After an Evanston-Skokie School District 65 Board member resigned in early November, hobbling the Board from moving forward on several crucial matters, the district has finally gotten a successor trustee, who will bring the Board back up to seven members and be able to break the tie votes that left the Board at an impasse several times.
Regional Superintendent of Schools April Jordan has appointed Chris Van Nostrand as District 65’s seventh School Board member, filling the seat vacated by Omar Salem, who resigned in early November.
Van Nostrand, a District 65 parent and founder of fitness company Strength Wise Barbell, was the fifth-highest vote getter in the last Board election, which had four seats available.
Twenty-eight candidates applied to fill the seat in November after Salem resigned, and Board members could not get a majority vote to confirm one.
“The Board did not come to a consensus for a Board appointment; therefore, the matter was forwarded to the Executive Director/Regional Superintendent, who has the authority to fill the vacancy within 30 days,” wrote Pat Anderson and Nichole Pinkard, Board president and vice-president, respectively, on the District 65 website.
On Feb. 2, the final deadline allowed under the Illinois School Code, Jordan notified Board leadership of the decision to appoint Van Nostrand to fill the board vacancy.
Van Nostrand said he was officially notified of the appointment by Jordan when the rest of the board was informed. He declined to comment further at this time.
Van Nostrand was set to be sworn in Feb. 9 at the Board’s Committee of the Whole meeting and will serve the remainder of Salem’s term, which runs through the April 2027 board election, according to an announcement from Anderson and Pinkard.
“We believe that Chris’s perspective as a D65 parent and his administrative experience will be extremely beneficial to our governance discussions,” they wrote.
The appointment comes amid significant financial strain in District 65. District officials have projected millions in cuts to balance the current budget under its Structural Deficit Reduction Plan, citing ongoing financial deficits as well as declining enrollment. Earlier cost-cutting measures included $13.3 million in reductions and the elimination of 73 full-time staff positions, approved for the 2024-2025 school year.
The ongoing financial pressures have forced the Board to consider school closures to help balance the budget. In addition to fiscal challenges, the district has been grappling with the indictment of former superintendent Devon Horton, who is facing federal charges, along with three of his associates, for wire fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. Horton, along with his three associates, have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Board first voted on school closure proposals in November, shortly after Salem’s resignation. However, the Board deadlocked 3-3 on a proposal to close both Kingsley and Lincolnwood elementary schools. A second voting measure in December came to a tie vote and failed as well, despite warnings from officials that inaction on school closures would lead to the elimination of more staff positions.
Finally, the Board voted unanimously in early January to close Kingsley School, and adopt a wait-and-see stance on Lincolnwood School. If the district does not meet certain conditions by October, the plan calls on the Board to recognize the necessity of closing Lincolnwood as well.
