Sustainability initiatives, financial management and attendance rates dominated the discussion at the Evanston Township High School District 202 Board of Education’s Monday night meeting.
District sustainability update presents potential facility upgrade
John Rocco, a representative from Honeywell, explained how large-scale facility changes, including the installation of solar panels, could be pursued under a Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract. Honeywell engineers’ audit found that updates to ETHS buildings could save the district approximately $600,000 a year.
If the district went through with the project, it would take out a loan from Honeywell to finance the changes, Rocco said. He said the district could then use its energy savings over the course of 20 years to repay the loan, resulting in a cost-neutral retrofit.
Entering a Guaranteed Energy Savings Contract would also ensure that Honeywell will make up the difference should savings come up short, he added.
“We won’t come back and ask for more money on the construction side. And then if there’s ever a sharp fall in the savings that we guaranteed, Honeywell is on the hook to write a check for that,” Rocco said.
He added that Honeywell has implemented $7 billion in total savings, paying back just $300,000 a year to its clients.
District 202 Chief Financial Officer Kendra Williams noted that a partnership with Honeywell is only a proposal.
“We’ve been partnering with Honeywell to just kind of figure out what is possible here and wanted to bring you along and understand that this is just something that is available to use,” she said.
The district sustainability update also highlighted student-led climate efforts.
Junior Olin Wilson-Thomas discussed the student-led construction of a bike rack outside of the school’s Entrance 2.
“This has been a need that many students have expressed, especially when they’re wanting to ride their bikes when it’s raining and snowing, but there’s not that secure location for them to store those bikes,” Wilson-Thomas said.
He added that the project received a $5,000 grant and students have since partnered with architecture students at Northwestern to design a rendering. Wilson-Thomas said students have also begun purchasing materials and will partner with ETHS’ Geometry in Construction course to build the rack’s roof. He said the bike rack’s concrete base will be poured “once the weather warms up.”
District 202 Director of Operations and Sustainability John Crawford said Wilson-Thomas is “basically running a capital project.”
District reports award-winning financial management despite deficit
Williams and the district’s director of business services, Rudy Meo, presented the district’s fiscal year 2025 financial audit.
The district saw $134 million in revenues and $142 million in expenditures, according to Meo. That gap, he explained, led to a decrease in the district’s general fund.
“We do have a deficit of $4.2 million that we don’t take lightly, and recognize that this is a challenging time that we’re navigating financially, and that adjustments need to be made to ensure that this is not a trend for us,” Williams said.
Increases in healthcare and transportation costs, Illinois’ property tax limits and threats to federal education funding were among financial “concerns” for the district, Meo said.
After reviewing the district’s Mid-Year Budget Review for fiscal year 2026, Board President Pat Savage-Williams said the budget is “pretty much the same,” with expenditures in keeping with how much the district spent in 2025.
However, delayed Cook County property tax distribution, combined with a $1.7 million decrease in property tax revenue, presented substantial financial challenges for the district, according to Williams.
Last fiscal year, property and other taxes accounted for 63.5% of the district’s revenue, according to the financial audit. To make ends meet this year, Williams said ETHS had to rely on the Illinois Prompt Payment Act, which extends the timeline for schools to pay their expenses.
Administrators present attendance data
ETHS Principal Quiana McNeal opened the meeting reviewing students’ second quarter attendance data.
Attendance, McNeal said, is “a leading indicator that’s closely tied to academic and social emotional outcomes.”
ETHS found that more than 90% of students had near-perfect attendance, with unexcused absences less than 5% of the time.
Should a student rack up six or more unexcused absences for a class throughout the quarter, they will receive “No Credit” for the course, even if they have a passing grade. McNeal said that just 174 students, 5% of the student body, fell into this category.
By identifying these students, McNeal said ETHS’ Student Support Teams are able to schedule parent-student conferences to discuss interventions.
“That’s a level of care that we can provide because of those numbers that allow us to get really focused and drill down,” she said.
Correction Note: A previous version of this story mistakenly identified Olin Wilson-Thomas as an Evanston Township High School senior instead of a junior. The Daily regrets this error.
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