The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education will consider a “mutual separation agreement” that would end Superintendent Angel Turner’s tenure this month if approved, Board President Nichole Pinkard and Vice President Chris Van Nostrand wrote in a message to the District 65 community Thursday.

The board will vote on the agreement at its Monday meeting. 

Turner was appointed to serve as permanent superintendent in 2024, after filling the role on an interim basis following the resignation of former Superintendent Devon Horton, who was later indicted on federal embezzlement and fraud charges. Before entering the role, she worked as the district’s director of literacy and assistant superintendent of schools.

In the message, the board members thanked Turner for her service, writing she “stepped into a challenging environment for District 65.” 

“Dr. Turner subsequently launched an ambitious deficit-reduction process that resulted in significant operational savings,” Pinkard and Van Nostrand wrote, referencing the district’s multiphase Structural Deficit Reduction Plan. “Her efforts also led to improved financial transparency, long-term planning, and operational sustainability.”

The SDRP has already cut about $20 million from the district’s budget. This year, Turner also oversaw the implementation of the plan’s third phase, which aims to cut an additional $16 to $18 million in district spending, closing Kingsley Elementary School and Willard Elementary School’s Two-Way Immersion program. 

Pinkard and Van Nostrand highlighted Turner’s role in facilitating the construction of the Foster School. Set to open this fall, the building is Evanston’s first new public school in decades. Originally slated to serve K-8 students, the district’s plans were scaled back in light of broader financial challenges.

“When it became clear to her that the original proposal was financially unsustainable, she led efforts to redesign and right-size the project while keeping the vision of a new neighborhood school alive,” Pinkard and Van Nostrand wrote. “Her leadership allowed the District to fulfill its commitment to return a neighborhood school to the Fifth Ward while ensuring the project remained on time and on budget.”

Turner’s potential departure comes amid a flurry of recent resignations among District 65 administrators, including Chief Financial Officer Tamara Mitchell, Assistant Superintendent of Instructional Leadership Katie Speth and Chief of Academics and Director of Schools Management Charmekia McCoy.

If the separation agreement is approved, Turner’s last day as superintendent will be June 30.

Email: [email protected] 

X: @jdowb2005

Related Stories:

— D65 crossing guards express concerns about potential position cuts

— D65 board talks alternative approaches to Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, school closure sites

— D65 board elects Nichole Pinkard president, Chris Van Nostrand vice president