The Morton Grove Park View School District 70 School Board has approved a contract for its new incoming superintendent who will replace the district’s current top administrator after the end of this school year.
The School Board approved a three-year contract for Brad Voehringer, who is currently superintendent of Pennoyer School District 79 in Norridge. Voehringer will be paid $179,900 for the 2016-17 school year, according to School Board documents. He will replace outgoing District 70 superintendent Phil Collins, whose 2015-16 base salary is $176,818, he said in an email.
Voehringer, whose 20 years of experience in education includes a role as assistant superintendent of student services at Des Plaines School District 62 and other leadership roles as a special education director and an assistant principal, according to Park View’s website, will get a $20,000 pay increase when he starts his new job on July 1.
Like Collins, Voehringer’s benefits package includes 20 paid vacation days, but with a buy-back option for up to five unused days per year. The school district also agreed to pay Voehringer $12,000 for each contract year that he doesn’t use his health or dental benefits.
Park View School Board president Paul McGivern declined to discuss personnel issues that were discussed during a series of closed session meetings that were held during the subsequent months following Collins’ announcement and leading up to the board’s decision to hire Voehringer on Feb. 8.
“At Park View, our superintendent has to wear all the hats, and (Voehringer) was the only administrator aside from the principal at Pennoyer,” McGivern said. “Brad has extensive experience working with special education, and he has a good track record of managing great teachers.”
Search firm School Exec Connect was hired by the board to conduct the search for a new top administrator. The firm suggested five candidates, who were interviewed by the School Board and narrowed down to two final candidates who met with parents, staff and a committee of students, according to McGivern.
Voehringer, who has led Pennoyer since 2013, has been transitioning to his new role by splitting his time between Pennoyer and Park View.
The Park View School Board agreed to compensate Voehringer $300 per day for up to 20 days to between February and June to “perform any and all duties necessary to transition the superintendency,” according to his contract.
Collins, who on Aug. 25 announced his intentions to resign at the end of his contract on June 30, had initially declined to discuss the specifics of his departure, but recently said he accepted a new position as the senior vice president of education for Highland Park-based educational software provider, Otus.
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“I decided it was time to step into something different and new, but when I resigned I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Collins said. “We’ve had a great four-year run and created additional opportunities for our kids, and now it’s time to take the next step forward.”
Park View’s principal, Ivy Sukenik, is also leaving at the end of the school year for Sunset Ridge District 29 in Northfield, where she was tapped to become principal.
Michelle Friedman, the assistant principal at Shepard Middle School in Deerfield, was hired as the new principal at Park View, according to the school district.
Natalie Hayes is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.