Parents brought their children to the District 65 board meeting Tuesday, Sept. 29, to plead for the Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center as the district prepares $20 million in budget cuts.

Ten of the 30 public speakers focused on the preschool, Evanston Now reported. Small children held a banner reading "We Support Joseph E. Hill Early Childhood Center, A Program That Makes a Big Difference." Jared Reyes, 10, and his sister Jade Reyes, 8, held bilingual signs: "Aqui nuesotros ninos felices … Here our children are happy."

One parent brought four children to the meeting. Three are Hill alumni. The fourth attends now.

Supporters said they fear the district could cut preschool busing or scatter programs from the centralized Hill center at 1500 McDaniel Ave. to individual schools across the district. Teachers and parents argued it makes more sense to keep all early childhood services in one building. The mother of the banner-carrying children urged the board to "protect a place where our children feel understood and loved."

Preschool is not necessarily on the reduction list, according to Evanston Now. The specific cuts will come Oct. 13, when Interim Superintendent Eric Witherspoon presents $20 million in proposed reductions for Fiscal Year 2028 (FY2028), which begins July 1, 2027. That plan will also name two additional schools to be closed.

At a Sept. 15 board meeting, Witherspoon told members he would seek board approval of the full plan by the end of November. "At that moment, the crisis will be over," he said, according to the Evanston Roundtable.

The district is projecting about 5,900 students for the 2026-27 school year, a 25% decline over eight years. Over the past three fiscal years, District 65 has already eliminated more than 170 full-time positions and cut $26 million in spending. Chief Financial Officer Eric Miller warned at a Sept. 22 community meeting that without further reductions, the district will run out of cash by Fiscal Year 2030.

Several members of the Legion of Data Nerds, a group of academics and business analysts tracking the district's finances, challenged the claim that each school closure saves $1.5 million. Jean Clipperton, a member of the group, presented a document arguing that closures save less than they appear because additional busing costs offset the gains.

The board also unanimously approved the FY2027 budget at the same meeting. The budget carries a $5.1 million deficit and a cash reserve of 77.5 days, below the district's 90-day target.

Board member Maria Opdycke said "it makes me sick that we have a $5 million deficit, but we have to show diligence" to balance the budget. Board member Andrew Wymer, who had previously criticized aspects of the tentative budget, voted yes on the final version, which was unchanged. He said he voted out of confidence that Witherspoon and his cabinet would deliver a plan.

Witherspoon is scheduled to present the specific cuts, including two school closures, at the Oct. 13 board meeting.