Interim Superintendent Contract Before Lake Forest School Boards

LAKE FOREST, IL — The boards of Lake Forest's public school districts are scheduled to approve a contract with an interim superintendent Monday evening at a joint meeting.

Mike Simeck, the superintendent of Lake Forest High School District 115 and Lake Forest School District 67, is due to resign at the end of next month to begin a new position at Deerfield Public Schools 109.

Simeck was initially due to stick around until the end of the school year, but last month board presidents announced he had accelerated his departure timeline and would start in Deerfield on April 1.

"We do not expect this new date to impact District operations and are committed to ensuring a smooth transition process," said District 115 Board of Education Board President David Lane and District 67 Board President Justin Engelland in a joint statement.

Related: Simeck Resigns As Lake Forest Schools Chief

Schaumburg-based search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates was awarded an approximately $28,000 contract with the districts to handle the search firm.

This month, the firm held a series of community forums and surveys, and company officials are scheduled to present a "leadership profile report" at Monday's meeting. A meet the candidates community forum is scheduled for March 30, according to the district.

Both boards decided last month to stick with the model of a shared superintendent for both the high school and elementary school districts they oversee.

Both districts have split the costs of their superintendent's salary since 2004, when former Superintendent Harry Griffith took over Lake Forest High School, having already led the five-school District 67. Simeck succeeded Griffith in 2012.

Related: Districts 67, 115 Begin Search For New Superintendent

Simeck is due to be paid nearly $320,000 a year by District 109, while his salary for the 2020-21 school year was almost $270,000.

The vacancy in District 109 was created by the resignation of former Superintendent Anthony McConnell.

A spokesperson for Lake Forest schools did not immediately respond to a request for the identity of the interim superintendent, or co-interim superintendents, scheduled to be hired.

The joint meeting of the District 57 and District 115 school boards is due to begin at 5 p.m. Monday.