Overview
- District 65 leaders formally proposed closing Lincolnwood and Dewey elementaries and redrawing attendance boundaries that district officials say would affect more than 700 students.
- The package would eliminate the district School Age Child Care program (more than 30 positions), phase out Head Start and Early Start, and end all pre‑K transportation to reduce operating costs.
- District officials project the moves would save about $2.9 million a year and roughly $58 million over 20 years while addressing what they call a persistent structural deficit of $5 million.
- Parents, staff and childcare coordinators have raised concerns about job losses, reduced access to childcare for working families and the risk of privatized alternatives, and the school board is set to vote on the plan on Nov. 9.
- This follows prior closures last year; district leaders present the proposal as a permanent fix and say they currently have no plans to sell the affected buildings but decisions are not final.