A $17 million accounting error in Evanston/Skokie School District 65's five-year financial projections double-counted capital spending, the district's chief financial officer confirmed.
CFO Eric Miller acknowledged the error in emails to a parent, the Evanston RoundTable first reported Oct. 25. The overstatement exceeds the $14.5 million the district projected it would save over five years by closing Dewey and Lincolnwood elementary schools. The school board is scheduled to vote on that closure plan and other budget cuts Nov. 9.
Miller told Dewey parent David Azari in an Oct. 22 email that the projections, presented Oct. 13, counted capital spending twice. One line item covered baseline capital costs such as building repairs. A second line duplicated those costs as part of a revised capital budget, according to the RoundTable's review of the emails.
In a follow-up email Oct. 24, Miller said correcting the error would reduce projected capital spending by $1 million in fiscal year 2028 and by $4 million in each of fiscal years 2029 through 2032. The RoundTable calculated the total at $17 million.
Miller said the error meant the district would spend less on capital each year than projected. It did not mean more revenue would flow in. He said the district would refine its projections before releasing new figures.
The district has not said how the correction affects its projected deficit or the size of proposed cuts. Miller, interim Superintendent Eric Witherspoon and communications chief Melissa Messinger did not respond to the RoundTable's requests for comment, the outlet reported.
District 65 said Oct. 13 that closing Lincolnwood and Dewey would save $2.9 million a year, or $14.5 million over five years. The district also estimated those closures would save $58 million in maintenance costs over 20 years.
Azari, who has an MBA from the University of Michigan and works in asset management, is a member of the parent coalition For a Brighter Evanston. He emailed Miller Oct. 19 with questions about the projections. Alexandra Miller, another Dewey parent in the coalition who is not related to the CFO, reviewed the projections with Azari.
In an email to district leaders and the school board, Azari wrote that the double-counting "overstates costs, which means it also overstates the savings D65 must realize to achieve its financial goals." Without "reliable data," he wrote, "the Board and community do not have the foundation to agree on this proposal, or any other proposal that may be considered."
He asked the board to delay its Nov. 9 vote, scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center, 1500 McDaniel Ave.
The error is expected to come up at the board's Monday, Oct. 26 meeting, with the public session set for 6 p.m. at Joseph E. Hill, according to the RoundTable.
