Guest essay: A vision to help Evanston’s schoolchildren
Aisha Patel is a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in Sports Communication. With 5 years of experience reporting for local outlets like the Daily Herald, she covers Evanston high schools and has a keen interest in promoting women's sports in the community.
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I was stunned by local news twice this week. First was when I learned that a Dewey parent surfaced a $17 million error in the five-year spending projections behind the school closure plan. The second was when I saw the 2027 planned city budget cuts to close the gap for the structural deficit and capital needs. Both are symptomatic of substantial dysfunction, and we need a way out. We should demand a forum for developing and executing joint vision, goals and plans, then grade and pay our top paid staff in alignment. When we look at this through the eyes of Evanston’s children, we can see the problems are not personal, they are structural. Our children are served directly by four public bodies: District 65, District 202, the Evanston Public Library and the City of Evanston. We need a shared vision, clear accountability, and a scorecard to reduce our current state of fragmentation, inefficiency and suboptimal outcomes. We have left District 65 officials and school board members i