The Evanston / Skokie School District 65 board meeting agenda for Nov. 17 now includes a third school closure scenario in which only Kingsley Elementary closes, an additional scenario not asked for by the board at the end of its previous meeting.
The district is considering school closures because it needs to cut $10 million to $15 million to eliminate its structural deficit by fiscal year 2030 after running budget deficits for several straight years.
At the district’s Nov. 3 meeting, the board seemingly narrowed their options to just two scenarios that involved two schools each: closing either Willard and Kingsley Elementary or Lincolnwood and Kingsley Elementary.
Two board members, though — vice president Nichole Pinkard and Maria Opdycke — previously said they are opposed to closing two schools in addition to the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies at the end of this school year.
Board members Sergio Hernandez, Mya Wilkins and Andrew Wymer all backed closing two schools at the last meeting.
Board president Patricia Anderson had also seemed amenable to two school closures, but said on Nov. 3 that she needed more information before she could vote for such a measure.
The results of vote on Nov. 17, if any scenarios pass, would kick off a process of hearings for each school proposed for closure. Only after those hearings would there be a separate, final vote to close schools.
However, with one board member gone following Omar Salem’s departure from the board, there is a possibility that all six voting members can deadlock at 3-3. If that were to happen, no scenario would pass.
The RoundTable reached out to board president and vice president Pat Anderson and Nichole Pinkard to learn more about the agenda addition of a one-school scenario, but did not immediately receive a reply.
Katie Armistead, an organizer of community group Invest in Neighborhood Schools (IINS), said in a text message that her group was not sure how the agenda change happened.
“We are not sure how the agenda was set, including the addition of the one school option 8(c), beyond an understanding that the agenda is set by the Board and the Superintendent.”
Community involvement and proposals
A petition put forward by IINS has garnered more than 1325 signatures since its launching.
The petition proposes that the board close one school in the Haven Middle School feeder pattern at the end of this school year, alongside implementing alternative budgetary measures.
The document further calls on the board to prioritize the “successful opening of the Foster School with broad community-wide support”, while implementing a 12- to 18-month period of community feedback and ideation ahead of a capital referendum in March 2027.
IINS leaders Katie Armistead and Liz Wolens previously wrote in a text to the RoundTable that the proposal was developed by a task force of 30 people, in partnership with the Legion of Nerds and the Washington Task Force, two other community groups that also wrote proposals.
That proposal also includes ideas for consolidating district buildings, such as relocating administrators from the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center building (JEH) to neighborhood schools as well as modeling the sale of the building and the relocation of the early childhood program to neighborhood schools.
Two other proposals, assembled by smaller working groups of District 65 parents and caregivers, have also been circulating, although they have been less pervasive than the INNS proposal. These proposals focus on providing alternative financial sources to the district as an alternative to school closures.
One memo, put together by a group of parents who have dubbed themselves “The Legion of Data Nerds” due to their backgrounds in data science and research, suggests “financial levers” for the district that they estimate would save $16.7 million dollars.
They also voiced their support for a one closure scenario to the RoundTable.
“We saw the agenda item go up Friday. We’re very excited and hopeful to see it on the agenda,” said member Jean Clipperton of the data crew. “We know the board has been engaged in a lot of thoughtful discussion leading up to tomorrow’s board meeting. We’re looking forward to the conversation.”
The Washington Task Force also put forward their own proposal, written primarily by Carlos Robles-Shanahan, and supported by more than 160 parents from multiple schools, including Washington, Dawes Elementary and Lincoln Elementary.
That proposal — dubbed “Alternative SDRP III Path” — suggests steps that District 65 should take prior to voting on school closure scenarios on Nov. 17.
Two of those suggestions focus on finances, asking the district to assess administrative costs and financial processes and analyze potential revenue streams, including a possible referendum in 2026, raising student fees for non-low income families and leasing portions of school property, among other requests.
The Washington Task Force also voiced their support for a one-closure scenario today in a guest letter to the Evanston Roundtable.
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