Although the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board informally has placed a Fifth Ward school on the back burner, some ward residents say they will try to start a school, even without the district’s support.
“We should take it upon ourselves to make it happen, politically and economically, by whatever means are necessary,” said John Henry Turner, director of Evanston Family Focus.
Some residents floated the idea of creating a charter school after district officials and school board members said at their Feb. 18 meeting they could not afford to open a school in the Fifth Ward. District 65 is facing a projected $38 million deficit over the next six years.
“While (school board members) support the idea of a school in the Fifth Ward, they’re not at this point able to commit the dollars,” said Paul Brinson, director of research and planning for District 65.
The Fifth Ward has been without a neighborhood school for 35 years since the Foster School shut down to facilitate desegregation. Members of the Fifth Ward community asked the district to reopen a school to reduce student busing and increase community control over cirriculum.
After giving the district the go-ahead to research options for a school in the Fifth Ward four months ago, the board last week asked to halt negotiations with Family Focus for the use of its space at 2010 Dewey Ave. — the site of the original Foster School.
Some members of the community have vowed to independently investigate options for a school, although they want the district to continue its research.
“I was disappointed that the board never gave it any thought as far as the public was concerned,” Turner said. “It didn’t give anybody a chance to speak.”
The district was originally considering three options: building a new school, leasing space for a school or creating a charter school. The district chose only to research leasing the Family Focus space, residents said.
The proposal to use the Family Focus space would have required the district to invest $1.3 million to rehabilitate the building and pay 50 percent of its upkeep, although it would only be leasing about 28 percent of the building.
Despite the district’s financial predicament, Treadway said the board should not have closed the door on the other options.
“The district has finances that can be used for whatever your agenda is,” Treadway said.
Community members have pushed a charter school as a viable option for the Fifth Ward. A charter school is a public school that is eligible for federal and state funding and grants. According to the district’s projections, a charter school could receive up to $240,000 in start-up funds.
“The real question is whether members of the community want a school in the Fifth Ward or a school that fits their version — a school within District 65,” board member Bob Eder said. “If they’re willing to pursue the route of the charter, it’s certainly possible to have a Fifth Ward school.”
