Glenview School District Approves New Contract, Principal

GLENVIEW, IL — The Glenview District 34 Board of Education approved a new elementary school principal as well as a new contract with its support staff at a meeting Monday. Patricia Puetz will take over as Henking Principal starting July 1, taking over for Irene Villa after she accepted a position with West Chicago Elementary District 33. The new three-year contract with the Glenview Professional Association will also take effect July 1.

The contract will allow for flat dollar increases for all support staff in 2017-18, a flat dollar increase for all associate staff with a 2 percent increase for all other categories in 2018-19, and a 2 percent increase for all categories in 2019-20. Additionally, there will be eight paid holidays added to the calendar for all 10-month and 11-month employees: this change brings the District’s benefits offering into much closer alignment with what is provided by other area school districts.

“Our support staff members are vital to the success of our district and provide crucial support in all nine of our buildings. We appreciate the opportunity to have worked collaboratively and efficiently with the GPA to negotiate a contract that properly recognizes their service and provides greater support for ongoing success,” said Board President Sam Ach.

As part of negotiations, the district collected data from comparable districts, some of which included those in Northfield Township, as well as ongoing analysis of our healthcare plan utilization. As a result of that review, we recognized the need to increase salaries to be better aligned with the market, but also the opportunity to realize some offsetting savings through modest changes in our health insurance plans. Beginning January 1, 2018, the district health insurance plan for support staff moves to a different PPO option.

“This important adjustment in salaries will allow us to more competitively attract candidates for open positions as well as retain our existing employees,” said Interim Superintendent Dr. Patricia Wernet. “At the same time, we needed to be mindful of our financial resources, and we were able to do so by allocating savings realized from the change in health insurance plans.”

Outside of the salary increases and paid holidays, the new contract also added an additional
day to the calendar for professional development for all 10-month and 11-month employees. Additionally, there will be an increased compensation rate for qualified support staff temporarily assigned to act as substitute teachers. There were also updates, as well as clarifications, regarding retirement notification, breaks, toileting stipend and length of the day and school year.

There are approximately 264 full-time and part-time support staff professionals. These include associates, custodians, maintenance, food service employees, administrative assistants and health coordinators/nurses.

Patricia Puetz Hired As Henking Principal

Puetz has 14 years of experience as an educational professional and six years of success as a school and district administrator in K-5 settings. She has also served as a district EL Coordinator and demonstrated a clear understanding of Title I & III programming.

“Many of the candidates who interviewed for the position demonstrated incredible strengths. Ultimately, what made Puetz standout amongst the others was her ‘whole child’ approach to education, dedication to working collaboratively with staff and desire to include families in the education of their children,” said incoming Superintendent Dr. Dane Delli.

Puetz currently is the principal at Whitman Elementary School and was previously principal at Hawthorne Early Childhood School in Wheeling District 21. She joined Wheeling in 2013 from River Trails District 26 in Mount Prospect where she was Assistant Principal/EL District Coordinator at Euclid Elementary. She is familiar with District 34, having previously worked as a second grade teacher at Lyon School from 2003-2005.

She holds a Master’s in Education from DePaul University, Bachelor’s of Arts from DePaul University and has her Type 75 Administration Certification from National Louis University.

“We were fortunate to have both staff and parents serve on the Henking Principal Interview/Advisory Committee, and I appreciate the time these individuals took to provide their important feedback to help inform this final recommendation. The team did a wonderful job representing the needs and priorities of the Henking School Community,” Delli added.

The Henking principal selection process began by gathering feedback from parents and staff about the desired qualities and characteristics of the new principal. There were 36 applicants for the position, and 11 of the most qualified candidates were brought forward for screening interviews based on their application and supplemental materials, academic credentials, certification, background and experience. Five exceptional finalists were selected for the next

level in the process, which included separate interviews with the Administrative Team and Henking Building Team. Three final candidates then went forward for interviews with Delli.

“Joining the Henking School Community is an incredible opportunity, and I look forward to getting to know the students, staff and parents. By supporting the teaching and learning that takes places in our classrooms everyday, we can achieve our shared mission and vision that is rooted in each and every one of our students continuing to grow and succeed,” Puetz said.

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