When the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education votes on which school closure scenarios to advance Monday night, several school communities and parent groups will watch with bated breath.
The meeting will close a chapter that began on Sept. 29, when administrators unveiled scorecards for every elementary school in the district and plans for how the district could shutter up to four schools before the 2026-27 school year. Beginning with 33 initial scenarios, the board has now narrowed the field to the final three.
Two of the final scenarios involve closing two schools at once: Lincolnwood and Kingsley Elementary Schools or Kingsley and Willard Elementary Schools. The third, added to the board’s agenda without discussion in past meetings, would only close Kingsley. Valued initiatives like Two-Way Immersion strands and the Structured Teaching Education Program may also move or close in the shuffle.
The closures and program consolidations are part of Phase 3 of the district’s Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, which will involve $10.9 million to $14.85 million in budget cuts before fiscal year 2030. In collaboration with a group of planning subcommittees staffed by community members, the district used five criteria to score scenarios from least to most impactful.
The district’s effort to set a course for long-term financial stability comes as former Superintendent Devon Horton faces a federal criminal trial on 17 counts of embezzlement, wire fraud and tax fraud. The board will also be shorthanded for its Monday night vote as it is in the process of replacing former board member Omar Salem, who resigned after the Nov. 3 meeting.
If the board votes to advance a scenario, it will hold public hearings in December to review it further. Those hearings are tentatively set for Dec. 3, 8 and 10, according to an email to parents from Superintendent Angel Turner. Whatever the board decides, it will have to implement its choice next summer alongside its plan to open the new Foster School and close Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies.
The Daily asked stakeholders from seven parent groups and school communities what they believe the district should do at its Monday meeting. Read their stories below:
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