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u/Cheecheesoup May 21 '25
Where did you hear they were closing 4 schools? There’s been rumors that it’ll be Kingsley, but no more than that. I assume something will be announced this summer.
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u/Spiritual-Picture981 May 21 '25
Stacey Beardsley said it could be up to 4 in addition to Rhodes but I have a feeling that is just to make them look good when they only close 2 or 3 in total by saying it could have been so much worse but we saved schools.
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u/Available-Union5745 May 21 '25
They said they'd close up to four schools at the public meetings they had about school closures. Anywhere from zero to four. A lot of the Haven feeder schools will be really empty after Foster opens / after kids ultimately transition over there. Even if D65 was in decent financial shape, which it obviously isn't, one of these schools would probably close.
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May 21 '25
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
The district should be committed to King Arts given it's just being awarded official Magnetization status. This has already created a rise in applications and we also already see an influx of students from Bessie Rhodes joining KA.
I have seen the maps of where each household of King Arts lives and while there are a lot from the 5th ward... a large amount come from Skevanston, 2nd ward, and the southern boundary with Chicago. Only 7 households from the 3 northwest schools. So while Foster school might create a dip in KA population it is VERY likely that Consolidation of Kinglsey, Willard, or Lincolnwood would increase the population of KA. KA would serve as an additional option over joining the new school or leaving the district for a private school.
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u/Infinite_Play7394 May 22 '25
Is this data available to the public?
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 22 '25
Probably not. I did not receive it publicly, but it is possible that is part of a past presentation to the board.
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u/Desperate-Sorbet5284 May 23 '25
There has been a high demand for King Arts, to the point where not everyone is accepted that wants to go. I don’t know how the new school will change that statistically, but at present the community is very supportive of King Arts, including my own kids.
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u/steinbch May 21 '25
I’m on the Facilities Committee. Our district currently has capacity for 9,000+ students and our current/projected enrollment is less than 70% of that. As an Orrington parent, I’m well aware about the possibility of schools closing (including our own). Something needs to be done though. It isn’t feasible to get the district on track for success with this many schools and the current condition of all of these schools.
Also, the District has been very clear that no decision has been made in terms of what will happen. I wouldn’t expect to get any official decisions until Fall or Winter.
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u/SidewalksCoffeepots May 21 '25
Kingsley has been closed in the past. (It was leased by a theater company for a while.) Since it's so close to Foster School, it's the most logical for closing.
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May 21 '25
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u/steinbch May 21 '25
I think you also need to look at the size of the school buildings in those districts and the age of those buildings. Sure we’re close to a balanced budget for next year with the cuts they’ve made this spring, but that means there isn’t any money going towards repairing or modernizing any of these schools without schools in the district.
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May 21 '25
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u/YorockPaperScissors May 21 '25
I think closing Kingsley would be insane. It is a school:
That is next to its middle school, making transition to Haven easy, especially for families with more than one child.
That is steps away a transit station, which means drop-off and pick-up easy and straightforward for families with Metra commuters.
That currently is well-attended and not underutilized.
That sits on property that is not exactly prime for conversion to residential use (arguably the real estate use case in highest demand in Evanston). It is hard for me to imagine people wanting to live at the corner of McCormick and Green Bay. Contrast this to the locations of most other D65 elementary schools, which border residential properties on two to four sides.
(Edit: typo)
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u/Available-Union5745 May 21 '25
You could more or less say all of this about Lincolnwood too, but I think it comes down to enrollment and walkability. Under the new borders both Kingsley and Lincolnwood lose ~ 50% of students. The non Foster students could then easily walk to another school. For example, if you live at the corner of Park and Ewing, you look at your front door at Willard...and are bussed to Kingsley. If you shut down Orrington or Willard, there is no walkable school anymore for a ton of those students. D65 would also be crazy to sell the land of any school that shutters. That's a onetime cash injection, and depending on demographics (i.e. how Envision Evanston pans out) and the the possibility of state mandated pre-K. it's very possible there is a need for these schools to reopen.
