Shortly before the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education scaled back its plan to close three schools at its Monday night meeting — opting instead for a two-school closure scenario, dozens of community members protested outside the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center.
The demonstration followed a Sunday afternoon rally in Ackerman Park, where hundreds rallied to “Save Our Schools.” D65: Invest in Neighborhood Schools, a coalition of over 600 educators and parents from around the district, led both efforts.
One of the group’s leaders, Katie Armistead, said protecting neighborhood schools should be the district’s top priority as it carries out the third and final phase of its Structural Deficit Reduction Plan to achieve fiscal sustainability and cut $11.8 million in spending.
“The more I’ve spoken to parents in different schools, the more that I’ve learned that we all want the same thing, which is a high-quality, wonderful education for our children and solutions that will help the district get out of its financial deficit,” Armistead said. “There (are) real financial challenges we need to tackle. We don’t think the solution is closing three schools.”
At its Sept. 29 meeting, the board tentatively agreed to close three schools based on criteria including walkability and impact on marginalized communities.
District administration recommended two closure scenarios that would have shuttered Lincolnwood, Kingsley and either Dawes or Washington Elementary Schools.
A third scenario, originally proposed by Board Vice President Nichole Pinkard, would have closed Lincolnwood, Kingsley and Dewey Elementary Schools while converting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School — currently a K-8 magnet — into a K-5 neighborhood school.
Before the board settled on a two-school closure plan Monday night, parents expressed concern and pitched alternative solutions to the district’s budget shortfall.
Armistead, a Lincolnwood parent, rejected the notion that three closures were necessary, arguing the district should instead look elsewhere to meet its goal of reducing spending in next year’s budget. She suggested reducing administrative salaries and transportation costs, selling the property the soon-to-close Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies sits on and eventually pursuing a tax referendum to generate new revenue.
Despite representing different schools, protesters were united in their opposition to school closures, Armistead said. Washington PTA secretary Lauren Greenwood agreed.
“There’s commonality in that everyone wants a neighborhood school that they can be proud of, and we don’t accept the notion that this has to be a zero-sum game where we have to pit ourselves against each other,” she said.
Still, some parents pushed back against advocacy centered on just neighborhood schools.
King Arts PTA President Aarti Desai said the distinction between neighborhood and magnet schools, drawn by some protesters and previous proposals, overlooks the magnet school’s unique strengths.
“What’s getting lost in translation is that King Arts is every single neighborhood of Evanston,” Desai said. “The beauty of King Arts is that it is a choice — it provides an opportunity for a lot of families that need that K-8 setting, want that K-8 setting and also a fine arts magnet setting.”
Desai highlighted the benefits of the K-8 model, including opportunities for older students to mentor younger peers and reduced drop-off times for parents. While many King Arts families walk their children to school, she said focusing too heavily on walkability disregards the programs that attract students from across the city.
One such program — the school’s K-8 Rigorous Individualized Special Education Program — would have been split into separate programs at Willard Elementary School and Haven Middle School, according to Stacy Beardsley, the assistant superintendent for performance management and accountability. Desai said this would have negatively impacted students with disabilities.
Meanwhile, Laura Paz, whose grandchildren attend Dawes, said closing the school would force her grandson — who relies on its compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act — out of a building that is fully accessible and into one that may not be. After speaking with Beardsley, she said she believes district administrators lack a clear plan to accommodate students like him.
“We weren’t talking about money,” Paz said. “We were talking about the needs of my daughter’s son — my grandson — and (Beardsley’s) talking about money.”
Paz also criticized the timing of the district’s proposed closures, citing concerns about increased Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence in Evanston. ICE has detained multiple people near Dawes in recent weeks.
She said that during such a tense period, students should not be “shuffled around.”
“Immigrants are hesitant to go out, so you want to change everything right now?” Paz said. “Where’s your heart, Evanston?”
Armistead remains hopeful that board members will consider alternatives that don’t involve closing multiple schools. She said IINS has created a task force of parents from each neighborhood school to develop a proposal for the district’s consideration.
At Saturday’s protest, the organization’s other leader, Liz Wolens, praised the group’s work and expressed optimism that the district will make the right decision.
“What we’ve seen since Sept. 29 is the true spirit of Evanston neighbors coming together, listening to one another, asking tough questions and working toward real solutions,” Wolens said. “I’m so proud to be part of a community that refuses to give up our schools or give up on each other. I truly believe there’s a path forward, one where we can close fewer than three schools and still make smart, sustainable investments our district needs.”
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— ‘One shot to get this right’: D65 board mulls over school closure scenarios
