ETHS board approves personnel resolutions after finance presentation warns of structural deficit

Evanston Township High School District 202 officials told the school board on Jan. 12 that revenue growth has not kept pace with rising operating costs and that recent delayed disbursements from Cook County have compounded cash-flow pressures. The board approved a package of personnel resolutions intended to reduce structural expenditures and protect the district’s fund balance.

At the meeting CFO Kendra Williams and Associate Superintendent Dr. Bramley framed the district’s problem around constrained property-tax growth (capped at the lesser of 5% or CPI) and a decline in other revenue streams. Williams told the board that the district has lost ‘‘$3,700,000 over the course of 3 years’’ in CPPRT revenue and that investment income fell by ‘‘about $600,000’’ after using fund balance to meet obligations during recent distribution delays. Williams emphasized that more than 80% of district revenue comes from property taxes, which limits flexibility.

Dr. Bramley described several high-growth expenditure areas, including health insurance, transportation and off-campus student placements, and said these rises are creating a structural gap between revenues and costs. He said the administration has pursued measures such as stricter position control, sustainability initiatives and efforts to reduce off-campus placements.

To address the forecast, the administration recommended staffing adjustments. Dr. Bramley said the district’s recommended package includes cutting four administrative exempt leader positions and three additional exempt positions, and that the proposal would eliminate 10 positions from the support-staff bargaining unit (some of those positions were vacant). He told the board the administration attempted to limit classroom impacts: "In multilingual services, we haven't cut any of the staff that have direct service to students," and the district intends to redistribute responsibilities to maintain services.

Board members pressed administrators on timing and contingency plans. One member asked how much the district is still owed from Cook County; Williams said "at least another $10,000,000" and acknowledged there was no clear timeline for the remaining funds. Board members also asked under what circumstances the district might resume borrowing; Williams said it would depend on whether the county resolves outstanding payments before late winter or spring tax distributions are issued.

The board moved and approved a series of resolutions during the meeting: approval of the Oakton College intergovernmental agreement; adoption of Press Policy Issue 120; a resolution authorizing nonrenewal and honorable dismissal of administrators; a resolution authorizing nonrenewal and honorable dismissal of administrators being reassigned to teaching roles; a resolution authorizing reduction in force and honorable dismissal of educational support personnel; and a consent agenda that included minutes, the treasurer’s report, bills and personnel actions. Roll-call votes for each motion were taken and recorded during the meeting.

Administration said the reductions are intended to be fiscal stewardship, not punitive actions, and described outreach and supports for impacted employees, including early individual conversations, letters explaining recall/bumping rights, employee-assistance resources, and active HR support and outreach to other districts for reemployment opportunities. Dr. Bramley said the district aimed to give affected employees notice early enough to engage the typical hiring cycle in January and to provide specific, individualized assistance.

Next steps: administrators said they will finalize the restructuring details and follow the contract processes for notices, recalls and reassignment rights. The board adjourned at 9:58 p.m.

Sources: presentation and Q&A at the Jan. 12 board meeting; roll-call votes and resolutions presented at the meeting.