District 65 board picks Kingsley for second school closure. Public hearings, final vote upcoming

(Editor’s Note: Margo Milanowski and Hope Perry reported this story for the Evanston RoundTable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.)

Following months of deadlock and indecision amid dire fiscal conditions, the Evanston/Skokie District 65 School Board on Friday finally agreed on a path forward.

Board members voted unanimously to start the closure process for Kingsley Elementary School and also agreed that in October it will reevaluate whether to close Lincolnwood Elementary School.

The 6-0 Friday evening vote at the district’s sparsely attended and unusually short special board meeting means that the district is preparing to close two schools this year — Kingsley and Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies in Skokie — in addition to opening the new Foster School.

The board must hold three public hearings before Kingsley could shutter in June. Hearings will take place at 6 p.m. on Jan. 21 and at 9:30 a.m. and 7:15 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Joseph Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave.

A formal vote to shut Kingsley will come after the hearings.

District 65 serves more than 6,000 students across its 13 primary schools. Kingsley, 2300 Green Bay Road, is located in north-central Evanston.

The full resolution approved by the board proposes a three-pronged measure of financial stability for the district: establishing and maintaining a balanced budget, maintaining at least 90 days of cash on hand through the course of the fiscal year, and maintaining a minimum of $2.7 million specifically for building maintenance.

If the three criteria are not met by October, and the districtwide average building use rate in kindergarten through fifth grade is less than 75% (excluding specialized schools and programs), then the board will “recognize that proposing to close Lincolnwood Elementary is needed.”

“My view of it is that [the resolution] allows us to phase in and get the first phase of the work done,” Board President Pat Anderson said. “In terms of my position, this meets that goal.”

The district is considering school closures because after continually running budget deficits it needs to cut $10 million to $15 million to eliminate its structural deficit by fiscal year 2030. 

Previous votes

At recent meetings, four closure options came before the board for votes to start the closure process: the closure of Kingsley alone, the closure of Lincolnwood alone, the closure of both Kingsley and Lincolnwood, and the closure of both Kingsley and Willard Elementary.

The six board members consistently rejected the scenario that would shutter Kingsley and Willard, but repeatedly tied 3-3 on the scenario that would close just Kingsley and the proposal that would close both Kingsley and Lincolnwood.

Anderson, Nichole Pinkard and Maria Opdycke have consistently favored one-school closure scenarios in addition to the already planned closure of the Bessie Rhodes at the end of this school year.

Sergio Hernandez, Maya Wilkins and Andrew Wymer have consistently advocated for two additional school closures.

At the Dec. 1 board meeting, the option to start hearings on the closure of only Lincolnwood failed 4-2, with Pinkard and Opdycke voting in favor.

Board member opinions

Although the board unanimously voted Friday to pass this resolution, each stayed verbally consistent with their previously expressed concerns and desires for the district. 

“These are very bare bones and minimum,” Wilkins said of the resolution’s goals, “but they set up some targets we can work towards.” 

Wymer voiced similar thoughts, expressing that he sees the three stipulations in the resolution as a “step in the right direction.” Wymer noted that the district was initially targeting a 90% utilization rate in early conversations, and that he hopes to see efforts to extend utilization beyond the agreed upon 75%.

“I want to name, as well, that our superintendent made a recommendation to us to close two schools,” Wymer said. “I just wanted to put this in the space.”

Opdycke, on the other hand, saw a 75% use rate as potentially unachievable. She emphasized the need to consider alternative, creative solutions if the district fails to meet the targets set forth in the resolution by October, rather than immediately deciding to close Lincolnwood. 

“It’s a very specific number that I’m not 100% comfortable with,” Opdycke said, pointing toward potential benefits of having lower utilization rates, like the ability to use classrooms for pull-aside space for special education instructors or to convert into science labs in the future. 

“We will come back to a conversation with alternative solutions in October, and we as a board will be open minded to solve our financial long-term capital asset problem, right?” she asked. 

Wymer, a previously staunch and vocal proponent of closing two schools, stated that he was “open to deliverable creative solutions,” come October. 

Limited public comment

A small number of residents came to the Friday night meeting.

A number of commenters, including Emily Garcia and Russ Schoen, called on the board to consider their treatment of the Willard Elementary Two Way Immersion families. 

“If we are here tonight to revisit school closure scenarios yet again,” Garcia said, “Then that tells me that it is also possible to revisit the decision to close Willard TWI.”

Schoen also took a moment to criticize Wymer, accusing his actions of not matching his words.

“In November, December, you repeatedly cited financial urgency, talking about the compounding cost of delay,” he said. “Yet when you did not get your way in closing two schools immediately, you voted no on closing even one.”

The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.

Become a member of The Record to fund responsible news coverage for your community.

Already a member? You can make a tax-deductible donation at any time.