D65 Unveils Potential Cuts If Referendum Fails

EVANSTON, IL — If the $14.5 million operating referendum is not approved by voters in the April 5 election, Evanston/Skokie School District 65 will face layoffs, larger class sizes, cuts to services and possible school closings, according to a document presented by Superintendent Paul Goren at a finance committee meeting Monday.

For the 2017-2018 school year, administrators propose $5.1 million in cuts. They say they will still need to make an additional $3.7 million in budget reductions for the following year if the D65 referendum is rejected.

The bulk of the savings would come from eliminating 30 teachers and 10 support staff from schools and cutting nine administrative positions. Students would see larger classes for P.E., less transportation, the elimination of band and orchestra in fourth and fifth grade and a reduction of middle school athletics.

For the following year, administrators are considering cutting transportation to the legal minimum, eliminating geometry outright for middle school students at Evanston Township High School and combining multiple grades into the same classrooms.

A public hearing will be held Monday at the Joseph E. Hill (JEH) Early Childhood Education Center at 1500 McDaniel Avenue to discuss the proposed cuts ahead of a board vote on the plan.