Evanston Township High School District 202 approved its $113.4 million fiscal year 2025 budget, discussed new and revised courses for the new school year and presented a soon-to-be-released public data dashboard at its Monday meeting.

The budget is 7.2% greater than fiscal year 2024’s $105.2 million budget and is the board’s 18th consecutive balanced budget.

“It’s hard for me to sit here and not acknowledge the hard work it took when organizations, districts and companies are trying to figure out how to increase revenue in order to meet the demand of expenses that we have no control over,” Vice President Monique Parsons said.

The approved budget is 0.6% greater than the tentative fiscal year 2025 budget proposed in June. The difference comes from increased local revenues, as well as higher capital improvement, operations and transportation needs, District 202 Chief Financial Officer Kendra Williams said.

The board uses “value-based budgeting,” which prioritizes maintaining reasonable student-teacher ratios, avoiding personnel layoffs and addressing racial disparities in educational achievement, Williams added.

This year’s budget will fund staffing increases for social workers and counseling services, including free therapy for ETHS students. The budget also provides additional funding to the Literacy Lab, which supports students struggling with reading, as well as additional funding aimed at “addressing racial disparities in achievement” by training teachers and staff in asset-based strategies that consider students’ prior experiences to identify their strengths in the classroom.

The district’s financial forecast, presented on Monday, projected a budget deficit by fiscal year 2027 if the board maintains its current policies. That’s partially due to a decrease in Illinois’ Corporate Personal Property Replacement Tax, 3% of the district’s $99.5 million operating budget, Williams said. Increasing expenses for operating costs and maintenance also play a role.

The forecast does not account for “mitigating strategies” that will be implemented in the future, Willaims said. The district is exploring opportunities to evaluate future expenses, expand revenue growth with grant funding and invest in capital improvements that will reduce operating costs, she added. She also said the district could utilize zero-based budgeting, a method in which all expenses are reevaluated each year.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring we are fiscally responsible,” Williams said. “Although this is the projection at the moment, I don’t want it to just be doom and gloom.”

Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Pete Bavis announced 11 new classes to be taught this year and several title and level changes to existing courses. Some new courses include Middle East and North African History; Spanish Senior Seminar; Home Repair and Maintenance; and Cybersecurity 1: Networking Fundamentals.

And, Bavis announced a public-facing data dashboard. The dashboard will include quarterly and yearly updates on certain academic and attendance data and other data. The dashboard will be released Monday, after the board reviews it, Board member Gretchen Livingston said.

The district plans to add comparative historical data on the dashboard in the next few weeks, Bavis added.

Director of Communications Reine Hanna presented the Board Community Engagement Plan for 2024-2025, which “aims to ensure the community plays an integral role in shaping the policies and direction of our school district.” The plan, which would inform community members of the board’s activities, does not currently have a timeline for implementation.

Several board members commended Williams for preparing mitigating strategies to ensure the budget remains balanced for years to come.

“We will have to make changes and tighten our belts,” Board member Patricia Maunsell said. “But if we’re doing it thoughtfully and well in advance — not to say we won’t have to make cuts — but I don’t think they will be the kind of cuts that districts and organizations have to make when one day they’re flush and the next day they’re in a deep hole.”

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