The revised design for the new elementary school in Evanston’s 5th Ward has won approval from city officials.
Already two years behind schedule, downsized due to a massive cost overrun, and mired in the controversy over the probable closing of Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies, has cleared one key hurdle without added delay.
Because the original K-8 building design was shrunk to K-5 to save money, District 65 had to re-submit a zoning review to the City of Evanston, which, in theory at least, could have led to more delays if certain things were not OK’d.
But in a report to the school board Monday night, project manager Kirby Callam said “The City of Evanston has determined that the proposed revisions for the K-5 School design are substantially consistent and represented a decrease to the approved ordinance. As a result, this project falls within the formerly approved zoning ordinance.”
In other words, zoning should not be an impediment to what is now supposed to a mid-July groundbreaking.
Board President Sergio Hernandez Jr. was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’m so excited,” Hernandez said, “that we don’t have to go through the [zoning] process again.”
Even though the city’s zoning concerns have been addressed, Callam did tell the board that D65 now has to “move forward with state and other permitting authorities,” however, those are not expected to cause any problems.
Before ground is broken, the new building will have a name.
Callam said that a special committee will bring in naming options for the 5th Ward School to the May 20 board of education meeting.
On May 7, there will be a 6 p.m. community meeting at Fleetwood-Jourdain Center to discuss the new school. Ideas on both a school name and mascot can be submitted then.
There has been at least some sentiment to incorporate the Foster School name into the new project.
Foster was the name of the formerly segregated facility which was closed as a neighborhood school in the late 1960s as part of district-wide integration.
The target date for opening the new building is fall of 2026.