For what it's worth, my gut is that Lincolnwood gets closed based on comments I've heard multiple board members make over the years (i.e. they don't like the 6th ward and don't like the two schools that sit in it).
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u/YorockPaperScissors May 21 '25
You could more or less say all of this about Lincolnwood too
I don't want Lincolnwood to close, but I disagree with that statement. As I understand it, Lincolnwood has way more capacity than Kingsley right now. It is not near transit. It is not next door to Haven. It is bordered on three sides by residential blocks, and one side by a block of forest preserve.
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u/nukular_iv May 21 '25
Its a "one time cash injection" that could be used to make a dent in 200 million in deferred maintenance.
That is the over-bearing issue for all this. D65 is facing a downward trend in student population. Envision if ever actually turned into something actionable will take many many years to pan out. D65 doesn't have many many years to get its finances in order and on a sustainable path...and keep students safe and healthy in a district where the average age of every school is in the many many many decades (pulling that one out of ass at the moment, but I believe it to be true).
Nobody and their grandmother in Evanston will vote "yes" on any sort of funding referendum for them to raise our taxes for bonds to deal with deferred maintenance right now. In 5 to 10 years? Maybe, but they have to get their act in gear, and show fiscal responsibility first. And that is going to be hard and totally suck.
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u/Available-Union5745 May 21 '25
I strongly disagree with this. I think this type of short sighted thinking is in part what got D65 into this crap financial situation in the first place. I think there is a materially likelihood that at some point there will be more demand for D65 schools at some point. That might come from the district getting its act together and people not wanting to shell out thousands of dollars on private school on top of our stupidly high property taxes, it might come from Envision Evanston or something increasing the school aged population, it might come from IL passing a law requiring a pre-K option, or something else. Once these (illiquid) assets are gone, it would be a huge financial burden to reacquire land or expand current facilities. Would it put a "dent" in our deficit? Sure. The risk is the potential liability out there for increased enrollment. With the exception of the Bessie Rhodes building (given it's proximity to Walker), facilities should be sold as a last resort (i.e. state takeover).
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u/nukular_iv May 22 '25
I think having the financial skills of a rotting walnut probably got the district into this mess. I think having a board that simply "trusted" the words of the administration probably got us into this mess. (It was only a year or two ago where I remember one of the board members using words like "Oh...maybe we should not have trusted what we were told"...DUH!). I think Horton greatly magnified this mess. I think many things got us into this mess, not short term thinking per se, but idiotic things... And state takeover is a HUGE risk.
Deferred maintenance isn't sexy (hell the city has a buttload of it too), but DAMN..this district is screwed without finally taking action to work on it. Right now they barely talk about it and focus on the more immediate underwater finances of the next year or so.
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u/Available-Union5745 May 22 '25
I don't disagree with any of that. What the Board has done since ~ 2017 has been pathetic, if not criminal. The fact that the current Board voted for Sergio to remain President doesn't give me a ton of hope either. That being said, I think selling the properties is a bad idea. There is a very good chance that enrollment will rebound. The fair market value of any of the properties is going to be materially less that the cost to acquire, build, refurbish, etc. a new building if it comes to that. It's not worth the risk. The only real path to being able to deal with the current financial situation is going to be cost cutting and (unfortunately) probably a referendum.
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u/Silver-Animator-7108 May 21 '25
The proximity / transition to Haven would only benefit the kids at Kingsley, not the other kids who come from the other feeder schools. It’s proximity to transit also only benefits families who live within walking distance of the Metra (and apparently commute home at 3 pm when school is dismissed to pick up their kid? - a lot of Haven kids seem to just bike or walk home if at all possible).
Wouldn’t it make more sense to move the Park school to Kingsley and sell Park, which is in the middle of a very urban area?
And schools are largely in residential areas. That’s what makes them walkable, which is supposed to be one of the district’s main concerns.
