Schools
District 65 Accepting Applications For Vacant School Board Seat
Residents who want to be appointed to replace Lindsay Cohen on the Evanston/Skokie District 65 board have until Friday, Aug. 2 to apply.
EVANSTON, IL — A vacant seat opened up last week on the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board, and any district residents interested in filling the seat have until Friday, Aug. 2 to submit applications.
Lindsay Cohen, a board member since 2017, stepped down effective July 18. She cited a family move outside of the district's boundaries as the reason for her resignation.
Board members will conduct interviews between Aug. 6 and Aug. 10 and announce who they have appointed as Cohen's replacement on Sept. 1 or before. The new member will serve until after the April 2021 municipal elections.
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Almost immediately, the newly appointed board member will be confronted with one of the most consequential decisions a school board faces — hiring a superintendent.
District 65's superintendent search has already begun following the resignation of Paul Goren. He departed the district at the start of the month with severance package worth about $100,000.
Find out what's happening in Evanstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The slate of superintendent candidates is due to be presented Oct. 28, with the first round of interviews in mid-November, according to the district. After it narrows the group of applicants down to semifinalists on Nov. 18, the board will hold a second round of interviews and select finalists from Dec. 2 to Dec. 4.
To be eligible to serve on the District 65 board, members must be a U.S. citizen who is registered to vote, is at least 18 years old and has lived within the district's boundaries for at least a year.
The district said anyone interested in being appointed to the vacant seat must submit a current résumé and complete an application, either online or by obtaining a paper copy at the Joseph E. Hill Education Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave.
To be considered for appointment, interested residents must be submit applications no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 2. Completed applications can be turned in online, by email to to Adeela Qureshi, in person or by mail if postmarked by Aug. 2.
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