The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education elected Nichole Pinkard as board president and Chris Van Nostrand as board vice president at a Monday meeting. The board also discussed possible spending cuts and school property sales.
On Monday, board members considered who to elect following the end of Pinkard’s year-long term as vice president and the end of Patricia S. Anderson’s six-month term as board president.
In a memo to the board, Pinkard and board member Andrew Wymer shared statements of interest to fulfill the role of board president, and Van Nostrand and fellow board member Mya Wilkins expressed their interest in the position of vice president. Pinkard and Van Nostrand were both elected to the roles in a 4-3 vote.
Adeela Qureshi ran unopposed for secretary of the board.
Residents expressed hope that the new leadership of the board will be transparent in their decisions and engage with the community to design policies that accurately represent student and family interests.
“Anyone seeking to be a leader on this board needs to, at a bare minimum, start an honest public dialogue,” Washington Elementary parent Zoran Tasić said. “And be honest about how we got here.”
Some public commenters reflected on the work of the board’s outgoing leaders.
Washington Elementary parent Kelly McCabe commended how Anderson recentered students and focused on community engagement during her tenure.
“I am hopeful that this trajectory continues with new board leadership that engages with community, views school liaison positions as the honored responsibility that they are and continues to move us forward in a student — and not admin centered — manner,” McCabe said.
Board members also further considered ways to complete Phase 3 of the district’s Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, which aims to cut $16 million to $18 million from the district’s budget by fiscal year 2030.
The district is targeting a $6.3 million budget reduction for the 2027 fiscal year. As part of Phase 3, the board voted to close Kingsley Elementary School, Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies and Willard Elementary School’s Two-Way Immersion program at the end of this school year.
At the meeting, board members discussed the futures of the Kingsley and Bessie Rhodes properties ahead of the upcoming closures. Pinkard said the board needs to be clear about its intentions regarding the finances surrounding the school closures.
“I think most of our conversations, at least for me, about closing buildings has also been in relationship to potentially selling them or repositioning them,” Pinkard said.
Stacy Beardsley, the district’s assistant superintendent of performance management and accountability, presented different options for both properties, including holding, leasing, selling, and repurposing them.
The board questioned where the potential revenue from selling the two properties would go. According to a memo sent to the board, the estimated sale value of Bessie Rhodes is $3.5 million to $4.5 million, and the estimated sale value of Kingsley is $4.5 million to $5.5 million. Board members did not make any decisions about the future of the properties.
When discussing alternative spending cuts, Wymer emphasized that the board has yet to make any significant decision to cut the deficit spending since the beginning of Phase 3. He added that the board is restricting its options by failing to make these choices.
“We’re going to have to close more schools,” Wymer said. “That’s the future, a sustainable future.”
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
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