THE EVANSTON ROUND TABLE - PLATFORM & POLICY FORUM
What do you think went wrong to cause the current budget crisis, and if elected, what steps do you want the new board to take to fix it? Do you think the current plan and timeline for making cuts is realistic? Are you open to closing and selling school buildings to save money?
The current D65 budget crisis has developed over several years, with many contributors. Information regarding the District’s Annual Financial Report and the School District Financial Profile may not have been accurate, thoroughly examined, and/or tracked by the Board. An August 2024 report from the D65 financial consultant, Illuminate, Inc., notes concerns regarding prior financial information provided to the Board and community. Administrative positions and costs have ballooned, especially at the cabinet level. The Board recently voted to hire the principal for the new Foster School a year before its opening. D65 enrollment has declined for several years, but the trends weren’t recognized. The Master Facilities Plan expenditures continue to increase due to the average D65 school building being 77 years old. Staff recruitment and retention are stagnant with the cost of outside services escalating. There has been an increase in private placement for students requiring specialized services, and there may be litigation costs related to these placements. The D65 budget may be seriously impacted by federal funding. The presidential tariffs may impact the construction costs for the new Foster School. The phases of the current Debt Reduction Plan seem realizable to me but are not really by choice. The Debt Reduction Plan is a requirement to avoid receivership by the Illinois State Board of Education.
What do you think of the Board’s decision to close Bessie Rhodes? If you agree, please elaborate why you support the decision. If not, would you advocate for keeping it open and reversing the closure decision? How would you pay for that?
I agree with the Board’s decision to close Bessie Rhodes School but not with the process that has unfolded. The whole procedure has been fraught with misinformation and a lack of communication. This has resulted in a lack of trust from the school and the wider Evanston community. The Bessie Rhodes community negotiated in good faith with the Board to close the school as a stipulation to build the new Foster School. Since the original discussions with the Bessie Rhodes community occurred, the building plan has been significantly altered, with many of the original pledges to the school community changed. Despite the increasing awareness regarding the District’s poor financial health, the Board declined the financial consultant's advice to halt the Foster School's construction. A short time after that the Bessie Rhodes community received an email from the D65 administration about closing the 8th grade classes within a month, causing further trauma. Communication from the Superintendent and Board regarding the changes and schedule for closing the school has been inadequate. The current budget deficit, along with continued construction> does not make keeping Bessie Rhodes open an option.
Despite the district devoting significant time and resources over the last decade to addressing a gap in educational opportunities and outcomes by race, income and ability status, the district has made little progress in narrowing that gap. What programs or strategies do you think would work most effectively in both improving achievement for all students and narrowing the gap?
The gap in educational opportunities results in those students having an experience in D65 that differs from their counterparts. This results in different outcomes. The School Board needs to ensure compliance with the current D65 Strategic Plan - Strategic Goal 3: Students should have access to high-quality and culturally relevant curriculum materials that are challenging, relevant and academically rigorous to support student success. When curriculum changes are being considered, teachers and parents need a voice at the table to talk about the relevance of the content, their concerns with implementing the change and be informed on how the change will be evaluated. Also, in my experience as a D65 educator, the top-down approach is contributing to the problem. I advocate for a recentering of listening and implementing the feedback of teachers and parents, especially regarding classroom strategies. I recommend an analysis of the interventions currently being provided to promote student’s success, to ensure they are getting to the students they are intended for and being carried out with fidelity. D65 should investigate and collaborate with other school districts who have successfully addressed this opportunity gap.
How do you conceive of the role of the school board? What do you think of the job the current board has done in holding the administration accountable?
The role of a school board member is something I seriously studied before making a decision to become a candidate. I didn’t feel this was faithfully being demonstrated by many of the current members. The primary roles of a school board member are to serve in trust for the community and participate responsibly. Board members take an oath to respect taxpayers’ interests and to faithfully protect the district’s assets. The fact that a board member could comment on a superintendent’s ability to “sweep the current financial challenges under the rug”, made me question their ethics. The Board’s diffculty holding the administration> accountable has contributed to a decline in D65s ISBE Financial Profile and led to an initial 13.3-million-dollar Debt Reduction Plan. The board employs the superintendent. An additional lack of accountability is evident in the superintendent’s ill-defined contract goals and indicators. Board members should stay centered on what happens in the classroom. They should stay focused on the district’s values, mission, vision, and goals. In summary, they should ask the right questions, find the right solutions> and focus on the right issues. My retirement allows me to make a full time commitment to this role.
Last year, ETHS overhauled the process for how it places ninth graders into math classes because 10 out of 14 algebra 1 classes scored into a sixth-grade math level. Two sections scored at a fifth-grade level, and the other two matched a seventh-grade level. How would you assess the current state of the transition between District 65 and ETHS? How would you try to make that smoother, especially for math courses?
The current state of transition between District 65 and ETHS is problematic for students who receive special services and those who do not. I think D65 should have specific criteria to define the D65 graduate profile that was developed during the 2021-2022 school year. A total of six competencies were identified that make up the D65 Portrait of a Graduate. The D65 website notes “more information will be coming soon”. It’s time for that to happen. Extensive collaboration will be needed between D65 and ETHS to determine the specifics of the D65 graduate profile, to communicate with parents/caregivers, to provide documentation and to supply training. This could begin with the subject of math, since it has been identified as a major concern. District 65 students and their parents want/need to know what the academic expectations are of a student entering 9th grade in the core subjects. This tool could also help guide a student’s transition from 5th grade to middle school to begin to identify areas of strengths and weaknesses. This could allow for targeted intervenioon(s) as needed.
