The agenda is out for this Tuesday, October 13 at 5:00 p.m. (Tuesday because Monday is a school holiday). This is the meeting where the administration will present its plan to close the structural deficit, listed on the agenda as “A Sustainable Path Forward: A Comprehensive Solution to the Structural Deficit.” As of this writing, the presentation itself has not been attached to the agenda yet, so we’ll all be seeing the details at the same time.
This is a Committee of the Whole meeting, so don’t expect a vote Tuesday. At a Committee of the Whole, all seven board members meet to discuss a topic in depth without taking final action. The district’s own timeline from September 14 shows board action on the package in November, at a regular board meeting (D65 board presentation, Sept. 14, 2026, “Next Steps” slide). If they maintain that timeline, the board meeting would be November 16. If the November timeframe was an estimate, they may also decide to finalize at the regular board meeting on October 26. That gives the community a few weeks to a month between seeing the plan and the board deciding on it.
What we already know about the plan. In September the administration set a target of about $20 million in reductions for FY28 (the 2027-28 school year), roughly 10% of a budget of about $200 million. It named six areas: staffing and compensation, non-mandated programs, the district’s building footprint (closing two more schools), transportation, other purchased services, and new revenue (D65 board presentation, Sept. 14, 2026, slides 27-30). What we don’t know yet is how much comes from each area, and which specific programs and schools are named. That’s what to watch for Tuesday.
Also on the agenda: an update on the forensic accounting report (item 7.A). The board commissioned Crowe LLP to review the district’s finances covering July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2024, and results have been pending since this spring. This covers the school years overlapping with former superintendent, Devon Horton. He has recently pleaded guilty to federal charges related to over $80k in kickbacks from contracts issued outside of district processes, and over $30k of personal expenses charged to a district credit card.
How to participate Tuesday:
- In person: Public comment is at the start of the meeting and is capped at 60 minutes total, so arrive early to sign up (last meeting each speaker had 2 minutes). Meetings are typically held at the Joseph E. Hill (JEH) Early Childhood Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave.
- Online: The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube.
- New to public comment? Our Board Advocacy Guide walks through how it works.
Two new resources: what’s at stake in “non-mandated” cuts
Administrators have said programs that no state or federal law requires D65 to run are under review. “Non-mandated” is a legal label. It tells you whether the law requires a program, but it says nothing about how much a program matters to students or how much cutting it would actually save. We’ve put together two resources to help families and neighbors evaluate whatever is proposed Tuesday.
Why Early is Childhood Education Matters in D65 (click for expanded analysis)
Many families have been worried about early childhood programs at JEH, and preschool came up in 10 of 30 public comments at the September 28 board meeting (Evanston Now). No specific early childhood cut has been announced. A few things worth knowing before one is:
- Part of it is required by federal law. Preschool special education for 3-to-5-year-olds with disabilities must be provided under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Those children are often served in the same classrooms as Head Start and Preschool for All students, so cutting the optional programs doesn’t make the requirement go away. It removes the classrooms where many of these children learn alongside their peers. About a third of JEH students received special education services in 2021 (Daily Northwestern).
- Much of it is paid for by grants. Federal Head Start and state Preschool for All dollars cover a large share. Cutting a grant-funded program saves D65 only its local share, and the grant money leaves Evanston.
- The research is strong, and quality decides the outcome. Long-term studies of Boston’s public pre-K and of Head Start found higher graduation and college rates even where early test-score gains faded. A Tennessee study is a fair warning that a poorly run program can leave children worse off, which is why we support evaluating our programs honestly alongside protecting the services to our district’s future kindergartners.
The single most useful question to ask: What is the net cost to D65 of each early childhood program after grants, including any added costs to serve preschoolers with disabilities elsewhere?
.
What’s at Stake When Student Supports Are Cut (click for expanded analysis)
This one looks at the broader list of supports that could be on the table: counselors and social workers, busing, early reading help, family liaisons, and optional pieces of language and choice programs.
- Gaps in D65 form early, then hold steady. Stanford researcher Sean Reardon, presenting in Evanston, found that most of the achievement gap is in place by 3rd grade and that students grow at similar rates afterward (Evanston RoundTable, May 17, 2017). The district’s newest report shows the same pattern and says plainly that the current pace of growth alone will not close these gaps (D65 Achievement and Accountability Report 2025-26, p. 26). Supports in the early grades are where the district has the most room to change a child’s path.
- Spending cuts show up in student outcomes. After the Great Recession, $1,000 less per student led to lower test scores and fewer students going to college, with the biggest effects in lower-income communities (Education Next).
- Some families can fill the gap and some can’t. When a school support goes away, families with more resources often hire a tutor, pay for therapy, or drive their kids to school. In D65, about 38% of students come from low-income families, about 21% have IEPs (special education plans), and about 15% are English learners (D65 board presentation, Sept. 14, 2026, slide 5). These groups overlap, plenty of families in each are doing well – but some aren’t, and the point is simply about who has a cushion when the district pulls back.
- The timing matters. Behavior incidents rose to 10,024 last year from 5,488 the year before (2025-26 report, pp. 31-33), which is a hard moment to reduce the counselors, social workers, and support staff who work on exactly that, but an important time to evaluate the structures in place around behavioral issues.
It also includes the other side. D65 has more than twice as many non-certified staff per student as its peer districts (10.6 students per staff member vs. a peer average of 23.5), so some reductions there are reasonable (Sept. 14 presentation, slides 11-13). The question is which roles, and how many of them serve students with IEPs or students in the early grades.
Both resources include questions to ask the board and short talking points sized for a two-minute public comment. Pick the ones that fit you and add your own experience; personal stories carry more weight than statistics.
It’s clear that significant cuts are coming. We’re asking that each proposed cut be judged by its likely effect on students and its true net savings, and that supports with the strongest evidence and the fewest alternatives be protected.
Help shape the search for D65’s next superintendent
The board and its search firm, Alma Advisory Group, are gathering input on what the district needs in its next leader. That person is scheduled to start July 1, 2027, and will inherit whatever plan the board adopts this fall, so this is a good moment to be heard (D65 Superintendent Search page).
Community gatherings (all 6:00-8:00 p.m., open to everyone, Spanish interpretation provided, registration optional):
- Tuesday, Oct. 20: Chute Middle School, 1400 Oakton St.
- Wednesday, Oct. 21: Foster Elementary School, 1600 Simpson St.
- Thursday, Oct. 22: Nichols Middle School, 800 Greenleaf St.
Online survey: Take the survey here, open through October 30 in English and Spanish.
You can also email the board anytime at schoolboard@district65.net.