The Chicago Board of Education approved a resolution Thursday to pressure Acero Schools to keep open seven campuses that the private operator plans to close. But due to an ongoing leadership battle with Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, the board did not allow him to offer his opinion on what the school district could do.

The proposed closures have sparked fierce protests by students, parents and staff who hope Acero will reverse course or CPS will offer a solution. And it’s the latest in a dispute between Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office and Martinez that began this summer with a disagreement over how to handle the CPS budget shortfall and led to the mayor trying to oust Martinez.

Johnson criticized Martinez for not knowing Acero was in trouble and for not promising to keep Acero’s schools open, even though he said he generally opposed closures.

Johnson’s newly appointed board members, who replaced the previous board that resigned en masse in October, held a special meeting Thursday to pass a resolution requesting Acero officials appear before them at the Dec. 4 meeting. The board also passed a resolution reaffirming CPS as a welcome zone that will protect students from President-elect Donald Trump’s immigration orders.

After adopting both resolutions, the board went into closed session and added personnel matters to the issues to be considered; This was a sign that Martinez’s employment may be in question, following speculation that he could soon be fired. The board also retained outside counsel to represent it. But after four hours behind closed doors, only two board members emerged who wanted to postpone the meeting. They said there were no additional votes to be received.

Earlier in the meeting, CPS officials were expected to present options being considered regarding the Acero closures. However, board vice president Mary Gardner announced that there would be no presentations at the meeting. At one point, Gardner asked Martinez if he wanted to say anything, but he kept his head down and did not speak audibly.

After the meeting, board member Frank Niles Thomas answered “no comment” when asked why the presentation was removed from the agenda.

Acero said he wants to close the schools because of the funding gap and the significant fiscal shortfall projected in 2026.

In a statement Thursday, Acero said he was pleased to work with CPS officials to find solutions and that his leaders had met with the district about 20 times in the past month. The charter operator said it followed the proper process for announcing the closures.

The Illinois Charter Schools Network advocacy group called the board’s special meeting on Acero “political games” and attributed the closures to increased costs due to the charter’s CTU contract.

“Our hope is that Mayor Johnson and CTU will be willing to roll up their sleeves and work with INCS, the charter community, area schools, and newly elected Board of Education members,” INCS said in a statement.

In Martinez’s canceled presentation on Acero, a copy of which was obtained by WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times, the district planned to highlight that CPS had previously allowed other charter schools to close without taking action. The presentation stated in bold letters that the board first noted on Nov. 1 that CPS should deviate from standard operating procedure in the case of Acero, and suggested they were wrong to criticize him for not having a plan.

Charter schools are publicly funded but managed by private organizations. According to the negative presentation, private operators have undertaken to close 12 of the 25 charter schools that have closed since 2013.

CPS also planned to point out that the Board of Education passed a resolution earlier this year indicating it wanted to move away from privatization of schools.

Thursday’s presentation laid out options the board should consider, including allowing seven campuses to close in June and helping students transition to new schools; This is also what was done in the past when contracts closed.

Or CPS suggested providing Acero with extra money to keep schools open through the 2025-26 school year and for the district to take over the campuses the following year. The board would need to approve them as district-operated schools, and programming there would likely differ significantly from other CPS schools, the presentation said.

The board also considered a request to delay making a decision until the new board takes office in January. That’s when the board will expand from seven members to 21 members and include 10 elected members. Some of the current appointed members are expected to remain among Johnson’s 11 appointees.

“Waiting two months to take action and form an opinion about Acero schools is, in my opinion, extremely irresponsible to these parents and families,” member Debby Pope said.

Member Rafael Yáñez also said that urgent action is needed because the threat of closure has already caused so much concern.

“It is irresponsible to leave 2,000 students and families behind,” he said.