School District 65 revises elementary school boundary proposals

Evanston/Skokie School District 65 has released a revised proposal for elementary school attendance boundaries following widespread opposition from parents to an earlier plan. The updated proposal, announced by interim Superintendent Eric Witherspoon, aims to address community concerns and priorities.

A significant change in the new plan is that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School would gain a neighborhood attendance area while maintaining its status as a K-8 magnet school. Specifically, the area bounded by Church Street, Dempster Street, McCormick Boulevard, and Dodge Avenue would be assigned to King Arts, a section previously slated for Foster Elementary School.

The boundary revisions are part of a broader effort to manage a proposed $20 million budget reduction, which includes staffing cuts and the planned closure of Dewey and Lincolnwood Elementary Schools. While the initial October 13 proposal would have required 713 students to change schools, the district has not yet specified how many students will be affected by the revised boundaries. The school board is scheduled to vote on the proposed budget reductions at its November 9 meeting.