Acting superintendent now officially the boss in Des Plaines District 62

Longtime educator and school administrator Paul Hertel has been named superintendent of Des Plaines Elementary School District 62, district officials announced Monday.

Hertel, who has served as acting superintendent since former Superintendent Floyd Williams Jr. resigned amid sexual harassment allegations in November, will remain the head of the district through 2020 after a unanimous vote by the district's board of education Monday.

"I have always been thankful to the board of education and have appreciated the opportunity to support the school district during this time," Hertel said in a news release. "I will continue to do what is best for children and what is best for the district in the years to come."

Hertel's salary is $207,185. The contract includes opportunities for performance-based salary increases. He also will receive a $500-per-month vehicle allowance.

Hertel joined District 62 in 2006 as the human resources director and was named assistant superintendent a year later. During that time, he spearheaded negotiations with labor groups and helped oversee a $109 million district renovation. Before becoming an administrator, Hertel spent 19 years as a third- and sixth-grade teacher in Elgin Area School District U-46.

He taught for a year at Abbott Middle School in Elgin, where he later became assistant principal before working as principal of Wayne Elementary School for about seven years.

"Under Dr. Hertel's leadership, the district created a well-defined strategic plan that will drive the district's vision for the future," Board President Stephanie Duckmann said in the news release. "The board of education appreciates Dr. Hertel's continued focus on doing what is best for staff and students as he supported the district this fall during a time of transition."

Hertel lives in Geneva with his wife, Kathy, and has three adult children.

• Staff writer Chacour Koop contributed to this story.