Dist. 158 board close to selecting financial officer

Huntley Unit District 158 is well on its way to finding a new top financial officer.

The school board plans to interview the leading candidate in closed session during Thursday's board meeting.

The top finance post in the district opened up when Comptroller Stacie Talbert announced her resignation in December -- less than six months after she was hired.

Talbert is the third finance chief to leave the district since 2005.

Talbert's resignation came as a surprise and a blow to district officials, who praised her for taking steps to restore trust in the district's finances.

District officials had expressed doubt they would be able to find a candidate as qualified as Talbert.

But board members say there was no shortage of interest in the position and that the leading candidate is well-qualified to continue on the course Talbert set.

"At this point, we have a standout candidate," said Tony Quagliano, board vice president and chair of the finance committee. "There is hope, because this guy is pretty good."

Superintendent John Burkey recommended the candidate to the board after receiving numerous resumes and conducting about 13 phone interviews and five in-person interviews, Quagliano said.

The candidate, Quagliano said, has no experience as a financial officer for a school district but serves as the finance chair of a large academic department at the University of Illinois.

"He does not have any direct school district experience," Quagliano said. "He has a good process and internal controls background that is requisite for that job."

One of Talbert's achievements as comptroller was preparing a report that found the district's internal controls -- which include financial reporting and anti-fraud measures -- lacking.

District officials have said one of the chief tasks of Talbert's successor will be to carry out the recommendations in that report.

Talbert also had little school district experience but still managed to earn the praise of Burkey and the entire school board.

District 158 officials warned the candidates about the politically charged climate in the district, Quagliano said. Talbert cited this atmosphere in her resignation letter.

"We made them aware of the environment that exists, and they needed to understand that," Quagliano said.

Board member Larry Snow said he'd like to see more information in writing about the candidate before Thursday's interview.

"If somebody's already asked, 'If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?' if somebody's already asked that, then I won't," Snow said.

"If we're going to have a very short time to be in front of the candidate as a group, then any information would be helpful. Otherwise, it's a rubber-stamp process."