Evanston/Skokie School District 65 ended Fiscal Year 2026 with a $3.4 million operating deficit, 89% higher than the $1.8 million shortfall the Board of Education projected when it adopted the budget last year.
The figures come from a memo to the board by Eric Miller, the district's new chief financial officer, first reported by Evanston Now on Saturday, Aug. 8. The results are unaudited.
Total operating spending for the year was $174.3 million. The deficit represents less than 2% of that total, but the gap between projection and reality adds urgency to a district already cutting costs ahead of the new school year.
Miller wrote that while expenditures came in below budget thanks to spending controls and staff vacancies, revenues fell further. Revenue estimates proved optimistic in several areas, particularly for interest income and grant funding, according to the memo.
Cuts already underway
The deficit disclosure follows a string of budget-tightening moves this summer. District 65 plans to eliminate 25 of its 55 crossing guard positions to save $150,000, cutting the program nearly in half. The district also applied for Cook County's interest-free Property Tax Bridge Fund to avoid repeating last year's $1.14 million in costs from delayed county tax distributions.
The fiscal year ended June 30, just weeks before Superintendent Angel Turner's departure under a mutual separation agreement that included a $191,000 lump-sum payment. No successor has been publicly confirmed.
What's next
Miller's memo is on the agenda for the board's Tuesday, Aug. 11 meeting, where discussion is expected to touch on further budget cuts, possible school closings, staffing reductions and a potential tax increase referendum.
The CFO wrote that the year-end figures will provide a more accurate financial baseline as the district implements its FY2027 budget and begins long-range financial planning.
When board President Nichole Pinkard and Vice President Chris Van Nostrand announced Turner's departure on June 18, they said she had identified a looming financial crisis upon arriving at the district. The unaudited numbers now put a sharper figure on that crisis: $1.6 million more red ink than the board anticipated when it set the budget.
