King Arts creeps into D65 school closure discussion

Of the nearly 50 people who addressed the District 65 school board on Monday night, not one said anything about King Arts. That’s because the district’s only remaining magnet school had not been mentioned as a potential candidate for being closed … until now. Board President Nichole Pinkard said that several board members at least wanted to see a financial model of what closing King Arts could mean for the cash-strapped school system, which is considering school shutdowns as a way to save money. However, King Arts, either alone or with another school, was never part of the $20 million comprehensive budget reduction proposed by Interim Superintendent Eric Witherspooon. The comparisons were brought in because of requests from some board members. Pinkard said that as a citywide magnet school, King Arts is “a choice program, not a mandated one.” Now that the new Foster School is open, Pinkard said there is a neighborhood school not far from King Arts, so the question becomes “do we stay with neighborhood schools or not?” Board member Maria Opdycke said “we are a walkable town,” and questioned whether closing neighborhood schools such as Lincolnwood or Dewey would save enough money to make it worth the while. “I feel like closing two neighborhood schools to save maybe $3 million a year when there may be another viable path is short-sighted.” However, other board members didn’t jump on the King Arts bandwagon, or rather, the potential bandwagon. To the contrary, Andrew Wymer said that nearly 64% of King Arts students who would have to change schools in a shutdown scenario were considered “marginalized,” which, he said, was not in line with the district’s philosophy of equity. Wymer implied that a comprehensive budget reduction plan was needed, not more incremental changes. “We can’t punt on this,” he said. “We need a long-term solution, at least three-to-five years.” Interim Superintendent Witherspoon said his plan does create financial stability instead of the “annual turmoil” the district has seen in recent years, with cuts which have failed to keep up with rising expenses. A familiar face also agreed that a comprehensive plan makes more sense than a series of incremental reductions. Financial consultant Robert Grossi, who was brought in in 2023 when the district was approaching financial rock bottom, came back to talk about the latest situation. Grossi said that “I think that the … [comprehensive plan] will stabilize the district for quite awhile.” He said that D65’s fund reserve (basically cash in the bank) is far lower than what is recommended by the state. “The fund balance is vulnerable,” Grossi explained. “It’s like if a person at home with marginal savings had a health emergency or lost their job.” An overall budget plan, he said, could provide chances to build up the reserve. (Grossi was not asked about the closing of specific schools, just the overall financial picture). There was no vote at this meeting, on either the comprehensive package, or on starting the school closing process, which requires setting public hearings before a final decision on closing buildings. Those actions have been pushed back until next Monday at the earliest. It’s unknown now if King Arts will actually be included in the vote for school-closing hearings, or if that will just include Dewey and Lincolnwood. Related