109 Board Begins Superintendent Search

Board of Education spent nearly two hours Monday interviewing three firms that could help find a replacement for .

Staffed by former superintendents, the three firms advertised their experience and presented their techniques for finding candidates, determining the best potential hires and incorporating community opinion, all of which would be tailored to the district’s needs.

Representatives from all three firms said they did not believe the April school board election should delay the search. At least one suggested giving potential candidates for Board seats input in the process.

“A good superintendent should be able to work with any board, since there will be board members constantly turning over,” Linda Hanson, president of Highland Park-based firm School Exec Connect, said. Hanson is a former superintendent of Township High School District 113.

Some residents did not agree. A group of District parents said they planned to present a  at the next school board meeting urging the members to hire an interim superintendent and wait until after the election to make a permanent decision.

Other parents spoke up in favor of moving forward with the search, saying they believed that the best candidates would not apply for an interim position.

Patch will have a more detailed story Wednesday with comments from Board members and parents.

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