I also firmly believe a lawsuit needs to be filed to stop the continuance of this impending disaster for the entire community because that's what's going to happen if this moves forward. Who's in??
I have been asking about this for some time. There needs to be a suit to stop construction until a referendum can happen. I think we should find out if we can pay these leases off early and if so, do it with the money we got for them and then pay the penalties over time. I think there is fraud/malfeasance and I’d like to find out what Board members’ legal responsibilities are when they sign on and perhaps there should be repercussions there. Orrington and Willard families should 100% believe if this goes through, those schools are on the chopping block. This board would love to see that happen anyway- icing on the “equity” cake. There should be discussion of what legal remedies there are to prevent this from moving forward. We. Simply. Cannot. Afford. This.
We need to set this into motion! Too many people are scared of being labeled as anti equity but the only equity that will take place with this moving ahead as planned is that all our children will suffer the consequences. Well except for those lucky few who can afford to go private.
Not just when it comes to Evanston kids and the broader community. They have also betrayed the 5th Ward. They are without integrity. They were blinded by their own egos; their moral “I’m better than you are” attitudes --and as a result they have robbed our community and are now going to act like they had no idea....I call total and complete BS.
Thanks for the fast update. I wish the meeting had been bifurcated - postponed to another day.- and the general public given time to read the memo prior to moving to open comments on it.
The good: Dr. Turner did a great job presenting this.situation and bringing it to light. I'd rather her be the permanent superintendent rather than whoever the board brings in.
The bad: I believe Dr. Turner stated the savings could be less than $750k, depending on the cost of crossing guards.
The ugly: long time board members acting shocked, shocked! that gambling was happening in this casino.
In all seriousness, I wished some people present demanded the long time board members resign. I also wonder how much time they had to craft responses to this memo, because the messaging was pretty on point by every one of the board members; they all immediately restated their commitment to the 5th ward building.
I''m frankly unclear how they're going to build this school now. They have half the money they need, and a referendum would presumably fair poorly after this lease certificate failure. Massive cuts to specialists? Closing Orrington and selling the valuable land there?
My hunch is that the school is going to cost even more than what they’re saying. The district is already in financial disarray...existing buildings crumbling...even things like paper towels are lacking at the existing schools...and don’t get me started in SPED services. Also remember that the teacher contracts are coming up for renegotiation....and enrollment is plummeting (and no, it’s not happening everywhere --this is in response to the sh*t show that is d65)....my hunch is that if they end up “right sizing” the district and if they’re honest (which is not a word I’d use to describe this crew) we’re looking at at least two schools closing, in addition to Bessie Rhodes. And don’t forget --they’re going to start owing $$ in their loan. They also owe the lender a building. One they have no idea how to build. So predictable for so many of us and yet not any less devastating.
How, practically, can the plans for the new school be stopped? We need to prevent a massive increase in property taxes levied for D65 on top of the 17% increased proposed by the city (for which the need is dubious).
DEI is not served if people are run out of town by rent increases from property taxes.
I personally think the form of DEI practiced here in Evanston (wealthy people in big houses advocating for changes in language without improving the material conditions of poor folks) is completely compatible with massive tax and cost of living increases. For this type of DEI person, you can gentrify out all the poor folks and not feel guilty for it because you're using the right "equity language"
In all seriousness though, I don't know the answer to that question. It's debateable whether they can even go forward with it now - like, where are they going to get $20m from? They either need to sell properties or have a referendum. Neither of which is really feasible in the short term. I think most of yesterday's discussion was wishful thinking and virtual signalling from board members.
Sergio Hernandez said at the school board meeting that Dr Horton was “ Irreplaceable.” So now he is in the position with the others of picking our next superintendent. He and the rest of the Board selected Dr Turner as interim superintendent. I would hope this process would move very carefully so we don’t find ourselves repeating ourselves
I wish I could say I'm shocked or surprised by this, but given who was behind this, what's surprising to me, I guess, is that there are any savings at all to pay the lease certificate off.
ISBE is pretty weak and wouldn't remove the board and I'm not sure they should remove elected folks. I was in Detroit when they sent in a receiver that removed all of our elected people, who were definitely corrupt but it felt very undemocratic and authortiarian.
The securities fraud thing (lying on the lease certificate) I think is a private issue between the bond holders and the District, so maybe they don't even care!
"The securities fraud thing (lying on the lease certificate) I think is a private issue between the bond holders and the District, so maybe they don't even care!"
