Evanston/Skokie School District 65 must cut $13.2 million from budget; concerns raised by parents about fairness for students of color

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) — Evanston/Skokie School District 65 is facing a tight budget year.

The district said it has to get rid of millions of dollars before the next school year.

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And parents are worried.

District 65 is facing the challenge of having to cut .2 million from its budget. A major worry among families is that these budget cuts could jeopardize the construction of a new school designed to promote equity for students of color.

“This has been the community where the children are segregated out, right? They have to go to all these different schools,” District 65 mom Melissa Denton said.

Denton said she voiced the importance of opening the new Foster School.

The school is meant to bridge the gap of educational justice seen historically in the 5th Ward, which has a significant population of Black students.

“If a school doesn’t have the money to maintain the current buildings, you’re always going to be concerned that that possibility of building a new school gets deprioritized,” Denton said.

The district said a budget reduction of $13.2 million is needed now, but an additional $15 million may also be reduced by 2027.

Superintendent Dr. Angel turner made clear to parents Foster School would still open.

“Our commitment is to continue to still build that school. The board voted on that, and agreed to that,” Turner said.

As parents placed stickers on the issues top of mind, many spoke on teacher retention and support.

“I don’t want to hone in and give one particular group of folks; we’re looking at how to get more efficient with the number of staff we have,” Turner said.

With 5,700 students in 18 schools, 19 once Foster opens, consolidations are possible.

“The reason behind bringing the school back to the ward was largely because a largely disproportionate burden of a supposed need for busing was largely done on the 5th Ward community,” District 65 School Board candidate Peter Bogira said. “A lot of people want walkability.”

Equity in the community is something the district has made clear is top priority in budget reduction.

“You have to look at all children. And, if you do harm to one, you do harm to all,” Denton said.

The superintendent said no schools will close for the upcoming school year.

The District 65 School Board is set to vote on how they plan to reduce the budget by Jan. 27.