Evanston: District 65 Pays Departing Superintendent Angel Turner $191,000 as School Closures and Deficit Loom

A board vote and a buyout clause

The Evanston/Skokie School District 65 Board of Education voted 5-1 to approve a mutual separation agreement with Superintendent Angel Turner, effective June 30. The deal pays Turner a lump sum of $191,000 plus payment for unused vacation days, according to the district's announcement and the separation agreement released Tuesday.

Board member Andrew Wymer was the only vote against the agreement, according to the Evanston RoundTable.

The payout comes a full year before Turner's contract was set to expire on June 30, 2027. Her contract entitled her to salary and benefits totaling over $324,000 for that final year, the agreement said.

How the $191,000 number was calculated

The figure is not arbitrary. It follows a buyout clause already written into Turner's original contract, according to a breakdown of the agreement published by FOIAGras.

Section 11.C of the contract allows the board to terminate the superintendent without cause by providing 90 days' notice. In that event, the board must pay the lesser of two amounts: the maximum permitted under the Illinois Government Severage Pay Act or the present value of the salary Turner would have earned from the termination date to the end of the contract.

Because Turner had a full year remaining, the state law's 20-week cap is the smaller of the two metrics. The $191,000 figure reflects roughly 20 weeks of salary and benefits plus the salary she would have earned during the 90-day notice period, according to the agreement.

Turner will also receive $996.17 per day for her 7.5 unused vacation days, as required by state law, the district said, according to the Daily Northwestern.

A district in financial crisis

The separation lands during a period of intense financial pressure for the district. The board already voted to close two schools at the end of the 2025-26 school year, according to the RoundTable.

In May, the school board debated cost-cutting measures before tentatively agreeing to $969,376 in additional budget reductions. Those cuts would push the district well beyond the $6.3 million in reductions needed for the fiscal year 2027 budget, the RoundTable reported.

But the district faces a larger challenge ahead. It needs to make an additional $10 million to $15 million in cuts through fiscal year 2030 to close its structural budget deficit and address capital needs, according to the RoundTable.

Who steps in next

The board approved former Evanston Township High School District 202 Superintendent Eric Witherspoon to serve as interim superintendent beginning July 1, the Daily Northwestern reported.

Board President Nichole Pinkard said the district will search for a permanent replacement during the 2026-27 school year.

The legal fine print

The separation agreement includes a mutual non-sue clause. Neither side will pursue legal claims against the other, with one exception. The board reserved the right to pursue claims against Turner related to any later discovery of "material fraud, theft, or intentional misappropriation of public funds," the agreement states.

"The Board represents that it is not aware of any such claims of material fraud, theft, or intentional misappropriation of public funds by the Superintendent as of its execution of this Agreement."

The board will not challenge Turner's unemployment claim and will provide her with a recommendation letter, according to the agreement.

A familiar pattern

This is not the first time District 65 has paid a superintendent a large severance. In 2013, the district paid former Superintendent Hardy Murphy a $175,000 severance when he had two years left on his contract, worth more than $600,000 in salary and benefits. The board's minutes from that vote described the timing as "mutually agreed upon" and the payment as "fair and fiscally responsible," according to FOIAGras.

Turner's background

Turner joined District 65 in August 2021 as director of literacy under former Superintendent Devon Horton. She was promoted to assistant superintendent of schools just over a year later. She served as interim superintendent after Horton's departure in June 2023, according to the RoundTable.

Before District 65, Turner worked in Chicago Public Schools as an assistant principal and principal. She later served as director of student achievement and director of school leadership at the Academy for Urban School Leadership. She then became associate senior director of curriculum and assessment at Accelerate Institute, a nonprofit focused on closing the racial achievement gap in Chicago.

Timeline

• June 22, 2026 — District 65 board votes 5-1 to approve separation agreement with Turner
• June 30, 2026 — Turner's last day as superintendent
• July 1, 2026 — Eric Witherspoon begins as interim superintendent

Sources

• District 65 to pay Superintendent Turner $191,000 in separation agreement — Evanston RoundTable, Hope Perry, June 23, 2026
• D65 to pay former Superintendent Angel Turner $191,000 as part of mutual separation agreement — Daily Northwestern, Anavi Prakash, June 23, 2026
• The Terms of Dr. Turner's Separation Agreement with District 65 — FOIAGras, June 24, 2026