Medical leave for U-46's Neale

Elgin Area School District U-46 Superintendent Connie Neale will take a medical leave of absence starting Sept. 21, school officials announced Monday.

The school district would not disclose the nature of Neale's illness, but school board President Ken Kaczynski said the district has been aware of Neal's condition for at least the past few weeks.

"On her doctor's advice, Connie was told to slow down," Kaczynski said. "It's really been obvious to us that she's not been feeling well."

Neale officially informed the school board last week of her pending medical leave.

In her absence, school officials informally decided to appoint Mary Jayne Broncato interim superintendent of the state's second largest school district.

Broncato will work with Neale during the next two weeks to orient herself to the position. Kaczynski said the school board intends to approve Broncato's contract on Sept. 24.

The school district did not release any information on how much Broncato would be paid or how long school officials expect her to stay on as interim superintendent.

They did say Broncato would not serve beyond interim status.

In the meantime, Kaczynski said the school board is preparing for Neale's eventual retirement and will identify potential successors in the coming weeks.

"To say that we have any concrete plans (in the long run) would not be right," Kaczynski said.

Broncato was once superintendent of Joliet Elementary District 86, which has about 9,500 students. U-46 has about 40,000 students.

Broncato also spent 12 years working in high-level positions within the Illinois State Board of Education, including a stint as the interim state superintendent.

Most recently, Broncato served as a consultant for the Stupski Foundation, working with U-46 to develop its curriculum roadmap and helping the district realign the instructional resources of some targeted schools.

"She was a natural fit," school board Vice President Donna Smith said of the pending appointment.

Mary Jayne Broncato is the mother of Patrick Broncato, the district's attorney.

To deflate any concerns stemming from their relationship, Kaczynski said Patrick Broncato will report directly to the school board during his mother's tenure as interim superintendent.

Tim Davis, president of the Elgin Teacher's Association, said he is reserving any judgment on the school district's announcement.

"Obviously any time you have individuals who share the relationship she and her son do, you hope that all will work out for the best," Davis said.

Neale's departure isn't likely to affect the ongoing negotiations between the district and the teacher's union, Davis said. The union's three-year contract expired Aug. 19. Patrick Broncato leads the negotiations for the administration.

For the past five years, that administration has been led by Neale, a native of Kansas whose tenure has been marked by controversy.

She was credited for helping turn around the district's finances, which included a $40 million deficit, by beefing up class size, shrinking teacher ranks and downgrading many programs.

A plan to redraw school boundaries led to a federal lawsuit filed in 2005 by three families who claimed the new boundary map segregated Latino students into schools that were older, less-equipped and more crowded than schools where the students are mostly white.

And most recently, Neale was criticized by parents and a school board member this past spring for receiving an amended pay package that included a $60,000 raise. School board member Dan Rich resigned in protest.

The contract amendment brought Neale's total pay to nearly $400,000 a year. Her contract also calls for an estimated $1 million in post-retirement benefits.

A Daily Herald analysis showed Neale's pay and benefits rank her among the top-paid school administrators in the nation in similarly sized districts.