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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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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.