Good post Tom. A couple questions: the RoundTable and Evanston Now both reported that there was a memo or report in the board packet from the consultant which was then removed from the web after Fridays Evanston Now story.
Do you have a copy of that posted? Is there anything other than that slide deck that was prepared by the consultant?
Good post Tom. A couple questions: the RoundTable and Evanston Now both reported that there was a memo or report in the board packet from the consultant which was then removed from the web after Fridays Evanston Now story.
Do you have a copy of that posted? Is there anything other than that slide deck that was prepared by the consultant?
On the penultimate slide they say reductions should be made based on return on investment and a “Racial Equity Impact Assessment.”
What are the criteria that inform the “Racial equity impact assessment “?
Did they make ANY mention about halting the new school at the meeting? At the very least they should have it as a scenario with cost estimates that can be compared with other scenarios.
Also, what is going on with the Superintendent search? It has been total crickets on that front.
One additional thought on the subject, the particular phrase is: "All expenditure reductions should be made through the lens of return-on-investment evaluation and the use of Racial Equity Impact Assessment."
I'm all for making the right decisions with whatever lens you want to use, but my understanding is that the BoE is legally a fiduciary to the taxpayers. Are they even allowed to make decisions and prioritize this assessment over financial issues? I need to find a finance lawyer to ask about this because my understanding is that they cannot. I can imagine a case where they are going to close a school and need to select the one to close, are they even permitted to make that decision based on anything other than the operations and finance of the District? I can very easily imagine a situation where this BoE is making decisions based solely on the race of students attending the school and literally nothing else...
Good post Tom. A couple questions: the RoundTable and Evanston Now both reported that there was a memo or report in the board packet from the consultant which was then removed from the web after Fridays Evanston Now story.
Do you have a copy of that posted? Is there anything other than that slide deck that was prepared by the consultant?
On the penultimate slide they say reductions should be made based on return on investment and a “Racial Equity Impact Assessment.”
What are the criteria that inform the “Racial equity impact assessment “?
Did they make ANY mention about halting the new school at the meeting? At the very least they should have it as a scenario with cost estimates that can be compared with other scenarios.
Also, what is going on with the Superintendent search? It has been total crickets on that front.
You may be surprised to learn that the "Racial Equity Impact Assessment" is a product that the District purchases from a vendor: https://sites.google.com/district65.net/district-65-equity-glossary/home
One additional thought on the subject, the particular phrase is: "All expenditure reductions should be made through the lens of return-on-investment evaluation and the use of Racial Equity Impact Assessment."
I'm all for making the right decisions with whatever lens you want to use, but my understanding is that the BoE is legally a fiduciary to the taxpayers. Are they even allowed to make decisions and prioritize this assessment over financial issues? I need to find a finance lawyer to ask about this because my understanding is that they cannot. I can imagine a case where they are going to close a school and need to select the one to close, are they even permitted to make that decision based on anything other than the operations and finance of the District? I can very easily imagine a situation where this BoE is making decisions based solely on the race of students attending the school and literally nothing else...
There is a memo that I didn’t share. Let me dig it up and share.
Here's the one I have but maybe it's an updated version? https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DZx-byHPJJsr2D6nxq5zgJ4FUY6Bhya3/view?usp=drive_link