Lombard District 44 to pay interim superintendent $1,000 a day, replacement $190K
Lombard Elementary District 44 has agreed to pay its interim superintendent $1,000 a day for up to 50 days of work next school year.
But the administrator chosen to assume the role on a permanent basis said he hopes she isn't needed that long.
Ted Stec, who is rising from assistant superintendent for business and operations under a transition plan announced earlier this month, can't be superintendent right away because he doesn't yet have a superintendent's endorsement from the state.
The district needs someone to fill the top administrator role beginning July 1 because the school board voted in May to part ways June 30 with outgoing Superintendent Michael Robey.
So Patricia Wernet will serve as interim superintendent beginning July 1 at a rate of $1,000 a day with a $100 monthly cellphone stipend, while Stec, whose title will be chief of staff, earns his superintendent's endorsement and learns the ropes.
Stec, 40, of Elmhurst, said he's been pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership from National Louis University for the past two and a half years. By late September or early October, he said he'll be eligible to receive the superintendent's endorsement, which means he will have passed a certification test, completed an educational administration internship and finished 48 of the 60 hours he needs toward the doctoral degree.
Stec will earn $190,000 a year under a two-year contract, which he said is about a 20 percent raise from his current salary of roughly $158,000. His contract requires him to earn the superintendent's endorsement by April 1, 2018, and gives him 20 days of vacation each year and 14 sick days.
The school board chose Stec, who is entering his fifth year with the district, to serve as superintendent because he has "clearly demonstrated the ability to lead," President Courtney Long said earlier this month.
Stec's contract says as soon as he receives the superintendent's endorsement, he is to provide proof to the school board, which immediately will terminate the interim superintendent contract with Wernet.
This will be Wernet's second stint as an interim superintendent in District 44. The first came in 2015 between the tenures of previous top administrators James Blanche, who retired in June 2014, and Robey, who took over in July 2015.
Stec said the board plans to have Wernet work two days in July and one day a week once the school year begins. That way she can be a resource without too quickly running into her 50-day limit.
"She brings a wealth of knowledge that's going to be very valuable to me in this transition process," Stec said about the interim superintendent, who has worked in special education and served as a middle school principal, an assistant superintendent and a superintendent in districts including Lisle Unit District 202. "I'm really, really excited to have her guidance and assistance during this transition time."