retention language be included in board resolutions scheduled for January. The board’s agenda review did not enact policy changes at the meeting; it provided staff an opportunity to receive public input before items return to the full board on Dec. 18.

Ending: public commenters asked the board to treat transition planning as a stability exercise for students and staff, not merely an administrative step, and to return to the community with firm, written commitments.