D-113 Board Considers How To Fill Vacant Seat, Superintendent Job

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The Township High School District 113 board met Friday morning to discuss plans to find an interim superintendent and fill a vacancy on the board. The special meeting of the shorthanded board followed the last week's announcement of the departure of Superintendent Chris Dignam and this week's resignation of board member David Small. Dignam's resignation is effective June 30, and under state law the board must fill Small's former seat by the middle of July.

Five of the seven seats on the District 113 board will be up for election in April. Members set to face voters in the spring include Michelle Culver, Debra Hymen, Alena Laube, Small's yet-to-be-named replacement and Gayle Byck, who was appointed in last year to fill a vacancy created by Julie Gordon's resignation for personal reasons in November.

The board approved a separation agreement with Dignam on May 22 following several months of complaints from teachers and residents that his leadership contributed to a pattern of talented staff leaving the district. Last February, the board gave the outgoing superintendent a raise to a base salary of $250,000 and approved a contract extension until 2021. (Read full agreement, and contract.)

During public comment at Tuesday's board meeting, several speakers suggested waiting until after the vote to attract the best candidate and give the district time to repair trust with the community.

Highland Park resident Rick Heineman said the board should consider hiring an interim superintendent for two years.

"A top candidate is not going to want to work with a board of education that has five seats in play and has not treated each other with respect," Heineman said. "This problem would not be solved until the election next spring, so to get the best candidate we may not want to start the search until the summer of 2019 for a start date of July 1, 2020."

Finding the right candidate would require a concerted effort by the board and a search company to articulate what the community was looking for "so they are not scared off by some of the things that have occurred in the past," he said.

Deerfield High School teacher Marty Esgar, the outgoing president of the District 113 Educational Association – the non-union collective bargaining unit that represents teachers at Deerfield and Highland Park high schools – warned against contracting with a search firm.

"The last search firms have gotten nothing but big bills and poor vetting," Esgar told the board. He said the district was not broken but was experiencing a "crisis of leadership" that the board had helped address by negotiating the resignation of its superintendent. He said it was vital for the next superintendent to appreciate the district's unique nature.

“We need a superintendent who knows us, understands our non-union collaborative nature and is not threatened by it. It is so hard to find people who would understand how we work, because we are pretty much the only high school district in the state of Illinois that is non-union," Esgar said.

Board member Alena Laube agreed that the five seats on the board up for election next year would be a factor in recruiting Dignam's replacement. She said it would be prudent to post the vacancy immediately in case there was an ideal interested candidate out there and suggested a good first place to start would be to take a look at former administrators in the district who have left.

"We need to have somebody who can hit the ground running," Laube said. "Somebody who knows us and understands us so that we don't lose six months sort of training them into the idea of who we aspire to be and who we have been in the past."

Board Vice President Stacey Meyer said the district needs "some healing," and two years of an interim superintendent could be beneficial.

"I want to make sure that we would get the best candidates and don't want to feel rushed even in a year," Meyer said."Until we kind of settle down as a community and a district and whatever else, I think to get people to really want to work here permanently might take a little time."

Resident Trip Hainsfurther said issues with the superintendent were a symptom rather than the root of the district's problems, which he said existed long before Dignam's appointment.

"I think that many of you have lost the trust of the community, and it's not because of political polarization," Hainsfurther said. "It's because the community felt unheard, and worse yet, they felt you didn't care. Of course, obviously you did hear and you have acted but some still feel that there was significant damage done."

Member Gayle Byck said the board was working on a tight deadline with just four weeks to go through the full hiring process.

"Whatever we decide it doesn't mean we're not listening to any part of the community," Byck said. "We can't make everybody happy, we just have to make the decisions that we feel are in the best interests of the districts within the constraints we have for time and everything else."

Member Michelle Culver said it was too late in the school year to find a permanent replacement. She said a search firm previously employed by the district still owed the board as a result of the previous controversial appointment of a superintendent who resigned before beginning the job.