My partner is a lawyer in the securities world, and I asked her if this is true, and she said that while the bond holders certainly could have a civil course of action against D65, lying on documents such as the board would have had to sign could involve potential criminal penalties for securities fraud. TL;DR - lying on loan applications is a crime no matter who does it.
I was at the meeting last nite and some of the board members comments, reflected lack of leadership and accountability which i interpret as " I did not ask, so I could deny knowledge of"....that stance gets you fired or sued for fraud as a non-profit board member and certainly as a for profit board member......, yet they did not require them or insist they receive written updates on their largest and most important building project in the last 10-20 years within the district....and then quickly moved to we need to build k-8 building, even if we have no plan to pay for it. I sat next to several Busse Rhodes parents and they are shocked.....there does not seem to be a path forward to provide their children a comparable academic experience if the 5th ward school gets built.
They 100% have been aware of it. Sergio has been dropping references to the K-5 thing off-hand for months now in random meetings and such, which is what brought Bessie Rhodes parents to this meeting. Reality is that 2023 was an election year and they didn't want any bad news before April 2023 and Horton didn't want any bad news before he hit the road.
"This school is important to the neighborhood soliciting it."
As someone who lives in the Fifth Ward School neighborhood, I hear this mentioned A LOT by Sarita Smith and Board members but I'm curious if you're aware of any recent data that confirms this to be true?
As far as I know, they didn't survey the 402 students and their families currently in other schools that would be moved to the new school asking them what their preferences are. They instead relied on 2012 referendum data about Fifth Ward voters (which is NOT the same cohort as "Fifth Ward school" voters since it includes portions of 2nd ward and excludes portions of the 5th ward and is citizens with children in D65 vs. all voting citizen) and hearing from local activists who have been pushing for it for decades. What would the 402 students/families currently in D65 say according to the data? Would not have been that difficult or expensive to ask....Perhaps I've simply missed it, but would love to see this information and then have better data to back this statements rather than relying on emotion and intuition.
I expect that it likely would show some preference for constructing the new school, but that's simply conjecture. And I don't think it'd show that people would want to take their children out of current schools (myself included). Of course, they say they will allow students to complete their schooling at their current school they are already enrolled at when the boundaries change. That could certainly impact initial enrollment for the new school, but would stabilize once a cohort completes fifth grade. (This "rule" applies to ALL students across district on the redraw incidentally, not just Fifth Ward School students - that is, student can complete the grades in their current school BUT must change if going to middle school for example. I'd be in favor of what Evanston Roundtable founder and editor Larry Gavin suggested to give Fifth Ward School students a CHOICE of new school or to the alternate / prior assigned school in perpetuity - bus rides not included ;) ).
I don't have any cold hard data but I'm not really sure where you'd find that data unless you had a referendum or something, which is like the whole point of a referendum. Even if someone took a survey, it's going to be full of bias.
With that said, I've been at the last two board meetings and during the public comment section, it was speaker after speaking advocating for the school. In fact, in the last meeting not a single person stood up opposed to the school, from the fifth ward or otherwise. That's not data but pretty much all I (and the board, to be honest) have to work from.
Another question: Did anyone happen to catch the statement from legal counsel regarding the IRS, tax exemption on the lease certificate funds, and the monies needing to be used by next year? I only half heard it and don't know when it was mentioned in the meeting.
at 2:10:10 'if the proceeds are not spent by 2025, there are additional tax rules that go into effect at that time.' 'To the extent of the delay in an IRS audit situation, you would have to explain the delay.'
I'm not clear on what the penalties would be though.
And it does seem like if there's another 18 months delay on top of the current 18 month delay, there will be consequences, but that's a long ways away and should be able to be avoided.
If there is anything I know about the universe it is that the D65 board will find a way to make this happen through a combination of wishful thinking and incompetence.
I also firmly believe a lawsuit needs to be filed to stop the continuance of this impending disaster for the entire community because that's what's going to happen if this moves forward. Who's in??
I have been asking about this for some time. There needs to be a suit to stop construction until a referendum can happen. I think we should find out if we can pay these leases off early and if so, do it with the money we got for them and then pay the penalties over time. I think there is fraud/malfeasance and I’d like to find out what Board members’ legal responsibilities are when they sign on and perhaps there should be repercussions there. Orrington and Willard families should 100% believe if this goes through, those schools are on the chopping block. This board would love to see that happen anyway- icing on the “equity” cake. There should be discussion of what legal remedies there are to prevent this from moving forward. We. Simply. Cannot. Afford. This.