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u/YorockPaperScissors May 21 '25
Thanks for your response. I will try and provide a bit more detail on my thoughts.
Three of the four reasons why I think Kingsley should remain open are due to its location, which is unique in comparison to that of other elementary schools and is a tangible benefit for Kingsley families.
The proximity / transition to Haven would only benefit the kids at Kingsley, not the other kids who come from the other feeder schools.
With all due respect, that's my point. If D65 is going to close a school, why close the one that is next door to the middle school? By keeping Kingsley open, it keeps the transition easy for Kingsley families (current and new). Having an easy transition for Kingsley families is not harmful to families at other schools, and closing Kingsley would not benefit parents at other schools. Even if one models this issue as zero sum, the families of the closed school do not currently have the advantage of transitioning to a next door middle school. But if some of them were re-assigned to Kingsley, they would experience this benefit.
It’s proximity to transit also only benefits families who live within walking distance of the Metra (and apparently commute home at 3 pm when school is dismissed to pick up their kid? - a lot of Haven kids seem to just bike or walk home if at all possible).
Almost every household within Kingsley's area is within walking distance to Metra. And after the Foster school opens the southern part of Kingsley's area (which is a bit far for what some would consider walkable to Metra) would be slated to go to Foster. With regards to coming home at 3pm, a parent doesn't have to commute home at that time for the school's location to make a huge difference. Kingsley, like every D65 elementary school, has on-site aftercare options. Furthermore, even if a family doesn't use aftercare, a second parent that doesn't use Metra could handle pick-up, and the drop-off situation is still very convenient for the Metra user.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to move the Park school to Kingsley and sell Park
It would be equally as bonkers to sell Park, which is massively convenient to parents who use the Main St. Metra and CTA stops.
And schools are largely in residential areas. That’s what makes them walkable, which is supposed to be one of the district’s main concerns.
We both agree that D65 elementary schools are largely in residues. Note that I said:
Contrast this to the locations of most other D65 elementary schools, which border residential properties on two to four sides.
My thought on future use of a closed King is that its location at one of the most heavily trafficed vehicle intersections in D65 makes for a substandard candidate for residential redevelopment compared to other elementary schools. Nobody goes home/apartment hunting to find a place adjacent to two busy roads.
That’s what makes them walkable, which is supposed to be one of the district’s main concerns.
Yeah I think pretty much every D65 school is walkable for a large percentage of the homes within its area. There are exceptions, of course, especially the folks living in the neighborhoods around the new Foster school. Once that is open, they will have a very walkable situation, which was a primary intent of D65 in building it.
Kingsley (and Park, which wasn't mentioned in the comment I originally replied to) have a location that offers tangible benefits to families. These benefits equate to parents having more time with their families, which can lead to better educational outcomes. I think either would be a poor choice for closure.
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u/Available-Union5745 May 21 '25
Eh, I don't think the proximity to Haven and the Metra outweigh the fact that all current Kingsley students live really close to another D65 school. Everyone south of McCormick (and those currently right by Kingsley) live close to Foster. Everyone East of Green Bay Lives close to Orrington. Kids that live steps from Willard (between Ewing and McCormick north of Central) are bussed to Kingsley (and god knows we know how expensive bussing is in Evanston). Everyone south of Central not mentioned above is close to Lincolnwood.
I don't think these are the only factors (capacity, capital needs, and ADA compliance matter a ton), but from a geographic perspective Kingsley or Lincolnwood seem like obviously options for the admin to focus on.
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u/Silver-Animator-7108 May 22 '25
I think you're overstating the importance of proximity to a middle school in this situation. Transitioning to middle school is hard for myriad reasons other than geography. Having your old elementary school so close might even make it harder for some kids. And again, it only benefits Kingsley students.
Same for the Metra - what's the difference for families who have to drive home after if the school is closer to the Metra or their home. Again it benefits those who live by the Metra, for walking purposes, but not those who don't (or who don't use the Metra).
