First Dist. 211 superintendent search will be internal

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 is looking first within its own ranks for a successor to retiring Superintendent Roger Thornton.

Internal applicants will be presented to the school board in closed session on May 8, said James Warren, a consultant the board hired to conduct the search.

"The board wants to see what's available inside first," he said.

The internal application deadline is May 2, and the district has posted the vacancy on d211.org. Warren said the board wants to finish reviewing internal applicants by mid-May, after which it could decide to search outside the district. Warren could not say how many have applied.

Thornton's last day is Dec. 31, though he was originally contracted to stay through the end of the 2008-09 school year.

The school board has listed criteria including leadership skills and financial expertise as desired qualities for a new schools chief. The list can be viewed at d211.org/superintendent_search.shtml.

Board President Robert LeFevre said the climate surrounding District 211 is much different than when Thornton was hired. LeFevre said the district is on stronger financial footing thanks to the voter-approved tax-rate increase in 2005.

It's not unusual for a board to begin the search internally, Warren added.

The District 211 teachers union criticized Thornton while the two sides were negotiating a new teachers contract last year. Union officials said Thornton, who came from a school administrator's job in Indiana, wasn't familiar enough with the district.

Union President John Braglia said he preferred the leadership of former Superintendent Gerald Chapman, who had served District 211 for 35 years, with 11 years at the top post. He's now school board president in Palatine Township Elementary District 15, which feeds into District 211.

Thornton came to the district in 2004. Right after the board accepted his resignation in January, Thornton said he was proud of his service with the district and that he kept his word to the taxpayers.

He was slated to earn $219,580 in his final year on the job, but because he's retiring early, he'll earn half of that.

In January, Thornton acknowledged that the public is sometimes bothered by superintendent compensation packages.

"I think it's important that our public -- our parents … as well as all of our taxpayers -- know that, yes, normal salary increases were given, but nobody brought the wheelbarrow," he said.