The Curious Case of the Missing School
How District 65's Equity Efforts Screwed the Fifth Ward (again)
Edit: I’ve modified this story a little bit from the original version and toned back some of the language.
The big news in Evanston right now is the memo issued at the Surprise Monday Board meeting issued by Interim Superintendent Turner. You can read it here. All the local news outlets are covering it.
District 65 officials ‘remain committed’ to Fifth Ward school (Evanston Roundtable)
‘Sick to my stomach’: 5th Ward school is $25 million over budget, board to consider alternate plans (Daily Northwestern)
5th Ward School financial fiasco (Evanston Now)
I’m not going to go over the full details, you can read my other post on the major findings.
I want to talk about this this statement from Dr. Turner.
It is my understanding that other budgets had been previously shared with District administration. The estimated budgets of which I am now aware include:
An April 2022 budget of $55,892,034 for a 108,649 square foot building or an alternative design and cost of $46,522,603 for a 103,395 square foot building.
A July 2022 budget of $65,014,695 for a 115,615 square foot building. This budget included as a concept an additional parking deck that was not part of initial budgets or the current plan.
A February 2023 budget of $56,229,984 for a 115,615 square foot building.
A May 2023 budget of $65,127,854 for a 125,391 square foot building. This was provided immediately after the City zoning approval process and was a result of inflation, plan revisions, and LEED sustainability objectives
Consider the absurdity of the above. The District took out a $38 million dollar lease certificate and passed a resolution to do so in May 2022. A month before, the administration was made aware the cost would be at least $46 million and did not notify the board or the public.
The above indicates the administration knew they didn’t have enough money before they even passed the resolution to get the money! This is just so absolutely so outside the realm of reasonable governance. Imagine buying a house and then getting the cash from the mortgage company and then backing out of the house but keeping the money.1
They had no choice, though, because they probably couldn’t finance more than $40m without a referendum, and board members stated they did not want a referendum. To do so would’ve required pushing the $3 million bus savings lie (actual <$750k) to true absurdity.
Statements to the Fifth Ward Community
February 2023 - Dr. Horton gave a presentation to the community on the new school, with Cordogan Clark (the architects) present)2. According to Dr. Turner’s statement, the budget for the building at that time was $56 million, a full $16 million more than they had but they went forward making promises they knew they could not keep.
Consider what Dr. Horton said said below:
“We can only do so much, and I would challenge the people in this room, and our families in this Fifth Ward, to understand that we have broken a 55-year issue. We found dollars to build a school,” Horton said.
Where were the Board members? At least one was present for the meeting, Ms. Wilkins.
The rest? They had elections to run (April 2023) and the new school was the top talking point in Sergio Hernandez’ campaign, for instance. They didn’t even discuss the new school in the board meeting after this presentation. By February, Dr. Horton already had his foot out the door and likely knew he was going to Dekalb or elsewhere so he was just YOLO’ing it. For the board members, it was “don’t ask, don’t tell”, I guess.
June 2023 - Dr. Horton on his last day was given an award at the empty field. Three board members were present.
Did none of them think to ask, “Hey, why isn’t there any construction going on?”
The true budget at this point was $65 million, a full $25 million more than they had and we were 13 months after the Board signed the lease certificate. This question would’ve given them news they did not want to hear.
At this ceremony in the empty field, Dr. Horton got up to the lectern and said the following;
“It happened,” Horton said. “The Fifth Ward is a community of strength and resilience, and I believe that today’s reopening of a school is a testament to that spirit.”
Again, they were literally standing in the middle of an empty field. The Board members apparently didn’t ask, “reopening what?” but did take a nice photo op with a beautiful new school empty field behind them.
Commitment to Equity Ego
The people who should be angry are the most ardent supporters of equity and the new school. Those in power (Dr. Horton and the Board) used the fifth ward for their own personal and career advancement. Consider how much the Board and Dr. Horton advertised their amazing achievement:
“We launched a redistricting task force that identified a way to fund a school in a community that has not had one since 1968. This was accomplished without a referendum, spending of reserves, or ESSR funding” - Dr. Horton’s Resume.
Hernandez said he’s excited about the new 5th Ward school, which he said will allow for a school that’s within walking distance for students in the predominantly Black ward. Working with the city, institutional partners and Family Focus, he said these organizations could provide services needed for 5th Ward community members. “I’m excited that we are righting a historical wrong,” Hernandez said. “What I’d like to see is continued collaboration … to really provide the best services.” - Sergio Hernandez Interview
Equity is about lifting oppressed communities, not using them as a shoulder to lift yourself to a better job.
It seems like one of the following must be true:
The Board couldn’t be bothered to ask “Hey, where is the new school?” for 18 months and only then did so when presented with extraordinary evidence of fraud from Dr. Turner.
The Board knew of the cost increases and/or the lies on the lease certificate, yet chose to hide it from the public - to protect Dr. Horton’s career and/or their own political careers.3
Ironically this is not that far from what Dr. Horton did with properties he bought that led to his first bankruptcy, where he purchased worthless properties, refinanced them for cash, and then defaulted on the payments.
Shame upon them for being complicit in this whole scandal. None of their presentation slides considered costs at all.
Recall, it was the D65 Board who gave Dr. Horton a $25,000 loan on his way out.
Chiming in to say thank you for all your work on this. Whatever happens, Evanston can't be the community any of us want it to be (whether that's pro-5th ward school or not) if we don't deal honestly with the facts and each other. It's obvious that hasn't been the case here, and I hope whatever reckoning follows leads to higher standards in that regard from our elected and appointed officials.
Thanks Tom. Maybe your incredible efforts will push thus community into honest discussion. Was shocking to hear board members ( in Monday’s special meeting) stick with the k-8 model. As one board member said ..to protect kids from nooses at Haven. Hopefully she has apologized and retracted.
This story should be a documentary!