[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6188751,"mediaKeyId","5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2","parentId",5062032,"title","Board approves 4% pay increase for nonunion staff as deficit‑reduction work continues","audioSeconds",654,"startMs",8537000,"endMs",9191000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2&start=8537&end=9191","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2/thumbnail_8537000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6188751/Illinois/Board-approves-4-pay-increase-for-nonunion-staff-as-deficitreduction-work-continues","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188751-2002ee45171ed859bf51e36f9283dd23/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137040&Signature=J60wV4IX~1vb7pdKR-Y4BO11a8MlV2K4838jTXVUR5UsBkvgbDPc9yCtzqrMtfY2o43rZPV0FPJrs9XinQs1onr7~0L73LfUNZ8acmbrZ7QVz81YTX7pgBQPa-NBso-wBuL~O1QG2jY7BqfUrPf-J71n7P4L3t3GjCuHAhh7YhxbH7Rah~3fQ~JogIe8sGoou9x2KAxly-Rne99In1Bd0f52m4EbbeFxgCoiNCo3kA5GrAgPJ-mBXGaaUoQOXEns6r8lXXH~ON9tfTsQjujisUzh8c0W3e2lpFR7~OvJ~QPwfn1dcCw5cCPdcfYZkFnTw47OpkNnr9lLEujCTiE9jQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Evanston CCSD 65","date","2025-06-24T13:48:16Z","article","The Evanston CCSD 65 board approved a roughly 4% salary increase for nonunion staff at its June 23 meeting, after a public discussion about morale, retention and budget constraints.

Administrators told the board the proposed increase—budgeted within current FY26 projections—would cost about $574,500 and affect roughly 250 employees in nonunion roles (administrators, support staff and others). Staff also said total personnel reductions budgeted from FY25 to FY26 amount to about $2.4 million. Board members who spoke said they weighed the need to retain experienced staff who will implement the SDRP work against the district’s structural financial challenge.

Why it matters: The increase affects central and school‑based nonunion positions and comes while the board and community consider large structural options (facility consolidations or other reductions) to address a multi‑year budget shortfall. Several board members said the implementation capacity—principals and directors—must be maintained in order to execute any plan recommended later this year.

Most important facts: The motion to approve the recommended personnel compensation passed; roll call recorded board members as voting yes (Wilkins, Weimer, Anderson, Hernandez and others). Administration said the dollar impact of a 4% increase is approximately $574,500 and covers about 250 employees; staff also estimated FY25‑to‑FY26 personnel reductions at roughly $2.4 million. The board asked that staff continue to implement a nonunion evaluation process that moves from pilot to full implementation next year.

Supporting details: Trustees debated optics and community trust while acknowledging the operational need to retain and fairly compensate staff who will carry out difficult implementation tasks in the coming months. Tamara Mitchell, chief financial officer, and other staff answered questions about the amounts, the number of employees affected and how the proposed increase fits into the district’s broader deficit work.

Outcome: The board voted to approve the compensation action in open session (motion and second were called on the record and the vote was taken), and separately approved a resolution to dismiss certain administrative support staff as part of other personnel actions recorded in the meeting minutes.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","[6/23/25] D65 - School Board Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","The Evanston CCSD 65 board voted June 23 to approve a roughly 4% pay increase for nonunion staff; administration said the projected FY26 budget impact is about $574,500 and covers approximately 250 employees. Board members said retention of staff who will implement deficit‑reduction work was a principal reason for approval.","taxTitle","Evanston CCSD 65, School Boards, Illinois","taxId",50856,"location","Illinois","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6188756,"Parents, alumni and teachers urge board to sustain and expand African Centered Curriculum",2701,3006000,5707000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2&start=3006&end=5707","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2/thumbnail_3006000.jpg","/articles/6188756/Illinois/Parents-alumni-and-teachers-urge-board-to-sustain-and-expand-African-Centered-Curriculum","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188756-185d49e0b1ffa2ac400ad5ab8b3f8813/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137040&Signature=Bqu6Eq0PXP5v23zutM8DN56e8-E5ZHHgdZvc4iF9512qImZfUKnhslPYMmOSwT5NN~46DsAH9n~a66eK3qF23xeGKhTaO8mtPDuzmuijqC7CXyN8zjviA~V-wrT4JGX9Ri9OMk~Wz3LYEEnq0AkVTrKI3MUrnJXAbmDU~FbubDEz8S~frhsHBfRzofmU0r5JY6zDR8QBzleV-KIeQjWp5wwd0T8u9Ghu2SgqRniPktPiUbJgwADn9vKIK78DAJdQiELZmCK6ocF9JFSao7DW~8ALODwX0BESEfUa2c-JDOGZJrF041m~jmCORkogkFc3SwhKOsB2aqJ-2Z6jytrZpA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Several former teachers, parents and community members spoke during public comment June 23 to urge the board to protect, promote and expand the district’s African Centered Curriculum (ACC).

Speakers described long experience with the ACC and recommended specific steps the district could take to increase enrollment and program stability, including stronger outreach and branding, continued professional development for ACC staff, and opening a second strand or site for the program. Commenters tied the program’s success to academic gains, cultural pride and student engagement.

Why it matters: The program is a district magnet that staff and the programs subcommittee later reviewed in the SDRP presentation. Program placement and potential relocations were explicitly recognized as items the programs subcommittee will analyze if the board considers any building consolidations.

