District 65's new finance chief told the school board Tuesday that the district must find "substantial recurring savings" immediately, putting school closures, staffing reductions and program cuts squarely on the table 13 days before the Aug. 24 first day of school.
CFO Eric Miller, who started July 1, delivered the blunt assessment at the board's Aug. 11 meeting after presenting unaudited results showing the district ended Fiscal Year 2026 with a $3.4 million operating deficit, 89% above the $1.8 million the board projected. Total operating spending hit $174.3 million.
"The district has been treating the symptoms of a structural deficit," Miller told board members, according to Evanston Now.
He then laid out where the cuts must come: declining enrollment, special education transportation redesign, staffing aligned to comparable districts, and evaluation of non-mandated programs. He said school consolidation and closures "will need to be a part of the strategy."
How the deficit grew
The Evanston RoundTable reported that interest income came in $2 million below budget due to lower-than-anticipated cash balances, driven in part by Cook County's ongoing property tax payment delays. State revenue missed by $1.5 million after one-time Early Childhood hardship funding from FY2025 did not continue. Special education and out-of-district placements blew past projections by about $3 million.
The district did cut $3.1 million in purchased services during FY2026, including $1 million in special education staffing services and $800,000 in consulting and professional development. It was not enough.
District 65 now holds an estimated 95 days of operating cash on hand, five days above the 90-day minimum the board set last year. Parent Kelly Farley told the board during public comment that 90 days "is a floor," not a target.
Closures timeline and facilities
After the meeting, interim Superintendent Eric Witherspoon told the RoundTable that no decisions about additional school closures have been made. He said plans would come to the board and community in October, with a decision in November.
Board member Chris Van Nostrand signaled that facilities spending is already being shaped by closure planning, saying the board does "not intend to make large investments in a building that is part of our consolidation plan."
The board also reviewed a health and life safety inspection estimating $128.8 million in total building upgrades needed over the next decade, with about $1 million required within the next year.
What comes next
Miller is scheduled to present budget recommendations for the current school year at a board meeting Aug. 31. K-8 students return Monday, Aug. 24.
The board also heard pitches from three superintendent search firms Tuesday. Fees ranged from $11,400 to an estimated $81,000. A special meeting is set for Monday, Aug. 17, to select a firm, with a new superintendent expected to start July 1, 2027.
As we reported Aug. 9, the $3.4 million deficit figure first surfaced in a Miller memo headed to this meeting. Tuesday's session turned that written warning into a public call for action, with school closures now explicitly named as part of the path forward.
