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Evanston parents and advocates urge board to oppose Lincolnwood sale, prioritize class sizes
Summary
Multiple speakers at the Jan. 12 Evanston CCSD 65 school board meeting told trustees they oppose closing or selling Lincolnwood and urged the board to prioritize student outcomes and small class sizes over building-utilization metrics.
Several parents and community advocates used the board’s public comment period to press Evanston CCSD 65 trustees to abandon any plan to close or sell Lincolnwood and to prioritize student outcomes over building-utilization metrics.
“I’m completely against closing and selling Lincolnwood,” said Jamie Hopki, who opened the public-comment series and criticized recent administrative hires and raises during what she described as a financial crisis. Hopki said the district’s emphasis on utilization rates “is this administration’s main trick” and called for a renewed focus on raising IAR scores and bringing students back to District 65.
Katie Armistead, who identified herself as founder of Invest in Neighborhood Schools, said Kingsley families have been “a real asset to the district” and urged closer engagement between the administration and the community. Armistead asked the board to consider replacing the liaison if the present contact is not meeting with families and offered her organization’s support during a transition.
Esteban Quinones, speaking for the Legion of Nerds, said the board’s resolution represented “a step in the right direction” but warned it could be perceived as a two-school closure under a different name and urged clearer communication and measurable accountability metrics. “I think it’s very important that the board think clearly about how to communicate that,” he said.
Kelly McCabe, who identified herself as part of the Legion of Data Nerds and a Washington Tweed parent, commended recent unanimous action by the board but criticized the ongoing deadlock over seating a seventh board member. McCabe said overreliance on occupancy rates as the primary metric is “misguided” and asked trustees to prioritize the quality of education when deciding how to bring families back to the district.
The public comments followed a notice from the chair reminding speakers of the three-minute time limit and that the board customarily does not respond during public comment. No formal board decision on school closures or property sales was taken at the Jan. 12 meeting; those discussions were raised during public comment and are part of an ongoing review process described elsewhere on the agenda.
The next board meeting where related items are scheduled is Jan. 26, when staff have said they will report back on several follow-ups.
