Naperville superintendent won't get job in Washington

Outgoing Naperville Unit District 203 Superintendent Mark Mitrovich will not be headed to Washington's Bellevue School District 405 when his tenure ends on June 30.

He emerged as a finalist for the Washington district's top job early last week and participated in a series of daylong community interviews.

But Bellevue school board members met late Tuesday and voted unanimously to offer a three-year contract to Justin (Tim) Mills, the current superintendent of the North Clackamas School Board in Oregon.

Bellevue board President Paul Mills said Tim Mills emerged as a clear choice in feedback from stakeholder groups.

“The board felt we had three strong candidates, but it was Dr. Mills who emerged as the clear leader among opinions of both individual board members as well as parents, teachers and staff,” Paul Mills said on the district's website. “We are very excited to get to know him better and begin our work with him in the district.”

Mitrovich, 66, abruptly announced his resignation from District 203 in March, less than a year after the board increased his base pay 12 percent, from $203,000 to $228,000 and gave him a 5 percent performance bonus as he entered what was to be the third and final year of his agreement.

Prior to coming to Naperville in 2009, Mitrovich served as superintendent of Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, Wash., which features 15 schools and serves students from kindergarten through high school.

He holds a doctorate in education administration from the University of Santa Barbara and was named Washington state's Principal of the Year in 1991 and Superintendent of the Year in 1998.

District 203 Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dan Bridges will step into the interim superintendent role on July 1.