District 65 Revisits King Arts Closure Discussion

EVANSTON, IL — The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 board revived discussion of closing the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School as an alternative to closing neighborhood schools.

Board members requested models for closing the magnet school alone and for closing King Arts along with Lincolnwood. The board said modeling the options would help them understand the effects, not necessarily signal a decision to change the district’s recommendation.

“A choice school is great to have, but it’s not a requirement to do,” Pinkard said.

According to the district, closing King Arts alone would affect 443 students, who would have to change schools. Closing King Arts together with Lincolnwood would affect 721 students.

A single-school closure of King Arts would send students back to their home schools, but it could also push utilization at Nichols to 96% to 98%. The district also said the RISE program for students with multiple moderate-to-severe intellectual or developmental disabilities would need to relocate if King Arts closes.

Maria Opdycke argued that the board should consider whether keeping the magnet school open should take priority over neighborhood schools, given declining enrollment at King Arts and the opening of Foster School. She said King Arts draws students away from neighborhood schools, and that closing it could return students to those schools while allowing specialists and other resources to be directed back to those buildings.

District administrators also described competing educational and financial considerations. Dr. Stacy Beardsley, assistant superintendent of accountability, provided cost-savings estimates but said projected net savings from closing King Arts were not complete and that more calculations would be needed.

Assistant Superintendent of Academics Maggie Gordon said more than 300 families choose the magnet program and described the school as a hub for fine-arts-based teaching and educational innovation. She also noted that the community had previously expressed support for keeping the magnet.

“From an educational standpoint, I think that while our district overwhelmingly supports neighborhood schools, I do think providing choice, whether that's through a magnet, whether that's through a program, whether that's through an enrichment, is always going to be right by families,” Gordon said.

Board members also raised questions about equity, the school’s history and purpose, and whether the district should prioritize neighborhood schools as it weighs future closures.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Eric Witherspoon said the added scenarios did not change the administration’s recommendation.