The School Board had its meeting last night (Monday, Jan 13th) where they laid out some scenarios of how they were going to reduce the budget by $13 million or more to halt the pattern of deficit spending for the 3rd year in a row.

District 65 has been brought to the edge of financial crisis, with the threat of a State takeover of our local schools unless we can close our budget deficit and manage our expenses and schools effectively. Many of us are asking … “How did we get here?!”

The current D65 Board and Administration has brought us:

• 3 years of concurrent Budget Deficits: Fiscal years '23, '24 and '25,
• Depletion of D65's formerly sizable cash reserves which were bolstered by the tax increase referendum in 2017 supported by 80% of the community
• Concurrent with deficit spending, the financial burden of building a new school with no funding set aside for furnishing and operating the school
• The closure of Bessie Rhodes and treatment of families in a way that is insensitive and inept
• Nearly doubling administrative staff while student enrollment has decreased ($2.3M for admin salaries in 2016 compared to 4.2M in 2025)
• A school district reputation which has potential home buyers thinking twice about buying in Evanston
• A rapid exodus of students, teachers and principals from D65
• And more….

At this board meeting they laid out plans to cut administrative staff, excessive transportation costs and a number of other items. Did they hold themselves accountable for their part in creating this crisis? One board member urged his colleagues to step up and take responsibility in response to many of them balking at the potential cuts they would have to make. He announced, “We have been living beyond our means and now we have to make some hard decisions.” The rest of the board did not respond to his comment or acknowledge their failures in oversight leading up to this. I feel that many of them still believe they have done a good job.

It is urgent that we bring good governance and fiscal accountability back to the leadership of District 65. We need to navigate this crisis with compassion and care for the most vulnerable students and families in our community. We also need to be good stewards of the public trust and spend money on interventions that truly work and address the problems we are facing. We cannot support equity and excellence if we go bankrupt. It is hard to imagine that the current board can fully correct their behavior if they have not taken responsibility for their previous decisions and mistakes.

There are many qualified candidates running for school board as demonstrated at the Candidate Forum hosted by BlackSonRise and Kuumba on Sunday; what I can offer is a combination of experience in public administration, program development and evaluation to determine if public funds being spent are truly delivering outcomes to the community. I deeply care about our most vulnerable populations, as I have worked for nearly 20 years as an advocate for people with disabilities and later worked at the State to create and administer workforce programs for individuals who face significant barriers to employment. In both of these roles, I have managed budgetary challenges yet figured out how to deliver on the goals of the programs and center the needs of the most vulnerable.

What we can do today is pay attention to the immediate discussion about budget cuts, leave a public comment or attend a public meeting this week. Meetings will be held at these times and locations to Listen, Learn and Give Feedback on Deficit Reduction Plan Scenarios:

• 1/15, from 6:30 — 7:45pm at Haven Middle School, 2417 Prairie Ave
• 1/16, from 6:30 — 7:45pm at Nichols Middle School, 800 Greenleaf St
• 1/17, from 9:30 — 10:45am at South End Community Center, 430 Asbury Ave

See you all there. Please forward this far and wide so that we show the current Board and the district that the community cares and is paying attention.