Evanston/Skokie District 65 is hosting three community meetings in April to collect public feedback on how the school board should decide what buildings to close in the coming years.
To address an ongoing financial crisis that’s resulted in three straight years of budget deficits, the district has already made about $20 million in permanent cuts over the past two years. This summer, $13.3 million in reductions, including the removal of 73 overall staff positions, will go into effect.
But Superintendent Angel Turner and the district’s financial advisors have also said that another $15 million in cuts is necessary to reach long-term “sustainability.” According to the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, District 65 intends to achieve most of those final cuts with school consolidations or closures, given several years of declining enrollments and nearly $200 million in deferred maintenance on existing buildings, plus the impending opening of Foster School for fall 2026.
“For several years, district leaders and board members have discussed in public meetings the need for potential school closures and consolidations,” Turner wrote in a message to the community on Friday, March 21. “This is in response to an aging population and declining student enrollment, underutilized buildings, and dated facilities — all schools except one are about 67 to 120 years old and are in need of major repairs.”
As a result, Turner and her team are inviting families to several upcoming community meetings where they can discuss criteria that the school board should take into account when making closure decisions.
Here are the times, dates and locations of those meetings:
- 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, at Chute Middle School, 1400 Oakton St.
- 9:30 a.m. Friday, April 11, at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.
- 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, at Nichols Middle School, 800 Greenleaf St.
So far, the board has already voted to close the Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies after the 2025-2026 school year.
“We know this is difficult. Change is never easy, but it’s also an opportunity,” Turner said. “Our goal is to engage parents, caregivers, staff, students, and community members in a transparent process with clear criteria. Many have said they understand the need for school closures but want to ensure decisions are both data-driven and made with integrity and clarity. We couldn’t agree more; this is our North Star.”
The district also said it will circulate an online survey after spring break, which is this week. Possible closure/consolidation scenarios are not expected to be finalized until this coming fall.
District 65 schedules 3 public meetings on criteria for school closures is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.