Huntley Dist. 158's HR director to resign

Huntley Unit District 158's human resources Director Lauren Smith will resign at the end of the 2009-10 school year, marking the latest in a string of high-profile resignations, district officials said Thursday.

Smith will leave June 30, 2010 to accept a higher-paying job as human resources director in Oak Park and River Forest High School District 200, officials said.

"I'm very sorry to see her go, but it's a big step up for her, a much higher-paying job," Superintendent John Burkey said.

District 200 approved Smith's new contract last week, and she submitted her resignation to Burkey the next day, Smith said.

In the past year, a number of other administrators have resigned, including two special education directors and Chief Operations Officer Dave Jenkins.

Shawn Green, who himself resigned from the school board in a previously announced move on Thursday, said the departures were troubling but not necessarily related.

"Everybody has left for different reasons," Green said. "We've had people leave for much more lucrative jobs, we've had people who left for personal reasons, we've had people leave because they weren't the right person for the job."

Smith, who starts in Oak Park on July 1, 2010, said that with her son heading to college in the fall, it was time for a change.

"I am not leaving because of - my working relationship with anybody in the district," Smith said. "This is an opportunity more like what my background is. They focus on diversity and development for my staff."

District 158 hired Smith, a Hebron resident, in 2004. During her six years with the district, Smith has played a role in the replacement of numerous top district staff - some of those departures cloaked in controversy, others not.