New District 121 superintendent out before he starts job
Jeff Brierton won’t be moving up as planned from principal to superintendent at Warren Township High School in Gurnee.
Warren District 121 board member Jeanette Thommes confirmed Friday that she and her colleagues, in a public vote, accepted Brierton’s request to withdraw from replacing the retiring Phil Sobocinski on July 1. The action occurred at a District 121 board meeting Tuesday.
Thommes declined to elaborate.
Brierton, who heads the O’Plaine Road campus for freshmen and sophomores, was given the superintendent’s job after a 7-0 school board vote in December 2010. Officials said Brierton, who couldn’t be reached Friday, received a three-year contract starting at a $192,000 annual base salary.
Hearty applause from Warren employees and others greeted Brierton after he was named District 121’s new boss. At the time, he thanked the school board for selecting him as superintendent and said he looked forward to leading what he said is a system with amazing students and staff.
Warren officials said the process to find a new superintendent began in 2009 when Sobocinski announced his intent to retire. Brierton, 59, departed as principal at Round Lake High School to lead Warren’s O’Plaine Road campus in July 2007. He also has been an adjunct professor at Concordia University and Northeastern Illinois University.
Sobocinski has been working toward his retirement under a three-year deal approved in 2009. His annual base salary rose to $228,290 for the 2011-12 academic year.
District 121’s board majority also approved 200 extra sick-leave days over three years for Sobocinski, a $500 monthly travel allowance and 20 days of paid yearly vacation. He’ll receive a $10,000 bonus if he stays at Warren until June 30 and then obtains medical insurance elsewhere.
No information was immediately available about whether Brierton will continue as the O’Plaine campus principal.