Preserving the neighborhood around the soon-to-close Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies dominated conversations during an Evanston/Skokie School District 65 community event Thursday evening.
At the event, Bessie Rhodes parents and other community members discussed the building’s future. The group relocated to the school’s auditorium to accommodate high attendance.
Bessie Rhodes, which the District 65 Board of Education voted to close two years ago, will shutter alongside Kingsley Elementary School this summer as the district aims to cut $16 million to $18 million from its budget by fiscal year 2030. The cuts are part of Phase 3 of the district’s Structural Deficit Reduction Plan.
The meeting followed a similar gathering at Kingsley on Wednesday. The conversations previewed upcoming board meetings, where board members are slated to consider the future of both buildings.
Stacy Beardsley, the district’s assistant superintendent of performance management and accountability, outlined four options for the Bessie Rhodes building: the district could retain, repurpose, lease or sell the property.
When discussing the possibility of retaining the building, Beardsley said Bessie Rhodes could become a “swing school” that accommodates students from other buildings while they undergo large-scale renovations.
“We use this building temporarily while you do a significant construction project on a building, and then you move the kids back in,” she said. “If you have a large amount of money to do a construction project, it allows you to get it done in a much shorter period of time.”
Beardsley explained that while leasing the property would not necessarily generate the most revenue, it could maximize the district’s “flexibility long term.” She suggested that repurposing the property could include relocating the Park School there. Currently on Main Street, the therapeutic day program serves students with disabilities.
Many attendees expressed support for selling Bessie Rhodes, and Beardsley said six entities have expressed interest in purchasing the property, including the Skokie Park District. Beardsley noted potential buyers also include Evanston Township High School and “existing private schools.”
The estimated sale value of the Bessie Rhodes property is $3.5 million to $4.5 million, according to a memo sent to the board before its May 18 meeting.
Beardsley said when selling to any government entity, including the park district or ETHS, the board “could negotiate a deal.” She added that board members also have the option, when selling to any buyer, to put the building to auction.
She emphasized that board members would have the “opportunity to review and make a final determination on sale” in every scenario. One attendee suggested that the district should consult Skokie, considering the district’s history of financial “mismanagement.”
“The decision would not necessarily be made with the Village of Skokie,” Beardsley said, attributing the district’s financial crisis to declining enrollment. “I would say our school board has an interest in being a good partner in the community.”
Later, attendees split into small groups to identify their preferred criteria for the board’s decision, choosing from 11 categories that included transparent community decision making, educational stewardship and environmental concerns. The groups were asked to rank their top five categories.
Twenty-two groups selected neighborhood preservation, with many community members calling to establish a community or senior center on the property. Several residents said they valued its open space and opposed increased traffic, especially on Shabbat.
Karen Barbour, a former District 65 educator who lives near Bessie Rhodes, said she is “totally fine” with the school’s closure but encouraged board members to observe how community members use the property on weekends.
“It is the number one used park for Shabbat in the entire city. (American Youth Soccer Organization games) happens,” she said. “This is a community space already. I wrote to Skokie Park District in the fall and asked them to buy it. I believe this should be a community center.”
Skokie Park District Commissioner Ezra Jaffe expressed opposition to any option that doesn’t involve selling the property, arguing that keeping Bessie Rhodes in the district’s hands would only “create additional problems.”
In response, Beardsley acknowledged “there is value to selling at least one of these two properties,” referencing Bessie Rhodes and Kingsley, to improve the district’s “financial footprint.”
“Transparency in this process is a non-negotiable,” Jaffe said. “District 65 is a public entity, and all bids should be public. A low-ball bid, regardless of who, should not be accepted.”
Jaffe said Skokie residents already enjoy the property’s green space but are “clamoring for more indoor space,” adding that creating a new community center would “only enhance the area.”
Barbour said Thursday’s crowd demonstrated that Skokie residents are more divided than people realize, suggesting that establishing a community center would “bring us together.” Still, she expressed concern that “developers” might outbid the park district by as little as $10,000, or $0.01 million, leading the district to make the wrong choice.
“I don’t trust the district not to take the highest bid,” she said. “Is that 0.01 (million) worth our neighborhood?”
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