Former U-46 operations director to return as COO

Superintendent Jose Torres has tapped a former Elgin Area School District U-46 administrator for the highest unfilled position in the district.

Torres on Monday named Jeff King chief operating officer of U-46, filling a post that has been vacant since the beginning of the school year.

King spent eight years in U-46 before leaving in 2009 to serve as assistant superintendent for finance and operations in Lake Zurich Unit District 95. Most recently, he served as U-46’s executive director of operations.

“Jeff knows our district, our schools and its employees,” Torres said in a statement. “He brings with him the operational and financial experiences we need in School District U-46.”

After Torres announced the appointment at Monday’s board meeting, King said, “I look forward to coming back.”

U-46 has lacked a chief financial officer since Ron Ally left at the end of the 2009-10 school year to accept a position with Harper College in Palatine. Ally’s departure came just one year after six-year finance chief John Prince left for a job in Plainfield.

In their U-46 roles, Ally and Prince also oversaw operations. (King reported to Prince during that time.) Torres has reconfigured the role, though, to focus more on operations — with oversight of the finance staff.

“It’s a change in philosophy,” U-46 spokesman Tony Sanders said. “Dr. Torres wants someone who can be more strategic and have the budget staff in place to do the day-to-day (tasks).”

King’s base salary is $163,080. He will also earn an annual pension of $16,920 and have a car allowance of $2,400, according to the district. He is scheduled to start Feb. 15.

Also on Monday, Torres appointed Debbie Zelinski to a new position that will report directly to him: chief human resources officer. Zelinski has spent more than 20 years in human resources, most recently serving as vice president of human resources for iPCS Communications, according to U-46.

Human resources was previously overseen by existing administrators, but Torres felt it was time to create a new position that reports directly to the superintendent.

“It’s the realization that half of our budget expenditures is in people,” Sanders said.

Torres also made the following appointments Monday: Jennifer Bond-Stoever, director of instruction for elementary education; Andrea Dombrowski, coordinator for teacher effectiveness initiatives; and Annette Acevedo, coordinator of the Family Welcome Center.