Dec. 06--Legislation intended to give School District U46 more flexibility in its search for a new superintendent would solely benefit the district if they get through the General Assembly. But just when those bills will come up for a vote remains unclear.
Both the Illinois Senate and House of Representative bills would pave the way for District CEO Tony Sanders to be considered for superintendent, even though he lacks the teacher or principal experience normally required for the position.
The Senate Bill, introduced in August by Elgin Democrat Sen. Michael Noland, husband of board member Veronica Noland, would alter the state's School Code to allow a school board to appoint a CEO to serve as a superintendent "in certain school districts with boundaries that lie in 3 counties," according to a synopsis on the General Assembly's website.
U46's boundaries fall within DuPage, Kane and Cook counties.
Similar legislation introduced in August by Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates), calls for the same CEO option for districts falling within three counties.
Noland said his sponsorship of the bill did not come about due to his wife's position on the school board, and that Crespo was taking the legislative lead.
The Senate bill is a "place holder," he said Friday, and it remains to be seen just when it will emerge from the chamber's assignments committee.
"The characterization of this bill being in a holding pattern is a correct one," Noland said.
Crespo did not respond to requests for comment.
School district CEOs are a rare occurrence in Illinois.
Michael Chamness of the Illinois Association of School Administrators said the organization is aware of only U46 and Chicago Public Schools using a CEO leadership method, out of more than 860 districts statewide.
And with CPS' boundaries lying exclusively within Cook County, the bill's language suggests U46 would be the sole benefactor should the bills become law.
The Senate bill currently sits in the Assignments Committee, while the House bill is with the Rules Committee.
"It's something that's very important to the district, and other districts...to be able to hire non-traditional superintendents," Noland said. "Other states do this and I've always been supportive of taking this non-traditional approach."
Sanders has been running the district since his former boss, Jose Torres, resigned as superintendent in 2014.
While he has extensive experience in district administration, current state law prevents Sanders from obtaining the credentials to be superintendent because of his lack of teacher or principal experience.
District U46 has employed a retired superintendent, Kenneth Arndt, on a part-time, as-needed basis with the title "interim superintendent."
School board members have in recent months voiced general support for waiting to see how the Sanders legislation plays out before beginning an in-earnest superintendent search.
"I am supportive of having Tony Sanders be considered as one of the candidates for superintendent," board member Jeanette Ward said this week. "All school districts should be able to hire whomever they choose as their superintendent."
Board member Phil Costello also praised Sanders, but added that it would be imprudent to just appoint Sanders as the district superintendent if the legislation passes.
The legislation, he said, "seems very self-serving to have only one district in Illinois that could possibly be impacted by its passing."
"I feel the legislation should apply to the entire state as you don't need teaching credentials to lead a school district," Costello said. "My preference is that we conduct our own evaluation of what attributes that we are looking for in a Superintendent, look at other strong Superintendents to benchmark, and plot a path for a long-term appointment that will benefit the District as we confront significant financial challenges."
geoffz@tribpub.com