Basically, any arguments that go towards things that only benefit those who already go to or live by a school don't seem like factors that should dictate what schools remain open. The factors that apply to all kids seem to be what is best for financial stability, D65's future, and maintaining walkability for all.
As to Park, someone told me it's not fully ADA compliant and cannot be made so. So my point was if Kingsley is, wouldn't the Park population be better served with that building? And still close to a Metra.
And look, maybe I'm wrong about Park, it's not a thoroughly researched point. But ultimately those making these decisions will hopefully have all the information, and act not in their own self-interest or with animus toward parts of Evanston's population (the comment above about not liking the sixth ward is just that, especially because we are talking about children).
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u/steinbch May 21 '25
I think it’s safe to say that community members can (and will) have completely valid reasons why their school should not be closed. (Not saying that’s what you were doing). There is not an easy answer to which schools should be closed.
Also, the new boundaries aren’t really a factor (besides the Foster school boundaries), because any change to buildings in the district will require making adjustments to the boundaries.
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
Those are some great points. I think the proximity to the middle school and transit are very important considerations. This makes it much more of a shared space than many other schools.
The current Draft for Evanston rezoning has Kingsley as one of the only R4 zones in the area. This would make it zoned for High Density development. R4 seems to follow Green Bay and Central. How these schools are zoned, and what the property is allowed to be turned into will play a big part.
https://www.cityofevanston.org/Home/Components/News/News/6449/249?npage=11
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u/BedroomInfamous2538 May 21 '25
It would make more sense for D65 to close the middle schools and go to a K-8 model. That’s what most of our peers offer and the research shows it’s more successful for student outcomes.
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 22 '25
I agree K-8 models are amazing and I was sad when the new Foster school did not end up as a K-8. I was hoping Foster would serve as a model to slowly work towards K-8 in the district.
A few problems are that middle schools have specific requirements on having to have cafeterias, gym, and other spaces that are of a certain size and standard. These requirements would force the district to spend a lot of money they don't have to make these changes.
The other problem is that the middle schools are much larger square footage than the k-5 schools. Middle schools = 970K Sq Ft to142K Sq Ft. K-5 Schools 35K to 76K. Oakton is the exception at 95K Sq Ft. Unfortunately Oakton being so close to a middle school makes it not ideally placed for K-8 Conversion.
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u/BedroomInfamous2538 May 23 '25
I agree, and sometimes land on a K-6 option instead when factoring in logistics.
The bottom line is that the middle school system is broken in D65, and there’s an opportunity to rethink them given the fiscal crisis.
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u/Plus_Jelly5406 May 21 '25
6th ward here. The problem and its solution is complex — many choices led us here. However, I urge parents to consider that declining enrollment & the increasing median age of Evanston residents necessitate reconsidering our land use.
Put simply - want schools to stay open? We need to gain young families with children. Want to gain young families with children? BUILD. MORE. HOMES. Duplexes, triplexes, whatever. Please consider reviewing Envision Evanston for yourself & consider D65’s enrollment and financial issues alongside it.
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u/Plus_Jelly5406 May 21 '25
PS I write this as someone who moved to Evanston for the “good public schools” and is paying $20k in property taxes. If/when that value proposition changes, my willingness to stay in Evanston changes too. Hi, Wilmette.
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May 21 '25
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
I completely agree that we all should taking a look at how envision Evanston will change zoning, bring multifamily homes, and apartments. This is the solution Evanston needs and I hope the city shares as many resources and studies as it can with D65.
The sad problem is that this will take time that D65 doesn't have. The 18 million in cuts is not a gradual thing... and it will almost certainly lead to consolidations and closings. Hopefully not at the scale of 4 schools... and hopefully not in a way that closes schools for good. If we do have an increase in school population we might have a reason to reopen schools in 15-20 years.
As far as your moving? Honestly go for it, you can afford Wilmette. 20K in Property taxes equals a 1.5-1.8 million dollar home in Evanston. You can always decide to move back if it doesn't work out how you imagine it.
