Evanston and Skokie Mayors Author Letter to District 65

Mayors Biss and Van Dusen Urge Transparency Over Bessie Rhodes Changes

On Wednesday, District 65 announced that they would be closing Bessie Rhodes 7th and 8th grades as soon as November 15, 2024. In the announcement, they provided a zoom link for families to get information on the transition. On Thursday, the District cancelled the planned zoom session.

This afternoon, Mayor Biss of Evanston and Mayor Van Dusen of Skokie penned a letter to District 65, urging them to temporarily reverse the decision and offer greater transparency. I’ve confirmed with Skokie that this letter is authentic and provided in full below.

From: George Van Dusen
Sent: Friday, October 18, 2024 2:13 PM
To: turnera2@district65.net; schoolboard@district65.net
Subject: Mayor’s - Evanston & Skokie letter

October 18, 2024

turnera2@district65.net
schoolboard@district65.net

Dear Dr. Turner and the District 65 Board of Education,

We were startled and concerned to see Wednesday afternoon’s announcement that the 7th and 8th grade sections of Bessie Rhodes will be closed as of November 15th. We were further troubled to learn that the meeting with Bessie Rhodes families that had been initially planned has now been canceled in favor of a series of individual discussions.

Of course, you are, at least, as aware as we are of how disruptive it is to remove children from their school in the middle of the year, particularly in the emotionally and socially challenging middle school ages. This is exacerbated by the short notice, the choice not to hold an open discussion with the affected stakeholders either before or after the decision was made, and the lack of clarity about what drove this decision and why you believe it to be necessary. Families are reeling.

We recognize that District 65 is in a very difficult financial position, and we fully understand that you know far more than we do about the District’s challenges and the options available to address them. But it is precisely these difficulties that make us uneasy with the approach you have taken on the Bessie Rhodes 7th and 8th grade issue. Right now, across our whole community, District 65 families who have long been well aware of the tough choices that will be required to right the ship and they are asking themselves: “If they’re willing to throw a bunch of kids out of their school two weeks before Thanksgiving, what on earth are they going to do next? What’s going to happen to my kid?”

The best way to avoid that potential panic is to be fully open with all stakeholders, both about the problems and a full menu of potential solutions, before taking dramatic action. For this reason, we are respectfully requesting that you at least temporarily reverse your decision and facilitate that discussion. Our community is passionate about public education and loves its schools, and while these discussions will be hard and the steps will be painful, we believe that people will rally around a solution that they believe in and had a role in shaping.

Thank you very much for your consideration and for your service to our community.

Sincerely,

Daniel Biss
Mayor of Evanston

George Van Dusen
Mayor of Skokie

Let me know what you think in the comments.