With a tax referendum on the horizon, La Grange Elementary School District 102 is in need of a leader with a strong financial background who can unify the district and its stakeholders under one vision, consultants said.
During a presentation to the school board last week, representatives from School Exec Connect, a Highland Park-based search firm, shared a list of qualities — gathered from an online survey, nine focus groups and a community forum — that it should look for in a superintendent.
In August, Superintendent Warren Shillingburg and the board announced they had agreed to part ways at the end of this school year. Shillingburg, whose current contract ends on June 30, said new leadership is needed considering the district’s goals.
“The board is looking toward preparing a referendum and having someone with referendum experience is going to help them,” said Shillingburg, who hopes to find a job in another school district.. “We just announced it early so we could both be successful.”
The consultants presented common strengths and weaknesses identified by parents, staff and others. Nearly 400 people responded to the survey and more than 100 participated in the Sept. 29 forum, said Kathy Robbins, a partner at School Exec Connect.
“We’ve learned an awful lot about the community as we talked to people and conducted this survey,” she said. “What often will attract the best candidates to a position are the things that might be perceived as challenges.”
The most common strengths were identified as the teaching staff, school learning environment and parents’ commitment to learning. Some of the main challenges were the quality of administrators, a clear vision for the district and instructional methods that engage students.
“The vision for the district is not as clear as it once was,” Robbins said, adding that focus group participants said the school board often micromanages, with board members going directly to teachers for information instead of talking to administrators. “The board-superintendent relationship sometimes gets blurred.”
A lack of transparency by the board also was mentioned, Robbins said, with parents adding that they didn’t always feel welcome at meetings.
“The staff morale wasn’t terrific and I think a lot of that can be attributed to people feeling overwhelmed,” she said.
Based on that feedback, the firm created a New Superintendent Profile report, which says the district is looking for someone who has “excellent financial oversight skills,” is open to new ideas, transparent and collaborative among other things.
“We’re going to look for someone who can do most of this well. And there are people that can do that,” said Linda Hanson, president of the consulting firm.
Board member Dawn Aubert said the profile created an accurate portrayal of what the board is looking for in a new leader.
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“I think this captures it very, very well,” Aubert said.
The firm will soon begin interviewing candidates and present five or six to the board to interview in early December, said Carol Norvilas, administrative assistant to the superintendent.
The board will choose three finalists who will also be interviewed by one or two committees of teachers, support staff, administrators, parents and key community members.
The goal is to approve a contract with a new superintendent in February, according to board documents.