District 65 to pursue uniform transportation rules; board authorizes MOU with city for Foster-area traffic improvements
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Summary
After extended debate, the board signaled consensus to rescind the magnet/TWE-specific transportation policy and align eligibility under a single district policy (4110), asked administration to model hazard-route scenarios and crossing-guard costs for the next meeting, and approved an MOU with the City of Evanston for traffic improvements near Foster School.
The board spent over an hour reviewing transportation options tied to new attendance boundaries and the upcoming Foster School opening, weighing competing goals: keep students safe, manage rising transportation costs, and create a clear policy families can use to decide permissive transfers.
Chris (district administration) presented four scenarios. The baseline (IDOT-only hazard criteria) was estimated at roughly $3.5 million in busing costs; adding several district-identified hazard corridors (example: Ridge, Chicago, Grosse Pointe) raised the estimate to about $4.0 million. Administration showed that shifting school start times (elementary to 8:00 a.m., middle to 9:00 a.m.) could create double-run efficiencies, lowering costs in some models to ~$3.1 million, but board members cautioned such a change would have community and equity trade-offs.
The board indicated consensus to explore rescinding Policy 4112 (magnet/TWE-specific transportation) and to amend Policy 4110 so transportation eligibility is determined districtwide by distance and hazard criteria. Members emphasized the need for an objective, documented process to add district hazards beyond IDOT’s 12-point scoring system and requested an updated spreadsheet with IDOT calculations (including segment-level traffic volumes) and cost estimates for candidate streets (board members asked specifically to run Dodge and Chicago Avenue scenarios) before the next regular meeting.
On a related front, the board voted to approve a memorandum of understanding with the City of Evanston to fund and install traffic improvements (crosswalks, guard placements, LED crossings) near the Foster School and authorized Dr. Angel Turner to sign the MOU. Board members asked for clarity that signing the MOU would not foreclose future conversations about shared costs; city staff and the administration said it would not.
The administration also reported that the district will assume full financial responsibility for the crossing-guard program starting FY 2028; the forecasted FY 2027 cost share is about $460,000 for the district and estimated FY 2028 full cost approximately $737,000 (assuming 5% annual increases). Staff said they will return with scenarios that pair bus routing, hazard definitions, and crossing-guard placements so the board can weigh costs against safety and equity ahead of families’ March 1 permissive-transfer decisions.