We need to set this into motion! Too many people are scared of being labeled as anti equity but the only equity that will take place with this moving ahead as planned is that all our children will suffer the consequences. Well except for those lucky few who can afford to go private.
I'm in. Anyone leading the work?
Who would you sue? Who would pay damages?
FYI here's the complaint from Wheaton
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l08s62CzybZQQKdMdA5lFkqemYnt13s_/view?usp=drive_link
This entire board needs to resign. They have committed a massive dereliction of duty.
Not just when it comes to Evanston kids and the broader community. They have also betrayed the 5th Ward. They are without integrity. They were blinded by their own egos; their moral “I’m better than you are” attitudes --and as a result they have robbed our community and are now going to act like they had no idea....I call total and complete BS.
Thanks for the fast update. I wish the meeting had been bifurcated - postponed to another day.- and the general public given time to read the memo prior to moving to open comments on it.
The good: Dr. Turner did a great job presenting this.situation and bringing it to light. I'd rather her be the permanent superintendent rather than whoever the board brings in.
The bad: I believe Dr. Turner stated the savings could be less than $750k, depending on the cost of crossing guards.
The ugly: long time board members acting shocked, shocked! that gambling was happening in this casino.
In all seriousness, I wished some people present demanded the long time board members resign. I also wonder how much time they had to craft responses to this memo, because the messaging was pretty on point by every one of the board members; they all immediately restated their commitment to the 5th ward building.
I''m frankly unclear how they're going to build this school now. They have half the money they need, and a referendum would presumably fair poorly after this lease certificate failure. Massive cuts to specialists? Closing Orrington and selling the valuable land there?
My hunch is that the school is going to cost even more than what they’re saying. The district is already in financial disarray...existing buildings crumbling...even things like paper towels are lacking at the existing schools...and don’t get me started in SPED services. Also remember that the teacher contracts are coming up for renegotiation....and enrollment is plummeting (and no, it’s not happening everywhere --this is in response to the sh*t show that is d65)....my hunch is that if they end up “right sizing” the district and if they’re honest (which is not a word I’d use to describe this crew) we’re looking at at least two schools closing, in addition to Bessie Rhodes. And don’t forget --they’re going to start owing $$ in their loan. They also owe the lender a building. One they have no idea how to build. So predictable for so many of us and yet not any less devastating.
How, practically, can the plans for the new school be stopped? We need to prevent a massive increase in property taxes levied for D65 on top of the 17% increased proposed by the city (for which the need is dubious).
DEI is not served if people are run out of town by rent increases from property taxes.
I personally think the form of DEI practiced here in Evanston (wealthy people in big houses advocating for changes in language without improving the material conditions of poor folks) is completely compatible with massive tax and cost of living increases. For this type of DEI person, you can gentrify out all the poor folks and not feel guilty for it because you're using the right "equity language"
In all seriousness though, I don't know the answer to that question. It's debateable whether they can even go forward with it now - like, where are they going to get $20m from? They either need to sell properties or have a referendum. Neither of which is really feasible in the short term. I think most of yesterday's discussion was wishful thinking and virtual signalling from board members.
Agree with Truth Seeker and am thankful Dr. Turner is the only adult in the room. But one does not fix this problem.
Sergio Hernandez said at the school board meeting that Dr Horton was “ Irreplaceable.” So now he is in the position with the others of picking our next superintendent. He and the rest of the Board selected Dr Turner as interim superintendent. I would hope this process would move very carefully so we don’t find ourselves repeating ourselves
I think you know what's gonna happen
That’s what worries me.
I wish I could say I'm shocked or surprised by this, but given who was behind this, what's surprising to me, I guess, is that there are any savings at all to pay the lease certificate off.
Great update here! You mentioned the evidence of securities fraud. Wouldn't this be the time for ISBE to come in and remove the board?
ISBE is pretty weak and wouldn't remove the board and I'm not sure they should remove elected folks. I was in Detroit when they sent in a receiver that removed all of our elected people, who were definitely corrupt but it felt very undemocratic and authortiarian.
The securities fraud thing (lying on the lease certificate) I think is a private issue between the bond holders and the District, so maybe they don't even care!