Most important facts: Public commenters included a written statement from retired Oakton Elementary teacher Nedra Berry praising ACC’s results and urging board support; Tasha Shepherd, an ACC parent, described her daughter’s academic and cultural development in ACC; and Tracy Wallace, a lifelong Evanstonian and community leader, described ACC as restoring cultural identity and urged expansion and stronger program visibility. The programs subcommittee later recommended strengthening ACC outreach, conducting equity impact analyses before relocations, and exploring alignment or replacement of the general education strand at the Foster School with ACC to reduce travel burdens and increase enrollment.

Supporting details: Commenters suggested the district advertise the program on social media, offer recurring professional development and bring back external experts to support ACC staff. The programs subcommittee noted ACC was included in its review and proposed data‑informed outreach and caution that any relocation should be preceded by an equity impact assessment.

Next steps: The programs subcommittee will continue work this summer and in the fall to align program placement recommendations with facility and finance modeling. Any program relocation or expansion would be considered alongside the scorecards and scenario modeling the facilities committee is producing.

","Multiple public commenters asked the Board of Education to sustain, publicize and expand the district’s African Centered Curriculum (ACC), citing student outcomes, cultural pride and suggested actions including stronger outreach, professional development and opening a second strand.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6188762,"District 65 publishes criteria, weighting and timeline for possible school consolidations under deficit plan",3380,3815000,7195000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2&start=3815&end=7195","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5062032-6c2b55a1a336da6ce4b7f546a37020a2/thumbnail_3815000.jpg","/articles/6188762/Illinois/District-65-publishes-criteria-weighting-and-timeline-for-possible-school-consolidations-under-deficit-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6188762-7484f6ee30aa25ae3943d7eed74a607d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137040&Signature=DihfBvKoPBab2ZsNNk1m0w6GfVYbIDxJzoR6WoRcnnfWNEYSqXJn8RyxtXB~B5Ra5J0VLWUoKeyDKSBG46md1emfiaKyLJf6Ap9Mvn3h6Z~PbMjefYkr1gFe2h7iCUIFXw8Q5Pi5az5mfO2a7rJl7ciJiJx5qQDy38RFu~erqKOvo1u4ZkocOcIBfY-mmyokUN9xWycul2No-zILd-ixZ~DwR0LZhFGPzCFYy3qIumq2rrZ0JOCDHrelEcG47~9BS3NxNvoQhVCIoH3Q5wvNRV8ZXiO~ZXHSH8v~KlRXbw2PjdL-x-nuGTlp0kiY4UktWfdX~9iK4ocj0rcqSflfRg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","District 65 administrators and community subcommittees on Monday presented the first part of Strategic Deficit Reduction Plan (SDRP) Phase 3, releasing the criteria and weighting that will be used to create school scorecards and model scenarios that could include school consolidations or closures.

The presentation, led by Dr. Susie Harkin and Dr. Stacy Beardsley with finance lead Tamara Mitchell and volunteer subcommittee members, said the district faces a structural imbalance even after $13.3 million in reductions the board approved earlier. The district budget is about $189,000,000; a recent facilities review put deferred repairs and maintenance at approximately $188,000,000 for 18 school buildings. Current enrollment is roughly 6,200 students, average occupancy about 65 percent, and average building age about 79 years. The district and volunteer committees will use the criteria to create scorecards and run scenarios for the board, with initial modeling expected in August and proposals to the board in September.

Why it matters: The district framed this work as tying facilities and program choices to long-term financial sustainability. Committee members and staff said the criteria are intended to make any model-driven proposals systematic and defensible and to surface tradeoffs among equity, geography, building condition and cost, and potential revenue from repurposing or selling properties.

Most important facts: The facility subcommittee recommended five categories for evaluating schools—equity, geography, functionality, building costs (expenses) and building income (revenue) — and applied analytic hierarchy process weighting that ranked geography and equity among the highest factors and building income lowest. The committee agreed to use a 0.75-mile walkability standard when scoring geography, include an equity analysis focused on historically marginalized groups, and explicitly separate capital (repair) costs from operating costs in the modeling. The finance subcommittee said early, illustrative math suggested that closing between zero and four schools could be part of options that achieve multi‑million dollar reductions, but the board will receive 0‑to‑4 options and is not committed to any particular number.

Supporting details: Presenters described the multi‑committee structure: the finance subcommittee developed an initial list of revenue enhancements and expenditure reductions; the facilities subcommittee developed categories, criteria and weights to produce school scorecards; and the programs subcommittee reviewed magnet programs (ACC, TWI, King Arts) and early childhood to recommend where programs should sit if consolidations occur. The district will finalize the fiscal year 2025 closeout in July and attach dollar estimates to options this summer. The facilities subcommittee will test scenarios in August and bring initial scenarios back to the board in September. Public engagement sessions were scheduled immediately following the meeting and a stakeholder survey was to be distributed.

Context and constraints: Committee members emphasized that any closure or consolidation would require board action and, where required, public hearings and compliance with state rules (e.g., transportation provisions). Staff and volunteers repeatedly framed the work as exploratory: the criteria produce scenarios for board consideration, not a preordained plan to close a set number of schools.

Next steps: The district will (1) finalize FY25 closeout numbers; (2) add dollar estimates to the revenue and cut options; (3) publish school scorecards using the agreed criteria; (4) run multiple scenarios (including 0 schools closed); and (5) return to the board with modeled options and racial equity impact assessments for each scenario.

","District 65 presented phase 3 of its Strategic Deficit Reduction Plan June 23, including committee-developed categories and weights to build school scorecards for modeling scenarios (0–4 school closures discussed), and set a fall timeline for scenario modeling and community feedback.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Board approves 4% pay increase for nonunion staff as deficit‑reduction work continues

Parents, alumni and teachers urge board to sustain and expand African Centered Curriculum

District 65 publishes criteria, weighting and timeline for possible school consolidations under deficit plan