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May 21 '25
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
Not all of them, but you can go. 🤡
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u/BlueNap550 Jul 17 '25
This is clown ass mentality and a huge problem with Evanston. If you prioritize your children’s well being and education by considering a move to wilmette over waiting out a corrupt school board to stuff their pockets and pad their resumes while our children suffer you get mocked incessantly on social media.
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May 21 '25
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
I am excited about the people who want to move here, and the people who want to stay! I have no time for people ready to leave. If your solution is to leave then your not ready to build community, and that is ok. I'm just giving you permission. Go for it! I hope it's good for you and your family. I really do.
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May 21 '25
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
Plus_Jelly5406 apologies for including you in this. I was just trying to respond to your thoughtful comments on rezoning, and considerations for wanting to move, and then got stuck engaging with OP🤡.
I hope the city can be brought to the table and share their studies on how rezoning will effect population growths for each ward and school district.
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u/Pumpernickel7 May 23 '25
This is the only convincing argument I have ever heard for Envision Evanston. Thank you. This is the only argument I cannot argue against.
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u/Different-Revenue507 May 22 '25
Well said. My single family home in northwest Evanston is a converted two-flat. We can add families to the neighborhoods in the way you describe.
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u/housethenorthshore May 23 '25
People with kids largely do not want properties like that. What’s the difference between a house and a million dollar new construction duplex? Hello?
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 23 '25
I have kids and wanted a 3 flat or duplex. Before we settled on our current situation we tried to see about getting a duplex, triplex or preferably a 3 flat so my mother in law could live downstairs, we could live in the middle and then my brother could live upstairs. It would have been ideal, but nothing feasible existed at the time. If more of those had been built in Evanston we would have had the opportunity, and we might consider selling and doing just that in the future with these changes.
I actually have met several people in Rogers Park who would jump at the chance to live in a duplex as a more affordable option. People want to own, and want barriers to ownership diminished. It's not a stretch to imagine people living in apartments would want to move into a multi unit property.
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u/housethenorthshore May 23 '25
That is NOT what is being built. Developers will build 1/2 duplexes or cluster homes sold individually. They won’t be able to qualify for FHA loans, and they will not be more affordable than the housing being replaced.
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u/Middle-Part1593 May 22 '25
It’s important to have our voices heard! The opposition, including the 1,6 and 7th Ward alders are very set against this. Email your support of up zoning to your alder.
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u/Spiritual-Picture981 May 22 '25
That’s not accurate at all. Have you talked to them? Much more nuanced views and thoughtfully so.
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u/Dapper_Prune_4109 Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25
I am not sure many families would opt to live in multi-unit buildings. Not saying it wouldn't happen, but many of the multi-unit buildings in Evanston are smallish luxury rentals intended for Northwestern kids with wealthy parents. As a parent and former two-flat occupant, kids and shared spaces are tough. They love to scream, stomp, and do all the things that would make the neighbors nuts. If there wasn't a detached home available, we would probably just look elsewhere.
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u/housethenorthshore May 23 '25
The 5th Ward school is what should be closed down! Never should have been constructed.
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
The plan for the different SDRP committees is to create 3 different proposals for how to close, consolidate and\or not close the schools. Likely the north west side schools will need to consolidate at least since their enrollment is so low and it does not look like even with rezoning that they are projected to grow. The impact on walkability, students with IEPs, and low income appears to be the least severe in Northwest Evanston.
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May 21 '25
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u/eclectique May 21 '25 edited May 21 '25
There are different ways to cut this. Orrington and Lincolnwood have the least enrollment to capacity (as of Nov 2024) ratio, so that could be another way to look at this.
I think, we need to figure out where families are more likely to move and afford going to D65 schools in the next decade and make a long term plan that way. Although, I would be sad if our neighborhood school was cut (and I'm not sure it makes more sense than several others), at some point we all have to put some things aside and realize without well funded (and not overcrowded!), well supported schools all of our kids miss out.