"We can use the search firm. While we say they owe it to us, they legit do. It's my understanding we wouldn't be paying for their services," Culver said. "We can go that avenue and also do it on her own."

Board President Lizzy Garlovsky said she had been told most candidates are connected with search firms, and it would be difficult to avoid their involvement.

"There's not a giant pool of qualified people in the state of Illinois who are licensed interim superintendents," Garlovsky said. "If that's the avenue we're going to go down, we're going to really try to get the best ones but saying they cannot be connected to a search firm may be impossible."

Member Debra Hymen conceded there is a trust issue between the community and the board, which she said would have to make some urgent decisions with out a long involved process. She warned that even with improvements to technology and background checks, hiring mistakes could still be possible.

"People do make mistakes. People are sad about the mistakes they make. And if we are not teaching our children that people make mistakes, we are making a big mistake," Hymen said.

The afternoon prior to the board's May 29 meeting, Small, a board member since 2011 who had opposed cutting ties with Dignam, submitted a letter of resignation:

It has been a great privilege to serve on the District 113 Board. I am grateful for having been elected to two terms and for the significant accomplishments of the District during my seven years of service.

We are extremely fortunate to have excellent senior leadership teams in our District office and both high schools as well as outstanding and committed teachers, counselors, advisors, coaches, and support staff.

Recently it has become clear that my views with regard to the strategic direction of the District and various other matters are at odds with the majority of the Board. At this time I think that it is best for the District and for the Board that a new Board member take my position. I am hopeful that the Board will appoint an experienced leader, with an independent perspective, who is committed to the success of all students.

The board has not yet named any candidates to replace Small. As of June 2, an interim superintendent position was posted on the district's job website. The next regular meeting of the board is set for June 11.

Related:

• District 113 Pays $300K To Make Superintendent Go Away
• D-113 Set To Part Ways With Superintendent
• Replacement Needed On D-113 School Board
• District 113 Names Interim Superintendent
• Kimbrel Resigns Amid Controversy
• D113's Fornero to Retire at End of Next School Year

UPDATE — The District 113 board released the below statement following Friday's meeting, at which Michelle Culver was elected the new secretary:

On May 29, 2018, David Small resigned his seat from the Township High School District 113 Board of Education. Mr. Small served on the Board for more than seven years and demonstrated a high level of dedication to our students, staff and community throughout his tenure. The Board thanks Mr. Small for his service and wishes him well in his future endeavors.

We would like to share information about the process for filling the vacant seat on the Board. In accordance with Board Policy 2-70, the vacancy will be filled following a public vote at the July 9, 2018 Board of Education Meeting, and the Board is now accepting applications. The Board member will serve on the Board of Education from the date of appointment until the next election (in the spring of 2019).

Application
Qualified and interested candidates shall complete this online application, which will be submitted to the Board of Education. The application will be open until June 15, 2018, at 4:00 p.m.
The Board of Education will receive all applications and will conduct interviews of candidates, in closed session, under the leadership of the President of the Board. Candidates must be available for interviews on June 25, 2018, at 6:00 p.m.

Qualifications
The community member selected to serve on the Board must meet the following qualifications (Policy 2-40):

• Be a United States Citizen
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be a resident of Illinois and the District for at least one year immediately preceding the appointment
• Be a registered voter
• Not be a child sex offender
• Not hold another incompatible public office
• Not have a prohibited interest in any contract with the District
• Not be a school trustee
• Not hold certain types of prohibited State or federal employment

Candidates must understand District 113 policies in regards to the general duties and responsibilities of a Board and a Board member, including fiduciary responsibilities, conflict of interest, and ethics.

All Board of Education members support District 113’s commitment to providing all students opportunities to realize their unique potential through a rigorous and engaging curriculum, meaningful relationships, varied experiences, a positive school culture, and the cultivation of individual passion and resilience. We look forward to welcoming a new Board member, along with their experiences, insight, and ideas.

Elizabeth Garlovsky
President, Board of Education
Township High School District 113