Superintendent leaving Mount Prospect school district

After nearly a decade as the top official in Mount Prospect-based River Trails Elementary School District 26, Superintendent Dane Delli is leaving at the end of the school year to take the same post with Glenview Public School District 34.

District 34's board of education unanimously approved the hiring of Delli as superintendent during a special meeting Jan. 12. He will begin there July 1.

Delli has been superintendent of District 26 since July 2007, becoming the second-longest serving in the district's history.

District 26 board President Donna Johnson said board members will meet at 6 p.m. Thursday to hear a proposal from Minnesota-based School Exec Connect, the search firm that found both Delli and his predecessor.

This will be Johnson's fifth superintendent search, but the first for every other board member. The board will vote on whether hire School Exec Connect as its search firm after its presentation Thursday, Johnson said.

In past searches, the firm has posted the position on its website, where candidates can apply. The firm then narrows the field down to eight candidates to present to the board.

The board has then traditionally narrowed the list down further to two or three before bringing those candidates in for interviews, Johnson said.

Though the district will need to make a decision by the end of May at the latest, Johnson said she would prefer to have made a decision by May 1 to allow the new superintendent more time to overlap with Delli's tenure.

She added that she has been so happy with Delli's service that she wishes she could clone him.

District 34 officials Tuesday expressed equal enthusiasm for their new hire.

"Dr. Delli was the clear choice to the board of education because of his proven track record of success, strong leadership qualities, effective communication skills and clear understanding of instruction and the qualities of a state-of-the art curriculum," District 34 school board President Cathe Russe said in the district's announcement of the hire.

"I feel fortunate and excited to serve a district with such passionate, dedicated teachers and an involved and supportive parent community," Delli said in the same announcement,

District 34 has an enrollment of about 4,800 students in eight elementary and middle schools. District 26 has about 1,500 students in three schools.