Parents and staff calling Lake Forest elementary schools or Lake Forest High School offices may encounter brief dropped connections over the next two weeks as Districts 67 and 115 simultaneously replace their phone systems.

The upgrade began Monday, July 27, and is expected to wrap up by Monday, August 10, according to an announcement posted on the districts' website by Jordan Salus, chief technology officer for both Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115. Salus said disruptions should be brief and intermittent, and described expected outages as minimal.

The work overlaps with the window when families make back-to-school calls for registration, scheduling, and transportation ahead of the 2026–27 school year.

What stays the same

All main school and district phone numbers remain unchanged.

The districts' shared general contact number is 847-235-9657. Deer Path Middle School East (Grades 5 and 6) is reachable at 847-615-4470. A full directory of individual school numbers is available at lakeforestschools.org.

Who is affected

District 67 serves students in grades K–8 in Lake Forest. District 115, Lake Forest Community High School, serves approximately 1,400 students in grades 9–12 from Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, and Knollwood. Any caller to any school or district office in either system could encounter a brief interruption during the transition.

How to reach the districts if phones are down

Salus can be contacted directly at 847-582-7730 or [email protected]. His office is at 300 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest. The districts have not announced an alternative contact method, such as a dedicated email or web form, for families who cannot get through by phone during the transition.

The announcement does not name the vendor performing the upgrade or disclose the project's cost.

What's next

The upgrade is scheduled to be complete by August 10. The next District 115 Board of Education meeting is Wednesday, August 12, though the phone project does not appear on any published agenda. Families with questions about back-to-school logistics who cannot reach their school by phone should try email or check lakeforestschools.org for updates.