Shari Roth, Haven & Kingsley Parent
We moved here 2 years ago from Chicago specifically for this incredible school system. My kids previously were in a CPS school with class sizes of 30 or more. I know this impacted their learning. They're now in much smaller classes with significantly enhanced support services, which will be threatened if this referendum doesn't pass. We have nowhere else to turn. Please vote YES for District 65 schools. Bringing 30 plus class sizes to Evanston would hurt our kids and our property values.
Jerry and Nancy Stermer, Former Lincolnwood & Haven parents
Our children had an outstanding experience in District 65. We're supporting the referendum to make sure the schools can continue to be outstanding for years to come.
Cari Levin, Former D65 Parent
My kids are both finished with school. I have no doubt that their current success in college and technical school is in large part due to the quality education they received in D65. I am committed to ensuring that all kids can have the same educational experience that mine had. I'm voting YES!
Delores Holmes, 5th Ward Alderman
We must continue nurturing and supporting all of our children and giving them the ability to reach their potential and achieve their dreams. Investing in our future now will strengthen our community and prevent us from larger payments later. Let's help to keep our public schools from crumbling. Its why I'm voting YES on April 4th for the referendum, and I hope you will too.
Joyce Chang Anderson, Lincolnwood Parent
We chose to move to Evanston for the community. A community that comes together when times are tough. The people who share the burden of raising children, getting older, losing jobs, and losing loved ones. The same people who together celebrate birthdays, babies, marriages, new careers and personal accomplishments. We do these things together because WE ARE EVANSTON. The future of our community is in our children. If we can't give them the education they deserve, our community has failed them. Now is the time for the community to show its true colors. Be proud of your Evanston - our Evanston - and vote YES to the referendum.
Aviva Bollinger, D65 Parent
I moved to Evanston from Chicago specifically for the excellent public school system. My daughter has had incredible opportunities to learn and play music, act and discover other fine arts; she's played sports, excelled in academics and organizational skills and has received ample support from school staff who believe in teaching the whole child - from academics to social and emotional health. To lose any of these loving and necessary resources would make a profound impact and I would never want to compromise my daughters' academic and emotional progress. Therefore, I support the referendum and will do my part in ensuring that District 65 is able to continue operating at the level we've come to expect.
Warren, Lincolnwood Parent
My wife and I relocated to Evanston because of the community and quality of education our children could receive. Lincolnwood elementary offers a wonderful school community, a diverse student body and class sizes that provide a great opportunity for our children to thrive. The fact that it sits right in the middle of a great neighborhood makes it even more special We cannot afford to let anything negatively impact this for our children!
Mary Rita Luecke, Former Walker & Chute Parent
We, in Evanston, have always been both fortunate and proud of the way in which we support our schools. Please vote “YES” on the school funding referendum to continue the progress we have made in improving student achievement through high quality schools. That is in the best interest of the students, their families, our homeowners, and the community.
Tim Flatland, Lincolnwood Parent
Please vote yes!
The choice is a clear one to me, and I will be voting Yes in support of District 65 Schools to not only protect the education of my kids, but the ones coming behind them as well. Based on the meetings and presentations I've attended, it's clear the board has done all they can to prevent the need to go to referendum. As a community I hope we come together and make a strong stand on the continued importance of education.
Isabel & Andy Schultz, Lincolnwood & Haven Parents
Voting YES on the Referendum is the only option to preserve the high quality of D65 education our 2 children have experienced over the last 8 years, as well as to ensure continued gains in equitable outcomes for ALL children in Evanston. We applaud the D65 school board for doing everything in their power to avoid going to a referendum. The incremental property tax increase pales in comparison to increased class sizes to 30 and significant teacher layoffs. The fabric of this unique, dynamic community we cherish rests tremendously on our strong schools. Vote YES on April 4th without hesitation!
Tracy Cassidy, Orrington Parent
We chose Evanston for the community we knew we would find and be proud to be apart of. Not only have we found the best place to raise our family, but a place that has the diversity and values we want for EVERY child. If our schools fail, we have failed our children and every child in this community. We have one choice; to support District 65 with a YES vote on April 4.
Orrington Parent
The value of a high quality education cannot be overstated. Access to good public schools, with strong community support, is one of the primary reasons people choose to set roots in Evanston. This vote is a turning point for D65 and everyone who calls Evanston home. The responsibility to fund our schools is not a state problem. It's not a federal problem. It is first and foremost an Evanston problem. The community must not throw in the towel or kick the can down the road. We intend to do our part on April 4th and vote yes on the operating referendum.
Hank Scheff, Former D65 Parent
District 65 provided a quality education for our three children, and we want future children to enjoy that same advantage of being well prepared for high school, college, and life.
Aina Gutierrez, D65 Parent
I am a parent of three children in District 65 schools. I send them on the bus everyday knowing that they are being driven safely to caring teachers, trusting staff, and helpful resources at their school. I am voting for this referendum for my kids, and for the all the kids in this community that deserve the same.
