Evanston/Skokie School District 65 is facing unprecedented financial challenges in the coming years. It had deficits of $10 million in both FY’23 and FY’24, and now has a budgeted deficit of about $13 million for FY’25, taking into account all funds except the capital fund (the non-capital funds).
Each of these deficits seemed to take the school board by surprise. On a cumulative basis, these actual and projected deficits will reduce the cash balance in the non-capital funds by $33 million by the end of FY’25, leaving a total cash balance in those funds of $38 million.
This amount would fund the schools for 70 days, considerably less than the minimum fund balance policy target of 90 days…