The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education signaled to its financial consultants and district staff at its Sept. 8 Board meeting that it will consider closing at least two schools, and a maximum of four schools.
A leak from the district’s Structural Deficit Reduction Plan Committee revealed a “snapshot” of schools the district is considering closing, but “does not capture the full context or range of considerations,” Superintendent Angel Turner wrote to D65 families in a letter.
For months the district has readied community members through public meetings of the possibility of four school closures at the end of the school year. The closures are part of the district’s deficit reduction plan to cut millions of dollars of expenses in order to climb out of a deficit. The board is expected to vote on its fiscal year 2026 budget (which ends June 30, 2026) at its upcoming Board meeting, expecting a $5.7 million deficit, per previous reporting.
The district has yet to officially announce which schools it is considering closing, but a leak from the district published online put forth Kingsley, Dewey, Lincolnwood, Washington, Willard and Orrington as schools being evaluated through an array of scenarios. The district contends that the information released is “not reflective of the overall process,” according to Turner’s letter.
“As we embark on what will inevitably be a difficult year, we ask that our community respects the process we’ve built together. Unlike many districts who face similar challenges, our administration and school board have committed to transparency, collaboration, and data-informed decision making,” the letter states.
“This process has not unfolded behind closed doors among senior leaders. Instead, we’ve invited parents, staff, and community members to serve on committees, sought input on the criteria that matter most, and look to share scenarios and accompanying data in a structured, equitable, and public way.”
The Board of Education is expected to officially present the schools it is considering closing at its Sept. 29 meeting. The board will not take a vote then, but is scheduled to do so in November.
K-8th grade magnet Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies will close for good at the end of the school year, along with other schools in the district. However, the district remains on track with its plans to open Foster School in Evanston’s historically Black 5th Ward. The 5th Ward is Evanston’s only ward to not have a school, and plans for that school also substantially changed after construction costs grew higher than previously expected. To keep costs in check, the district changed the proposed school from a K-8 school to a K-5.
The district’s financial consultant at one point urged the school board to reconsider building Foster, but a report from Foster School’s construction manager said that taking a break to allow the district to ask taxpayers for additional funds to build the school would further drive up the costs to build the school.
At the Sept. 8 Committee of the Whole meeting, Susan Harkin, a consultant with Student-Centered Services who is helping the district address its deficit reduction plan, led the discussion on school closures. The district also formed a Structural Deficit Reduction Plan Committee made up of volunteers and community members to assist the Board and district make decisions on expense cuts.
Harkin said the committee was looking for direction from the Board of Education on what it should be considering before it makes a recommendation on school closures. Harkin had three main questions for the Board: Should the district consider closing up to four schools? Should the district consider closing a middle school? Should the district consider closing a magnet school?
The Board chose not to include middle schools in the list of potential school closures, as all three of the district’s middle schools are at appropriate enrollment levels and elementary schools are under-enrolled. The board chose to include magnet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School as one of the schools the district will consider closing.