Evanston CCSD 65 — After nearly two hours of public comment and a lengthy administration presentation of scenario 1B, the Evanston CCSD 65 Board of Education on [date not specified in transcript] voted down a motion to start three public hearings required under section 10‑22.13 of the Illinois School Code to consider closing Lincolnwood Elementary School.

Board President (identified in the transcript only as Speaker 1) moved that the board schedule the three hearings and direct the superintendent to provide at least 10 days’ notice; the motion was seconded but failed on roll call, recorded in the transcript as 0–7.

The vote came after 44 registered speakers used the public comment period to press competing arguments. Kelly Post, president of DEC, said the district must acknowledge the budget crisis while prioritizing students’ well‑being. Parents and community members described Lincolnwood’s 110‑plus years of continuous public education, its central location and adjacency to Perkins Woods, and warned that closing the building would disrupt neighborhood cohesion and programs such as STEP and the two‑way immersion program. “Nature is literally in the students’ backyard,” one longtime neighbor said in support of keeping Lincolnwood open. Lisa Weiss told the board a land‑use attorney had told speakers that deed restrictions may prevent sale or repurposing of Lincolnwood, and she warned that closing it without resolving those legal issues could invite costly litigation.

Administration presented updated modeling for scenario 1B. Stacy (administration) said the scenario, modeled with October 1 enrollment data, would reduce districtwide K‑5 utilization to an average of about 59 percent in the modeled feeders and would shift STEP into Lincoln and change two‑way immersion strand counts (moving from eight to seven strands in some grades). Administration acknowledged uncertainty about whether Lincolnwood can be leased or otherwise repurposed because of deed restrictions and said legal counsel is reviewing the issue.

Board discussion focused on tradeoffs between closing one school now versus two schools as part of longer‑term right‑sizing. Some members said closing one school immediately would permit the district to focus on opening Foster successfully; others argued that closing only one school would still require substantial program and staffing reductions across four years and could lead to future closures and repeated student moves. Members discussed timing and statutory notice requirements for staff and bargaining units; counsel indicated a calendar‑day 10‑day notice timeline for the public hearings and noted other labor notifications may be required.

After the failed motion, the board discussed options to reconvene and set hearing dates. Administration said a decision by winter break is necessary for the district to execute closures on the timeline the district previously presented; board members agreed to return to the issue and to reconvene on Dec. 1 to continue deliberations.

The board’s official actions recorded in the transcript included approval of the meeting agenda at the outset and a motion to adjourn at 7:33 p.m. that carried.

What’s next: The board agreed to reconvene to continue deliberations; administration and legal counsel indicated they will return with additional information, including legal analysis of deed restrictions and further program and enrollment data requested by board members.