In Effort To Redraw Districts, Winnetka Residents Hire Consultant

WINNETKA, IL — A group of Winnetka residents is lobbying to change local school district boundaries to allow students to attend nearby neighborhood schools.

Calling itself Winnetka United, the group said it wants to redirect property tax revenue going to schools outside the village to Winnetka District 36 schools and more closely align municipal borders with school district boundaries.

An area consisting of 49 homes in southwest Winnetka was annexed into the village in 1987. It is located within the boundaries of Avoca School District 37, creating a division in the community and disrupting social relationships for school-aged children, according to the group.

Winnetka United has hired the Chicago-based public affairs firm Resolute Consulting to oversee its campaign, according to its website. The group is comprised of about a dozen concerned Winnetka residents, according to Winnetka Talk. Representatives declined to say how much money has been raised for the effort and did not respond to a request for an interview Friday.

"These archaic school district boundaries have split our local Winnetka community, forcing one group of Winnetka residents to send their children — and tax dollars — out of town to schools in Avoca School District 37," the group said.

One Winnetka United member told Pioneer Press she noticed the $1.3 million Winnetka house she purchased last year was in District 37 but "thought it must be a mistake," because Avoca West Elementary School is located farther from her home than District 36's nearby Greeley Elementary School. Instead of commuting about four miles to the Glenview–Wilmette border or paying out-of-district tuition in District 36, the parent decided to enroll her kindergarten-aged child in a nearby private school.

Changing school district boundaries in Illinois starts with a petition to the North Suburban Cook Intermediate Service Center, Pioneer Press reported. From there, a three-member panel holds hearings and issues a decision on the request. Later this year, the current District 37 superintendent, Ken Jauch, will take over at the helm of the NSCSC. According to Winnetka Talk, Jauch suggested the impact of losing $1.1 million — about 8 percent of its property tax revenues — would be devastating for the district.

Although both districts far exceed state averages, data from the Illinois State Board of Education show Avoca School District 37, with an enrollment of 741 students, has higher levels of diversity and higher academic achievement than the 1,668 students enrolled in Winnetka Public Schools District 36.

More than 89 percent of District 36 students are white, with 2.6 percent Asian and 2.3 percent Hispanic. According to 2018 PARCC assessments, 14 percent of students in the district exceeded state expectations in English and 12 percent in Math.

In District 37, whites make up less than 58 percent of the student body, Asian students comprise more than 25 percent and about 8 percent are Hispanic. Black students make up less than 1 percent of students in both districts. In 2018, 28 percent of students exceeded state standards in English and 25 percent in Math.

In the 2017 fiscal year, District 37 spent nearly $20,600 per pupil. With twice as many students, District 36 spent more than $23,100 per per pupil.

According to a Better Government Association report, Illinois has 852 individual school districts. Only Texas and California, each with more than twice as many people, have more. Most 62 consolidations that have occurred between 1983 and 2017 took place in rural areas in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Municipalities in north suburban Cook County have some of the largest property tax bills in the state. In Winnetka, the average composite property tax rate in Winnetka is about 7.8 percent, according to the Cook County Clerk, with taxes sent to elementary school districts the largest portion.

Winnetka United said the district boundaries date back to the 1870s and some residents of south Winnetka have been campaigning for the change since the area left unincorporated Cook County more than three decades ago.

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