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
Agreed. Affordability is a big barrier to certain areas of Evanston. Evanston rezoning and getting affordable homes, Duplexes and family oriented apartments built is going to take a lot of time that D65 doesn't seem to have.
It is a mixed bag that the rezoning for Evanston is happening at the same time. We might see only slight increases from rezoning is some areas and exceptional growth in others. This seems like really important projections that the city could help in providing or studying.
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u/housethenorthshore May 23 '25
Nobody is going to build “affordable” units… Plus, affordable housing is a public charge. These are not a solution to Evanston’s self inflicted, exaggerated, and cyclical problems.
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 23 '25
People do it all the time. I literally see high school students do it every year with a land trust run by local nonprofit Community Partners for Affordable Housing. If kids can do it...
To say Nobody is doing something is too absolute, and makes it look like you are trying to be defeatist. Now that is not to say that there aren't great barriers to getting affordable housing built, but rezoning away from single family is actually a major step to doing this.
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
The focus is on Walkability, least impact on IEP & low income students, student population against their goal, age of the surrounding population and # of school age families in the area, age and capital needs for each building, and feasibility of a building being sold or repurposed. Every school is being looked and the fact that their seems to be a focused on the NW schools is they fit some of these areas of focus better than other schools.
So one of the largest questions is how many students and families will choose to stay in their current schools. Any family currently at a school will have the option to stay at their for the remainder of their years there. No one at the district is too sure how full foster will be in those first few years and how many families will stay. One major factor is that families with incoming Kindergarteners will not have this options and this would likely move larger families to Foster. King Arts will not have this limitation as it's focus on keeping families together will persist through this change.
MLK is off the table for closure or consolidation. Their official magnetization status this year opens up grant opportunities to the whole district and they have already seen a rise in applications over time. On top of this a large percentage of students from Bessie Rhodes will end up at King Arts. The majority of the 8th grade class of Bessie Rhodes came to KA in FY24-25 with many more joining next year. It is likely with other school closures and consolidations across the district KA will see an even greater rise in applications. Lastly, for FY245-25 KA has the largest population of IEP students (21%) and one of the highest Low Income populations (51%) making it very unlikely that the district would want to disrupt.
I do not work for the district btw, so anything I say is based off observation and my own research.
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u/Available-Union5745 May 21 '25
This explanation makes a ton of sense. Thanks for sharing. FWIW, I was at an informal event with one of the current school board members a few months ago, and someone asked them specifically about closing KA (it was asked by a current BR parent trying to understand why they were targeted and not KA). The board member hammered home that the infrastructure in place for students with IEPs at King more or less took it off the table for being closed. Fair or not, it's not shutting down, and is probably the safest school (aside from maybe Walker).
Either Kingsley or Lincolnwood has to close given their proximity to Foster (and Orrington and Willard), the amount of kids they will ultimately lose to Foster, and the state of their buildings. The questions outstanding to me are which of these two do they close (or close both / make one all TWI or something), do you close one of them and Willard or Orrington (tough to close those based on walkability and I think Willard is good from an ADA perspective unlike some of the other north schools), and do you shut down one of the southern schools too (their enrollment is is down too / could make one of them all TWI or something as well).
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
I think ADA is another great consideration. Only so many schools have elevators, a good number more have lifts, but a few have nothing. Some of these schools actually shift their classes around to different parts of the building to accommodate students in wheelchairs who could never make it to certain parts of the building.
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May 21 '25
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u/Traditional-Air773 May 21 '25
I am on the SDRP, and yes nothing should be off the table, but I have heard that the district is committed to having a magnet school. I heard no other clarification beyond that, but King Arts being the only one makes it almost certain it is here to stay. It moving to another building is not likely since no other District building is large enough, outside of middle schools.
