Equity, finances key for next Dist. 300 chief

Employees rarely get to pick their next boss, but staff in Community Unit District 300 got the chance to at least influence that decision at a Wednesday forum.

Glenview-based Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates hosted a meeting with employees in the Carpentersville-based district to find out what they want in a new superintendent.

The district consultant will compile the staff feedback for the school board as the board searches for a replacement for Superintendent Ken Arndt, who has announced he will retire at the end of the 2010-11 school year.

About 20 employees rattled off a long list of desired traits - everything from good communication to a healthy sense of humor.

A recurring theme was that District 300's next superintendent should understand the cultural differences between the west side of the district and the east side - which has more minority, low-income families. Staff said the ideal candidate should be committed to closing the achievement gap.

Several teachers said the current management, which they characterized as top-down, doesn't allow teachers enough flexibility to adapt curriculum to struggling students.

For example, teachers said the district buys textbooks for schools across the district that are too advanced for some kids at east-side schools.

"They give you these books, and they cannot use them," Lakewood School teacher Rey Avila said. "It was just a total waste of money. We need someone who is flexible and also someone who will stand up and say this is not right."

Given the state's budget crisis, district staff debated the importance of having a superintendent with a strong school financial background.

"To survive this and not have to reinvent the wheel in a couple years, that's going to be key," Transportation Director Donna Bordsen said.

But others said a strong teaching background was equally, if not more, crucial.

"That is something, as an educator, I would be very wary of, if someone were to run the district as a business," Lakewood teacher Darcy Byrne said.

The consultant also hosted a forum with parents and residents in the evening and is interviewing board members one-on-one this week.

The board plans to reach a decision this spring on either hiring one of six internal candidates who are qualified to be superintendent or conducting an external search.