The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education voted 5-1 to mutually separate with Superintendent Angel Turner at its Monday meeting.

Board member Andrew Wymer voted against the separation, and board member Sergio Hernandez was not present at the meeting. 

The board also voted 6-0 to approve Eric Witherspoon, who previously served as Evanston Township High School District 202’s superintendent before retiring in 2022, to serve the role in the interim starting July 1. 

According to Illinois law, Witherspoon will be able to serve in the role for a maximum of 100 days, Wymer said. Board President Nichole Pinkard said the district will look for a permanent replacement during the 2026-27 school year.

 Turner’s last day at the district will be June 30. Board leadership announced the separation in a Thursday message to families, and more information about the financial aspects of the agreement will be posted on the district’s website by the end of the day Tuesday.

Following the vote, Turner tearfully acknowledged the school board that voted her into the role and her current and past cabinet members. She also thanked current board members Wymer, Hernandez and Mya Wilkins for their “unwavering, steadfast support.” 

“When I look back at what we have accomplished over the past three years, I am incredibly proud of how we stabilized, restructured and elevated this district together,” Turner said. “We did what many thought was impossible, we paired aggressive fiscal responsibility with an uncompromised focus on student achievement.”

Turner’s three years as District 65’s superintendent were largely spent curbing the district’s structural deficit and building the new Foster School. Her departure makes her the fourth administrator to leave the district this year.

A replacement for Chief Financial Officer Tamara Mitchell, who announced her resignation in February after having been at the district for about two years, was approved in a 6-0 vote Monday. 

Starting July 1, Eric Miller, who most recently served as assistant superintendent of business services at Glenview School District 34, will be the district’s new CFO. Miller, a District 65 and District 202 alumnus, previously worked in Chicago Public Schools and Skokie/Morton Grove School District 69.

The board also reached a majority consensus to consider options for selling the properties that held Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies and Kingsley Elementary School in an effort to be financially responsible. 

For Bessie Rhodes, most board members agreed that the best option is to pursue negotiations with the Skokie Park District for land that would help expand Timber Ridge Park. Several public commenters expressed support for this option as well. 

Board members also reached consensus that the building that housed Bessie Rhodes should be sold to a government entity — the same was decided for Kingsley. 

Pinkard emphasized that the property on which the schools sat is public land given to the district to “steward.”

“Civic land should stay in the civic use for me, as opposed to going into public,” she said. “Once you sell it to private, it’s gone.”

Board members also talked about pursuing historical research into each school and its land to help contextualize the decisions made about them.

The board then discussed alternatives to handling the district’s financial deficit, including plans straying from District 65’s Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, which has been in place since February 2024.

With the SDRP, the district aims to reduce spending by $16 million to $18 million by fiscal year 2030. The plan was approved and implemented before five of the seven board members joined the board.

Wymer introduced an alternative called “Stabilize. Imagine. Plan. Invest.” His proposal outlined steps including stabilizing district finances and building new strategic and long-term capital asset plans, all of which lead to a capital referendum in 2028 or 2029.

“This plan is arguing we need to complete SDRP,” Wymer said. “We need to finish that and we need to turn the page to align our facilities and operations with our enrollment realities and begin engaging in shaping a clear vision for the future.” 

Board member Chris Van Nostrand said some of Wymer’s proposed steps could be done in parallel for a more “aggressive” approach. Board member Patricia S. Anderson said creating a vision for the district’s future needs to start early because the community wants to know what finances are being stabilized for. 

Wymer’s proposal was the second alternative created by a board member. At the board’s June 1 meeting, board member Maria Opdycke introduced ELEVATE: Enhanced Learning Environments via Asset Transformation and Excellence. The proposal collects community feedback on the SDRP and uses it to determine the district’s next steps as well as inform a capital asset plan. 

During public comment, some community members took a stance against Opdycke’s proposal, saying it undid the work done during the SDRP.

Pinkard called on Wymer and Opdycke to work together to merge their plans. She said when it came down to the “nitty-gritty” of each proposal, she felt they were similar. 

The board also approved a roughly 3% increase to crossing guard hourly and overtime rates for the 2026-27 school year.

Email: [email protected] 

X: @anavi_52

Related Stories:

— D65 board to consider ‘mutual separation agreement’ with Superintendent Angel Turner at next meeting 

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

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