When Tracy Fulce, a parent from Evanston/Skokie School District 65, took the reins of a Facebook group for fellow district parents and guardians, it felt less like a typical social media undertaking and more like an extension of her family’s long-standing commitment to community service.
A 2nd Ward resident for most of her life, Fulce — whose husband, Lionel Gentle, is running for District 65 school board — has been deeply involved in efforts to improve her neighborhood. She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her parents’ public service, as her mother was a District 65 teacher and her father was an Evanston police officer.
As the mother of a fifth grader at Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies and an older son who graduated from the district, Fulce said she has experienced firsthand how the Facebook group has become a vital refuge for parents frustrated with the district’s lack of transparency and leadership.
Ahead of the April 1 elections, where four of the seven school board seats are up for grabs, the page has experienced an unprecedented surge in activity, mirroring a growing sense of urgency and discontent among local families.
Of the approximately 4,500 members, 3,012 have engaged with the page in the past month — a level of interaction Fulce says she’s never witnessed during her time moderating the group.
“Engagement is very high because the stakes have never been higher,” Fulce said.
Fulce believes the district’s deepening financial woes, its struggle to close achievement gaps in marginalized groups and its pervasive lack of transparency have crystallized the demand for change.
On the precipice of an election-induced shakeup, the board is staring down a seismic shift: four incumbents are exiting after a tumultuous period. None are seeking reelection.
Since those four members entered the fray in 2021, the district has grappled with issues like the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, an ever-worsening budget deficit and the controversial decision to close Bessie Rhodes after the 2025-26 school year.
Though the board unanimously approved a $13.3 million spending reduction for fiscal year 2026 during their Jan. 27 meeting, questions about mismanagement of funds continue to be a flashpoint as residents prepare for the polls.
But the story of District 65’s financial struggles stretches far beyond the current iteration of the board.
In 2017, nearly 80% of Evanston voters approved a referendum for an eight-year plan to generate $135.6 million, beginning with $14.5 million in property taxes in year one.
The funds were intended to help address a projected $112.3 million operating deficit while leaving a $23.3 million reserve to improve educational opportunities and fund initiatives designed to create long-term progress rather than merely sustaining day-to-day operations. The referendum was meant to shield the district from looming budget shortfalls projected through 2025.
But instead of stabilizing the district, the funds were quickly depleted, even with the additional allotment of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds — federal grants that provide schools with COVID-19 relief.
As a result, the district now faces an overwhelming financial crisis, leaving families like Fulce’s scrambling for accountability as April elections approach.
Former District 65 parent Shira Hammann said the most troubling aspect of the financial crisis is how resources have been misallocated in ways that do not best serve her child’s needs.
She recently removed her 7-year-old son from Walker Elementary School due to concerns about his well-being and the quality of his education.
Additionally, Hammann said she was frustrated with the lack of emphasis placed on hiring the right teachers and training them in specialized areas — particularly those that most affect marginalized communities.
“It’s hard to parse the difference between the financial responsibility attacks on the current board that are truly about financial responsibility and the attacks that name financial responsibility, but may be racism in disguise,” Hammann said.
As the mother of a Black child, Hammann said she is also disillusioned by the school system’s hollow commitment to restorative justice without seeing meaningful outcomes. She points to the district’s ongoing “lip service” to equity without producing results as a major motivator ahead of the elections.
Though Hammann is still vetting candidates and considering campaign promises, she is certain of one thing: The district is in desperate need of a major overhaul. She described the current state of district affairs as “a deep failing” and noted that she wished she would not have had to remove her son from public school had she and her partner not deemed it necessary.
According to Christopher DeNardo, a lifelong Evanston resident now running for a seat on the board, the idea that a school board thinks it can address some of the historical issues impacting marginalized communities may be an “arrogant” expectation.
“I think a school board, in general, has powers that are very limited. You have bus schedules, hiring and firing teachers, and maintaining school buildings,” DeNardo said. “I think that is a fairly limited tool set if the mission you’ve given yourself is to solve a century’s worth of educational reparations.”
DeNardo, a father of two Bessie Rhodes students, said his campaign was fueled by the board’s “messy” decision to disregard community input when they voted to close the school.
He said that if he wins, he hopes to facilitate a better process for communicating the decision-making process to families, particularly regarding school closures. The new board will be forced to grapple with school consolidations in Phase 3 of the Structural Deficit Reduction Plan.
Fulce said the lack of transparency surrounding the school’s closure was a source of motivation for her and her husband’s increased involvement. She said the situation was “mishandled in a way that was shocking and disappointing at best,” as she received much of the information from other community members rather than the school administration.
Throughout her life, Fulce said she’s realized that Evanston residents’ sense of solidarity makes it distinctive from other communities.
“It’s hard for people to understand who don’t sort of come from that same kind of collectivist culture,” Fulce said. “It’s difficult to watch something be such a mess and not intervene.”
Fulce, Hammann and DeNardo all mentioned attending school board meetings and engaging in public comment as ways to make their voices heard. But DeNardo argues that deep-rooted distrust between the board, administration, educators and families has made it nearly impossible to drive meaningful change.
Fulce expressed frustration with the district’s approach to her son’s education at Bessie Rhodes, feeling as though he has been treated experimentally rather than recognizing it as his one chance at a fulfilling middle school experience.
Above all, Fulce’s greatest concern in the upcoming election is that she knows the district could do better with the right people in leadership roles.
“The level of educated populace here is amazing. … How is it possible that District 65 has turned into a dumpster fire?” she asked.
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Related Stories:
— District 65 board hears demography, equity progress indicator reports
— District 65 board unanimously approves $13.3 million spending reduction
— District 65 board hears $13.2 million deficit reduction plan options
