District 65 board has its 7th member, also discusses new transportation policy

(Editor’s Note: This story is based on reporting from Hope Perry of the Evanston RoundTable, a neighboring independent newsroom. It was shared with The Record as part of an ongoing collaborative effort.)

After swearing in a new member, the Evanston/Skokie District 65 School Board informally agreed Monday to change its transportation policy.

The proposed shift will eliminate separate transportation standards for magnet school students and instead offer transportation to all students based on the same distance and hazardous-roads criteria.

In an informal poll, all seven board members — including the newly seated Chris Van Nostrand — agreed to move to one transportation policy.

The district’s current transportation policies dictate magnet school students are eligible for transportation at a fee if they live more than 1 1/2 miles away from their school, or within 1 1/2 miles but with hazardous street crossings. Students who receive free or reduced-price lunch pay lower fees or no fees at all.

The board will vote on Feb. 23 to rescind that old policy and use a single, unified transportation policy that will provide free transportation for elementary students in kindergarten through fifth grade if they live more than 1 1/2 miles away from their school, or within 1 1/2 miles but with hazardous street crossings.

English learners will receive free transportation even if they do not attend their home school. No busing is provided for students with permissive transfers.

A new member

Following public comment Monday, the board administered the oath of office to Van Nostrand, who was appointed last week to fill the vacancy left on the board following Omar Salem’s resignation in November 2025.

The even number of board members led to multiple deadlocks in the fall that delayed the decision to close Kingsley Elementary. With the addition of Van Nostrand it brings the board members to seven, mitigating the chances of a board deadlock.

The Cook County Regional Superintendent appointed Van Nostrand on Feb. 2, the deadline to fill the vacancy. In a message to families, District 65 Board President Pat Anderson and Vice President Nichole Pinkard announced that Van Nostrand was to be sworn in Feb. 9.

“We believe that Chris’s perspective as a D65 parent and his administrative experience will be extremely beneficial to our governance discussions,” they wrote. “In addition, he has a strong commitment to the Evanston/Skokie community and a desire to positively serve District 65.”

Van Nostrand is the founder and head coach at Strength Wise Barbell. Before starting his coaching practice, Van Nostrand worked as the Chief Marketing Officer at UC Berkeley Extension.

Van Nostrand ran for School Board last spring and finished in fifth place in the race for four seats. Previous reporting from the RoundTable indicates that he would likely be appointed to the board.

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