Evanston school officials are considering whether to open a new elementary school that would serve a predominantly African-American neighborhood, despite a policy that requires schools to have a racially balanced enrollment.
Community members have rallied behind the proposal, saying a new school could help boost achievement rates of African-American pupils.
The first public school board meeting on the proposal is scheduled for Thursday.
Nearly 80 percent of the children who would attend the school in the city’s 5th Ward would be African-American. That would exceed the guidelines of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 policy, which require no more than 60 percent of one racial group make up a school’s population.
On Monday, the school board received a report that showed a community services building at 2010 Dewey Ave. could be converted to a 12-classroom school with a gym. The district would pay for the project with $4.2 million in state grant money, officials said.
“A 5th Ward school is right,” said city Ald. Joseph Kent, who represents the west side community. “This is about reaching children who for some reason have not been reached before.”
But school board member Hecky Powell on Wednesday said the public meeting is simply “going through the motions,” because the financially strapped district cannot afford to open a new school.
“This isn’t a black or white issue,” Powell said. “It’s a green issue. We just don’t have money to build the school.”
School Board President John Chatz disagreed. “I think Hecky’s a little premature in his assessment. At least we can hear what the community has to say.”
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The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday at Chute Middle School, 1400 Oakton St.
Wilmette tax proposal: If Wilmette voters reject a referendum proposal for a telephone call surcharge on Nov. 5, the village will seek a 10.4-percent property tax increase to pay for services and capital improvements, Village Manager Michael Earl said this week.
If the so-called 911 surcharge is approved, the village proposes raising the property tax by 5.98 percent beginning in December, with revenue to go toward a projected $52.4 million budget for 2003.
“We’re seeing a continued decline in key revenue sources like sales tax, income tax and the utility tax,” Earl said.
The average Wilmette homeowner pays $8,460 in property taxes, a village official said. If the tax rate were increased by 10.4 percent, the bill would rise by about $88; if the rate were increased by 5.98 percent, the tax bill would rise by about $50, village officials said.
The board also has proposed increases in village licenses, permits and fees to make up a projected $300,000 shortfall in revenue, he said.
The November referendum proposal calls for charging residents $1.50 per month, or $18 a year, for each land-based phone line to upgrade a fire and police dispatch center built in 1964.
“A surcharge would be more equitable than an increase in the property tax, since the fee would be applied to all phone lines connected to the 911 system and not just passed on to all property owners,” village Trustee George Pearce said.
The village will hold public meetings on the tax increase at 7 p.m. Oct. 17 and 8 a.m. Oct. 26 at Village Hall.
Skokie renews fire contract: The Skokie Village Board has approved a four-year contract with its firefighters..
The village’s 85 firefighters and 19 fire lieutenants will receive a 3.75 percent pay increase retroactive to May 1, bringing the salary range to $43,908 to $58,138. They will receive a raise of 3.5 percent this May, and 3.75 percent in May 2004, officials said.
The May 2005 wage increase will equal that of non-union employees of the village.
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