Kenilworth School District 38 Hires District 73.5 Superintendent

KENILWORTH, IL — The superintendent of one of Skokie's five elementary school districts is set to take over atop Kenilworth's one-school district as reorganizes its administrative structure.

The Kenilworth School District 38 board last month unanimously approved a contract with Skokie School District 73.5 Superintendent Catherine "Kate" Donegan to take over in July.

Both districts include students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. District 73.5 includes 1,120 students split between three campuses. All 481 students in District 38 attend Joseph Sears School.

"The Joseph Sears School has a history of rich traditions, academic excellence, and talented faculty and staff," Donegan said in a release. "I look forward to working in close partnership with the Sears community to advance the goals of the district in supporting our students to be fearless learners, creative thinkers, courageous advocates, and compassionate citizens of the world."

Donegan, 47, of Skokie, has worked for District 73.5 for the past 24 years, starting as a special education teacher and eventually becoming assistant principal and principal of McCracken Middle School, according to a release. She has been superintendent since 2007.

"Her extensive experience as a superintendent, her proven ability to successfully lead a district and her student-centered approach will be tremendous asset to our school," Evan Lukasik, president of the District 38 board, said at the board's Jan. 29 special meeting to approve her contract.

Lukasik touted the incoming superintendent's leadership in a series of initiatives at the Skokie school district, including implementing a multi-tiered support system, social-emotional learning curriculum, standardized grading and report cards, professional learning communities, a gifted and talented program and overseeing major additions to the campuses of McCracken and Elizabeth Meyer schools.

Donegan has a general administrative and chief school business official certifications, a master's degree in special education and an educational specialist's degree in education leadership, according to the district.

"Not only did Kate impress the board throughout the entire search process, she also impressed our stakeholder interview committee, which was composed of faculty, staff, parents and community members," Lukasik said. "They enthusiastically endorsed Kate as an experienced, collaborative, strong and dedicated leader and educator."

Donegan is set to succeed Superintendent Crystal LeRoy to become the 10th full-time superintendent in the district's history. LeRoy became superintendent and chief school business official when the District 38 board merged the two positions in 2015, according to the district's website.

The District 38 board was assisted in its search for a new top administrator by consultants from the Oak Park-based firm School Exec Connect, which also studied potential changes to the district's administrative structure and reported on its findings in October 2019.

"The past decade in District 38 has been characterized by frequent administrator turnover, and interested constituents discussed whether major or minor changes to the administrative structure, including position titles, job descriptions, and assignment of major responsibilities could bring about improvements in leadership effectiveness and job satisfaction," it said.

"Frequently cited problems associated with the high turnover rate included overwhelming workload in some positions, lack of clarity in lines of authority and job duties, and poor communication and teamwork among the administrators. Positions that should be highly desirable jobs in district and school leadership seemed difficult to fill and likely to be abandoned."

The restructure plan calls for the superintendent to remain the chief education officer of the district, while a new position called manager of business services would be created to handle financial and human resources responsibility. Three building-level administrators — the principal, assistant principal and director of student services at Sears — would report directly to the superintendent.

According to a job posting, the applications for the four open administrative positions were due Jan. 31. The search firm planned to have a final slate of candidates prepared by Monday.

With an annual budget of more than $13.3 million, District 38 spent nearly $27,600 per student in the 2017-18 school year, according to data released by the Illinois State Board of Education.

The district had one administrator for every 160 students, and administrator salaries averaged $162,500, compared to less than $86,600 for teachers.

In the first year of her five-year contract, Donegan is due to receive a base salary of $238,000. The board will also provide $15,000 a year in deferred compensation, a full health insurance coverage and up to $2,500 in tuition reimbursements. Donegan also agreed to reimburse the district for up to $20,000 in costs if she voluntarily takes a job at another school district before the contract expires.

According to District 73.5, Donegan's total annual compensation at the job she is departing included about $273,000 in annual salary and benefits.

Video: Jan. 29, 2020 - Special Board Meeting - Kenilworth School District 38