Evanston/Skokie District 65 Superintendent Stepping Down July 1

EVANSTON, IL — Paul Goren, superintendent of Evanston/Skokie School District 65 since 2014, announced Friday he is stepping down at the end of the month. According to a joint statement with Board President Suni Kartha, Goren and the board "mutually agree" to a "leadership transition."

The board will appoint Stacy Beardsley, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction, as a temporary superintendent for the summer at a special meeting Monday, according to the statement. An interim superintendent will be named in mid-August to take over for the 2019-20 school year while the board conducts a search for a new permanent superintendent, it said.

Goren, 61, said it had been an honor to serve the community where he has lived for more than two decades and where his children graduated from local elementary and middle schools, according to the statement. He said he was proud of the work he had accomplished in more than five years in charge of the district, which he said was pointing in the right direction.

“We are at a point with our labor agreements solidified over the next five years and resources from the referendum maintaining financial stability for the next six years," Goren said, "for a transition to occur where new leadership can design and shape the next strategic direction for the district.”

Last week, the board approved a new five-year contract agreement with the union representing its teachers following more than two dozen bargaining sessions, according to a joint statement from Goren, Kartha and Meg Krulee, president of the District Educators Council representing teachers. It was the first time in decades that contracts with the teacher's union and teacher's assistant union had both been completed before the end of the school year.

Among the district's other accomplishments during Goren's tenure cited in the statement were the $14.5 million operating referendum passed in 2017, the re-establishment of an office of curriculum and instruction, creating climate teams in each school and training more than 1,100 staff members on applying racial identity awareness to classroom and school practices.

Kartha thanked Goren for his service to the community and was quoted as saying board members appreciated his leadership and direction.

"The next several years are key to the future of the district and new leadership, building on the foundation Superintendent Goren established, will guide us as we build a new strategic plan for the future of the district," Kartha said.

Board members remain committed to the district's stated priorities, including its strategic plan and equity agenda, according to the statement. According to progress reports on strategic plan outcomes, the district has been losing ground against its five-year targets and seeing declines in test scores across all groups.

The superintendent's most recent contract included a salary of more than $262,700, plus nearly $40,000 in annual benefits, according to the District 65 administrator compensation report.

Goren was appointed following the abrupt resignation of Hardy Murphy, who departed after 13 years with the district to pursue consulting opportunities in 2013 — the year after district voters rejected a $48.2 million referendum to build a neighborhood school in the 5th Ward and improve other facilities.

Before joining District 65, Goren was the senior vice president for program at the Collaborative for Academic, Social,and Emotional Learning in Chicago. He has also advised Chicago Public Schools and the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute, and worked with the Spencer Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, according to online biographies. In an education career spanning close to 35 years, Goren has also taught at the middle school level and worked as an assistant superintendent and policy director for school districts in Minneapolis and San Diego.

Goren, attending a conference until Thursday, did not not immediately respond to questions about the circumstances of his departure. Any response provided will be included here.