"The securities fraud thing (lying on the lease certificate) I think is a private issue between the bond holders and the District, so maybe they don't even care!"
My partner is a lawyer in the securities world, and I asked her if this is true, and she said that while the bond holders certainly could have a civil course of action against D65, lying on documents such as the board would have had to sign could involve potential criminal penalties for securities fraud. TL;DR - lying on loan applications is a crime no matter who does it.
Let’s find out who regulates this and tell them!
My suggestion is the DoE Ombudsman who might be able to work with the SEC
(Googling DoE ombudsman)
Oops. I meant the DoE OIG:
https://oig.ed.gov/
I was at the meeting last nite and some of the board members comments, reflected lack of leadership and accountability which i interpret as " I did not ask, so I could deny knowledge of"....that stance gets you fired or sued for fraud as a non-profit board member and certainly as a for profit board member......, yet they did not require them or insist they receive written updates on their largest and most important building project in the last 10-20 years within the district....and then quickly moved to we need to build k-8 building, even if we have no plan to pay for it. I sat next to several Busse Rhodes parents and they are shocked.....there does not seem to be a path forward to provide their children a comparable academic experience if the 5th ward school gets built.
They 100% have been aware of it. Sergio has been dropping references to the K-5 thing off-hand for months now in random meetings and such, which is what brought Bessie Rhodes parents to this meeting. Reality is that 2023 was an election year and they didn't want any bad news before April 2023 and Horton didn't want any bad news before he hit the road.
"This school is important to the neighborhood soliciting it."
As someone who lives in the Fifth Ward School neighborhood, I hear this mentioned A LOT by Sarita Smith and Board members but I'm curious if you're aware of any recent data that confirms this to be true?
As far as I know, they didn't survey the 402 students and their families currently in other schools that would be moved to the new school asking them what their preferences are. They instead relied on 2012 referendum data about Fifth Ward voters (which is NOT the same cohort as "Fifth Ward school" voters since it includes portions of 2nd ward and excludes portions of the 5th ward and is citizens with children in D65 vs. all voting citizen) and hearing from local activists who have been pushing for it for decades. What would the 402 students/families currently in D65 say according to the data? Would not have been that difficult or expensive to ask....Perhaps I've simply missed it, but would love to see this information and then have better data to back this statements rather than relying on emotion and intuition.
I expect that it likely would show some preference for constructing the new school, but that's simply conjecture. And I don't think it'd show that people would want to take their children out of current schools (myself included). Of course, they say they will allow students to complete their schooling at their current school they are already enrolled at when the boundaries change. That could certainly impact initial enrollment for the new school, but would stabilize once a cohort completes fifth grade. (This "rule" applies to ALL students across district on the redraw incidentally, not just Fifth Ward School students - that is, student can complete the grades in their current school BUT must change if going to middle school for example. I'd be in favor of what Evanston Roundtable founder and editor Larry Gavin suggested to give Fifth Ward School students a CHOICE of new school or to the alternate / prior assigned school in perpetuity - bus rides not included ;) ).
I don't have any cold hard data but I'm not really sure where you'd find that data unless you had a referendum or something, which is like the whole point of a referendum. Even if someone took a survey, it's going to be full of bias.
With that said, I've been at the last two board meetings and during the public comment section, it was speaker after speaking advocating for the school. In fact, in the last meeting not a single person stood up opposed to the school, from the fifth ward or otherwise. That's not data but pretty much all I (and the board, to be honest) have to work from.
I think your conjecture is probably right.
“For this type of DEI person, you can gentrify out all the poor folks and not feel guilty for it because you're using the right "equity language"”.
YES!
Another question: Did anyone happen to catch the statement from legal counsel regarding the IRS, tax exemption on the lease certificate funds, and the monies needing to be used by next year? I only half heard it and don't know when it was mentioned in the meeting.
Oh shit I didn't even think about the tax exemption issue. Let me include that in my follow-up post because that's a big deal.
2:09:15 is when the discussion starts, I think.
at 2:10:10 'if the proceeds are not spent by 2025, there are additional tax rules that go into effect at that time.' 'To the extent of the delay in an IRS audit situation, you would have to explain the delay.'
I'm not clear on what the penalties would be though.
And it does seem like if there's another 18 months delay on top of the current 18 month delay, there will be consequences, but that's a long ways away and should be able to be avoided.
If there is anything I know about the universe it is that the D65 board will find a way to make this happen through a combination of wishful thinking and incompetence.