In a video call with parents and community members Wednesday evening, officials of Roycemore School in Evanston sought to allay parents’ concerns about the private K-12 school’s viability, announcing major changes to the Board, updates on the finances and philanthropy, and the possibility of a building sale or a merger, according to a transcript of the May 6 meeting obtained by Pioneer Press.
The revelations included news of three leaders stepping down: Board Chair Anthony Chambers, Interim Head of School Morgan Busbey and Director of Finance & Operations Michael Youakim.
Trustees on the video call also informed parents of the possibility of a future school merger and the several conditions that need to be met in order for Roycemore to remain open beyond this school year.
According to the transcript, Chambers started by acknowledging the “concern, frustration, and uncertainty” many parents were likely feeling, and that those reactions were understandable. He said he would be stepping down as Board Chair so the school can move into a transition phase, but did not specify whether he would still be remaining on the Board.
Chambers announced that Trustee Gillian Deinoff, who also serves as vice president of finance and administration at the Chicago-based retail and e-commerce company The Spice House will be assuming the role of Board Chair.
The Board also addressed an eleventh hour financial reprieve from a donor, which will be able to keep Roycemore open through the end of the academic year.
Just two days after Chambers wrote to families signaling the private school needed $175,000 by May 8 to cover “current expenditures through May 31st,” and an additional $500,000 by May 25, Chambers announced that the school had secured the funding it needed in the form of a recoverable grant, according to a May 3 email obtained by Pioneer Press.
The grant, Chambers explained in the email, is a “type of philanthropic support provided upfront” and “potentially repaid in part or in full over time if certain financial conditions are met.”
“This funding will allow Roycemore to operate through the end of the current academic year and into the 2026-27 school year,” Chambers wrote.
But as the community learned on Wednesday, May 6, that grant comes with several conditions.
Roycemore Board member Kevin Foote told parents on the Wednesday call, according to the transcript, that the unidentified donor has committed to providing funding through the school’s graduation in June, but beyond that, certain criteria must be met.
This includes retaining at least 165 of the 177 tuition contracts that have already been signed by families as of April 27 for the 2026-27 academic year.
Families must also pay at least half of their July 1 tuition bill on or before May 25 to make sure the community is “really all in,” Foote said, according to the transcript.
Another condition of the funding is the future sale of Roycemore’s building, located at 1200 Davis Street in Evanston, where the school has been housed for the last 11 years.
He noted that the building comes with excess space and high costs.
Foote clarified if a substantial level of fundraising beyond tuition does not materialize, the school will be looking into a potential merger moving forward.
Roycemore School did not immediately respond to a Pioneer Press request for comment on the recoverable grant conditions or identify the source of the funding. The donor was not named during the Wednesday video call, according to the transcript.
The community-wide meeting comes a little less than two weeks after the school first signaled “inconsistent financial performance” and made an administrative change.
On April 24, Chambers announced Busbey would be serving as interim head of the K-12 institution.
Christopher English, who had served as Roycemore’s head of school since 2022, was no longer mentioned on the school’s website.
But Chambers confirmed on Wednesday that Busbey will be stepping down as interim head and that the Board has “begun conversations” to appoint a new interim leader.
Roycemore’s Vice Chair Anita Shah shared during the meeting that Director of Finance and Operations Michael Youakim was also “no longer with” the school.
Shah reiterated that Roycemore, like many other independent schools, relies on a “very tight budget,” dependent on tuition dollars and fundraising.
In their separate addresses to families, several Board members acknowledged questions from parents regarding how the school could have reached a financial crisis of this magnitude. Roycemore has a starting tuition price tag of over $7,000 per year for the kindergarten grade, up to $40,042 for the full cost of high school tuition for the 2026-27 school year.
When the school “lost 12 students” a few weeks prior to the start of the academic year, after it had already balanced its budget, it resulted in “a large part of lost revenue,” Shah said, according to the transcript.
Board member Foote later added that the 12 students’ tuition was comparable to about one month’s pay plus benefits for the entire staff of the school.
Roycemore at the same time fell short of fundraising, “which put us in a further hole,” Shah said in the transcript.
Shah said the Board was notified in March of a “financial crunch,” but not until six weeks later did members learn the situation was far more dire.
The Board later brought in Rich Odell, a school consultant with a “longstanding connection to the Roycemore community,” to conduct a review of the school’s finances, according to a message sent by Chambers on April 30.
Chambers also told families in the April 30 email that the school’s annual Blue and Gold fundraising gala held on April 24 helped to decrease the $900,000 deficit by nearly 25%, with the paddle raise and silent auction together generating about $218,000 in pledged support.
“Because the school’s financial situation is sensitive to timing, the pace of these receipts matters,” Chambers added in the April 30 email. “We will continue to monitor this closely and provide updates.”
Shah clarified on the May 6 video call that the financial model for independent schools relies on tuition covering roughly 70% of operating costs, with the remaining 30% dependent on giving.
According to data released by the school, Roycemore’s annual fundraising has decreased over a seven-year span, with reported fundraising efforts for 2025 totaling to $495,000, more than $400,000 less than the $918,000 funds raised by the school in 2018.
Chambers closed the May 6 meeting by reiterating the Board’s commitment to keeping parents informed on the school’s situation, emphasizing the need for the community to remain unified.
“We are committed to tracking and responding to all of your questions,” he added.
