The West Aurora District 129 School Board has selected a Schaumburg-based education consulting firm to help guide them in the search for a replacement for Superintendent Jeff Craig as he approaches his final years in the district.
Craig’s contract with West Aurora will end June 30, 2024. He began as superintendent July 1, 2014.
The School Board unanimously voted recently to hire Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates out of a field of four firms looking to help the district find its next superintendent.
The Schaumburg firm’s proposal best matched the district’s vision for the superintendent search, officials said.
“The goal of the selection process is to match the unique needs of School District 129 with the best-suited candidate,” West Aurora District 129 Director of Community Affairs Anna Gonzales said.
The board has not decided whether it will be an internal search or a combination of an internal and national search for the next district leader, she said.
“We are roughly two years and three months from Dr. Craig’s retirement date and therefore, we are very early in the process,” Gonzales said in response to questions via email to The Beacon-News.
Board members were interested in making sure there will be involvement from parents, staff, students and the community when it comes to picking a new superintendent.
That part of the selection process has yet to be determined as well.
“These will be some of the questions the board will be defining as they begin their work with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates in the coming months,” Gonzales said.
The board approved a contract with the firm at a negotiated price of $16,000.
Representatives from Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates Brian Harris and Jane Westerhold gave their pitch to the school board at a March 7 meeting.
Harris said he recently retired as superintendent at Barrington School District 220 after 34 years in public education. He previously was superintendent at Wheaton Warrenville District 200 and an assistant superintendent and principal at St. Charles School District 303.
“I am familiar with the region and excited to assist you if you so choose,” Harris told the school board in the firm’s bid for the contract.
Westerhold said she is a retired superintendent. She retired in 2016 from Des Plaines District 62. She also has served as interim superintendent for public school districts including in Highland Park and Deerfield, she said. She previously was an assistant superintendent.
Both Harris and Westerhold have experience in large school districts, they said.
The firm’s focus in assisting school boards in their search for a new leader includes candidate assessment. The firm will conduct a comprehensive process to screen candidates and provide a profile of each person looking to become superintendent, Harris said.
“We also spend a significant amount of time in community engagement. That is a major portion on the qualitative and quantitative side. We recently completed a search of Niles Township High School District 219. We did over 35 focus groups there. It’s something we are very familiar with,” Harris said
Community engagement is where the firm would begin, Westerhold said.
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“The engagement phase is where we really start getting the ball rolling. We begin with a planning meeting and we would want to do that as soon as possible with the Board of Education,” Westerhold said.
“We pride ourselves in really making sure that each search is tailored to your needs,” she said.
Before the planning meeting, board members will have a confidential portal created to provide them with information. Part of the process will include a research-based community survey that is prepared by the firm’s analytic, statistics and research team, Westerhold said.
The firm would develop a leadership profile of desired characteristics as part of the engagement process.
“The leadership profile helps guide what you are looking for in your next superintendent,” Westerhold said.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.