There are only two candidates left in the race to be River Grove School’s new superintendent.
After eight years working for River Grove School District 85.5, five as the school’s principal and the remaining three as superintendent, Glenn Grieshaber will be retiring in the summer. The search for his replacement started in October, with the school board hiring Highland Park-based School Exec Connect to faciliate the process.
The firm focuses on finding education professionals for school districts. The school board paid $12,000 for their services.
Kathy Robbins, a partner with the firm and former superintendent at Leyden High School, said at the beginning of the search to fill the position they had over 50 applicants.
“I know the community well,” she said. “The search process itself has gone very smoothly.”
During the process, focus groups were formed and parents were encouraged to fill out an online survey to express what attributes and experience they would like to see in a new superintendent.
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“Based on that information, we screened the applicants during the interview process,” she said.
Robbins narrowed the group of applicants down to 20 applicants and then down to six, which she presented to the school board in January. Members of the School Board interviewed the six candidates and narrowed it down to three.
Two committees were set up, one made up of school administrators and another made up school staff and parents, to interview the final three candidates. Robbins said one of the candidates withdrew from the process leaving the selection between two candidates.
Marlene Flahaven, president of River School District 85.5 School Board, said the process of finding a new superintendent has been a positive one.
“It’s been wonderful,” she said.
She said the School Board is looking for someone who is capable of creating a vision for the district and can plan long-range. The chosen candidate should have a good financial sense, be able to invest in the community and do what’s best for the district and the staff.
Flahaven said the School Board would make a final decision within the next two weeks. Once accepted by the board, the new superintendent is expected to start in July.