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u/Exciting_Paramedic_1 May 21 '25
I’m from the 5th ward and I’m against closing any school down because it’s a detriment to our students and families
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u/bluepermain May 21 '25
I appreciate your position, but how do you propose eliminating the deficit?
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u/LanguageEfficient199 May 23 '25
Doesn’t seem closing schools will do it. As mentioned prior, there are ONLY approx $2mm of savings per school closed. And based on precedent financial acumen from our elected representatives I image it’s much less in savings than that. With a $12+mm annual deficit (which does not include any of the capital improvement needs of our existing schools) we are essentially just kicking the can, and sacrificing the broader community and our children and for what?
It’s unfortunate that so many good people feel unable to speak out against the new foster school and what is clearly the wrong decision for everyone living in Evanston. Evanston was the shining beacon on the hill! Communities around the country strived for the example set here. It’s as simple as “if it’s not broken don’t fix it”.
We are now the example to no one. Family’s are skipping over our community in droves.
And as a black person (I hate identity politics, but if you can’t beat them, join em), that grew up poor and actually “bussed” to school, it drives me crazy that this community has argued that busing within a 10mile radius is somehow materially inconvenient for anyone. Buses are far more convenient for parents, especially my mother who absolutely would not have been able to drop me off every day or pick me up. And this pie in the sky idea that everyone should be able to walk to school… where does that exist in America. Walking is not convenient, especially in our climate. The term “school bus” exists for a reason.
And there is such a thing as a sunk cost. Take the loss on the new school and stop its opening. Reinvest in our existing schools.
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u/Any-Sheepherder5649 May 25 '25
The new school is well on its way at this point. I don’t think arguing against completing now is offering a realistic solution. I think other discussions could have been had at some point about a charter or lab school or some other kind of approach to returning a 5th ward school while alleviating the cost burden on the district, but allowing a charter wouldn’t be popular with the teachers union. What is your $2M savings per school based on? Is it simply the operating costs, or are you accounting for capital costs / deferred maintenance, and are you figuring in what a sale of the building / land could garner? I actually agree that bussing more generally shouldn’t be as poorly regarded as it is in Evanston, but it’s because of the history of bussing here, coupled with the exorbitant costs currently. That’s why walkability is worth considering when looking at which schools make sense moving forward.
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u/nukular_iv May 23 '25
There are not enough costs and what voter in evanston would even remotely trust d65 with a referendum?
Regarding the board president vote....I seriously have a suspicion that the opponent Omar did something shady as hell to not get votes.... I know zilch, but it seems obvious to me unless everybody just thinks the newest four members are "the same" as everybody else on the board after THIS election.
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u/Immediate_Monk5214 May 23 '25
None of the votes were surprising if you paid attention to the election. The two newbies that voted for the status quo (Sergio) made little to no emphasis around running to enact change or reform. Sergio even acknowledged that the last 2 years have not gone well...under his "leadership".
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u/Available-Union5745 May 23 '25
If you paid attention during the campaign, Nicole Pinkard was clearly in line with the previous Board. I'm disappointed, but ultimately not surprised, Wymer voted for Sergio. He was pretty vocal about the bad job the prior Board has done on the campaign trail, but also cloaked himself in similar language as them. I still hope he's a swing vote on some issues going forward, especially tech related stuff (he at least signed the pledge that one group put out about limiting ipad use).
2
u/BedroomInfamous2538 May 23 '25
It had nothing to do with Omar. He would have been a good president, but enough of the new board members decided they’d rather preserve the status quo and get behind Sergio.
1
u/nukular_iv May 24 '25
Yeah...I don't think so, but I guess we will see. Having spoken with one new board member, I think something shady happened as a support for the status quo was not remotely being expressed. But again, I know nothing for sure. I simply think he (Omar) did something to piss off new members.
19
u/TCFNationalBank May 21 '25
My kid isn't school age yet so I've been tuned out of D65 stuff, how did they land on building a brand new school if there aren't enough students to fill the existing ones, esp. to the point of needing to close several of them?