Kenneth Mantel, D65 Parent
My family and I moved to Evanston, primarily for the schools. Like many families, we lived in Chicago, but as soon as it came time to enroll our children in CPS pre-K, we saw the first hand the uncertainty children faced, largely in part due to inadequate decision making , fiscally and administratively. Our children should not suffer from the mistakes for others. Our children were reassigned, due to a consolidation, and if it were not for the pre-k teacher we would not have know until the Friday afternoon before the school year were to start. After moving to Evanston, and attending preschool, our children have thrived and blossomed. We moved here for the dedicated teachers and staff, and the opportunity to provide our children with the best resources for their development. In order to continue as a first class community, we must pay the minimal price to fix an antiquated system. This is our house, and we as a community need to take this step to get the finances in line.
Soo La Kim, D65 Parent
I'm the product of great public schools, and I want my children to get a great public education too. The referendum will help keep Evanston schools strong.
Bonnie Schindler, Lincoln and Nichols parent
I will vote YES on the District 65 Referendum. Our schools are facing a structural deficit, meaning that the budget is increasing (driven by an additional 1,500 students to educate and rising staffing costs) faster than property tax revenue growth, which is capped at CPI. (CPI, or the consumer price index, captures a large basket of goods, including food, clothing, housing, etc. It's not a great proxy for educational-cost increases, particularly with a growing student population.) Absent the approval of the referendum, our schools will face draconian cuts that will reduce the quality of education for our children and will, I believe, negatively impact our property values. With approval of the referendum, our schools will be able to operate and improve for the next eight years, even in the face of state and federal revenue cuts. Further, many of our school buildings are old and in need of repair. The referendum will permit capital investments. With the last round of collective bargaining, our teachers agreed to share in the burden of the school's financial difficulties. Truly, they are partners in this initiative.
I know that higher property taxes are a difficult ask for many. However, public education is an investment that I believe our community needs to make. We have a unique and wonderful school district. We need to support it financially to help it move forward.
Stephanie & Peter Clemson, D65 Parent
We support this referendum because we want all Evanston students to continue to have access to the best that District 65 has to offer - outstanding classroom teachers, and also dedicated music, art, drama, PE, band/orchestra, and library teachers.
Joseph Hailpern
As a life long Evanstonian I fully support this referendum. Investment in our schools and our children are a necessary cost for our community. It is always far less expensive to invest in our schools and children than to remediate the problems that come from disenfranchised relationships with community later in life. Vote Yes on April 4!
Susan Rohrback
It's so important to our schools - and community as a whole - that this pass. No one wants to pay more in taxes and it's a real burden for some, but negatively impacting how we educate kids K-8 is not the direction we want to head in. This is an investment in what we love about Evanston, in all the children here and in our future.
Alison & Greg Hawley, Evanston Residents
Our schools are one of the strongest pillars of our community. Though Greg and I do not have children, we are strong supporters of public education. We fully support this referendum.
Julie Strauss, Former D65 Parent
D65 schools have served both of my children extremely well. They thrived in the elementary and middle schools and were well-prepared for ETHS and now college (for one). One particularly important aspect of the public schools for my kids was the wonderful music instruction they both received at Willard and then Haven. Beginning their instruments in 4th grade was key to a continued devotion to music education that has carried my younger son into ETHS and my older son through ETHS into college marching and concert bands. D65 schools are a pillar of the Evanston community and should be supported through this referendum.
Andrea Versenyi - Former D65 Parent
Our children greatly benefited from many services in D65 outside of classroom instruction -- band, reading specialists, social work support. Without this referendum, such services will have to be radically cut. Their absence would have made the experience a much poorer one for our children and many others.
Jacki Davidoff - Former D65 Parent
Our family has had two sons who've gone through D65 elementary and middle schools. They've had committed, thoughtful, bright teachers who've challenged them. Principals who set a strong culture of inclusiveness for the schools. The D65 school board has a strong leader and school board community members who want the best for ALL kids. I've brought our sons to speak in front of the school board and gotten involved because our schools are important. I want our schools to have the resources we need for music, arts, teachers, and classrooms that we must have to keep our excellence and our reputation high. I vote a strong YES.
Joel & Kai Sternstein, D65 Parents
I'm voting yes not only for my children but also for the neediest of children in our District. It is these kids that will be most affected if the referendum fails and the cuts go into place. We need to take a strong stand not only for our own, but for all the children in Evanston. This is a moral question that we are being asked to answer. Let's answer with a resounding yes! Yes, all of our kids do matter. We do, after all, belong to each other.
dy Fiske, 1st Ward Alderwoman
Even though the referendum is not, in itself, a matter that will come before the City Council, passage of the referendum will have a direct benefit for our local economy. I support our children, and I support the referendum, and I have said so publicly and often. The strength of our schools is a prime reason why people choose to live, invest and build in Evanston, so not only are our schools good for children and families, but their continued health is vital for the city to be able to expand its tax base. The referendum makes good sense all around!