Deerfield Superintendent Resigns To Take Same Job In Lemont

DEERFIELD, IL — The Deerfield School District 109 board is searching for a new superintendent for the second time in the past three years, with Anthony McConnell headed out the door at the end of the year to take the helm at a southwest suburban high school district.

Two years after succeeding Mike Lubelfeld as chief of the Deerfield district, McConnell is set to take over as head of the Lemont-Bromberek Combined School District 113A in July. Its board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a contract with McConnell, according to a release.

McConnell, 42, has spent the past seven years as an administrator at District 109 after starting his educational career as a social studies and English teacher at Rock Island High School. The Lake Villa resident was an assistant principal of Walden Elementary School, principal of Kipling Elementary School and an assistant superintendent in the district before being named superintendent in March 2018.

"District 109 will always have a special place in my heart, not only because of the amazing success our students have attained, but also due to the relationships I have developed with our families, students, staff and community," McConnell said in a statement announcing his departure.

"It is due to everyone's hard work, dedication and commitment to a progressive educational vision that all indicators of student and organizational success continue to increase in this district. I am committed to finishing out the school year strong and making for a smooth transition."

Nick Begley, board president in District 109, thanked McConnell on behalf of the board.

"During his tenure, we have seen notable improvements in student achievement and a number of exciting initiatives emerge that have benefited our students, families, staff and community in many ways," Begley said. "He has made a positive mark on our school district community, and we truly wish him well in his future endeavors."

Related:
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During McConnell's time as superintendent, District 109 was certified by the Great Place To Work group as a great workplace. The group found 93 percent of employees described the district as a great place to work and ranked it as the 20th best place to work in the Chicago area. McConnell is also the author of "The Principled Principal: 10 Principles for Leading Exceptional Schools."

Some parents in the district have raised concerns about McConnell's leadership. Last year, a group called 109 Demand for Change began calling for resignations of top administrators. Complaints included a lack of transparency, widespread unacceptable personnel issues, conflict of interests, a lack of collaboration with parents and an over-reliance on outside consultants.

Parents who contacted Patch about personnel issues in the district, including allegations of bullying of students by staff, have asked not to be named due to fears of retaliation against them or their children.

Jennifer Russell, a third grade Walden Elementary School teacher was issued a notice of remedial warning at a Dec. 10, 2018, board meeting following months of complaints from parents, records show. The board found her behavior to be "deficient and unprofessional" and sufficient cause for her to be dismissed if she failed to correct it, according to the unanimously adopted resolution.

"Your conduct failed to promote an environment conductive to learning and jeopardized the health and well-being of your students," board members told Russell, who has not responded to interview requests. "You engaged in methods that were damaging to students, such as ridicule, yelling and shaming ... You acted in an unprofessional and egregious manner by consistently engaging in inappropriate interactions with your students that was inconsiderate and disrespectful."

The resolution followed complaints about Russell from more than a dozen district parents. Several of those parents faulted administrators for their handling of the concerns and for putting Russell back in a classroom environment, records show.

"What can we as parents do to have what happened to our children put in her permanent file?" one parent told McConnell in an email. "She was verbally abusive to our child for months."

"She treated my child so terribly over a period of months that he felt he could no longer go on living," said another.

"Our approach during the school year," according to a parent, "was to be cautious about what and how we said our [redacted] complaint to the teacher and also to the administration because we worried that given her behavior, she would take her anger out on the kids, only making matters worse."

Other concerns raised by parents in the district include changes in math curriculum, a potential conflict of interest in administrators' relationship with the human resources firm Humanex and a move away from letter grades, according to Pioneer Press.

In a release announcing McConnell's hiring, Damon Ascolani, president of the District 113A board, said he had high hopes for the incoming superintendent, who he said emerged from a pool of more than 40 candidates.

"McConnell is a highly regarded and experienced superintendent who has done amazing work in his prior district," Ascolani said. "We look forward to him applying his talents in District 113A to continue the tremendous progress that we are making in the district."

Parents who met McConnell during the interview process described him as "innovative,"a "strategic planner"and "a student advocate," according to District 113A. Staff described him as "experienced, very student-centered, energetic, passionate about what's best for students, and instantly likeable" and community leaders said he came off as "personable, approachable and genuine."

In a release announcing his new job in Lemont, McConnell said he was honored to join the District 113A community.

"As I have come to know the outstanding teachers, staff, parents, community and board members in the district, I have learned about their well-deserved pride and the great progress toward meeting district goals," he said. "I look forward to continuing working collaboratively with the community to continue that progress."

It was not yet clear if McConnell is taking a pay cut to make the move. His salary and benefits in District 109 totaled more than $264,000, according to the District 109's 2018-19 compensation report. 113A administrators did not immediately respond to a request for McConnell's new contract. (Update: McConnell received a three year contract with a base salary of $203,232.39 for the first year. The board agreed to pay his entire contribution to retirement and health insurance — read Superintendent Anthony McConnell's complete contract with Lemont-Bromberek Community School District 113A.)

UPDATE: Mike Simeck To Resign As Lake Forest Schools Superintendent, Succeed Anthony McConnell At Helm Of District 109