U-46's CFO could be leaving

Elgin Area School District U-46's chief financial officer may be leaving come July.

John Prince, who has served the state's second-largest school district since April 2003, has accepted an offer to be Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202's chief financial officer, board reports show.

Prince, of Sleepy Hollow, helped U-46 emerge from a $40.2 million hole officials found themselves in after the 2002-03 school year.

Cautionary spending has been a trademark of his tenure in the district.

For the 2008-09 school year, the district reduced $4.4 million in expenditures to help keep the books balanced. Next year's $425 million spending plan - a mere 1.4 percent increase over this year's budget - also reflects an effort to conserve in uncertain economic times.

Plainfield, a 29,000-student district, has been searching for a chief financial officer for the past 18 months. The district is currently about $7 million in debt.

Pending final approval by the Plainfield school board Monday, Prince would receive a $178,000 salary in his first year. He is expected to start July 1.

District spokesman Tony Sanders said that Prince recently informed U-46 Superintendent Jose Torres that he was a finalist for a position in another school district.

Prince could not be reached Friday for comment.