Another Grayslake District 46 business boss leaving
Grayslake Elementary District 46’s finance boss is leaving after a little more than two months on the job for a similar post in downstate Decatur.
Superintendent Ellen Correll said a decision has yet to be made whether to fill the post of chief school business official, being vacated by Todd Covault.
Covault was hired by District 46 in July and became the fifth business manager in three years. He replaced David Tylavsky, who quit in March after about eight months in the post.
Decatur Unit District 61 spokesman Jeff Gaunt said Covault was hired Tuesday for a starting, prorated salary of $147,000. Covault is slated to begin in Decatur on Oct. 3.
Covault came to District 46 from Prairie-Hills Elementary District 44 in the South suburbs, where he was director of business affairs and human resources. He received a one-year contract for $120,000 that started July 1.
He said he knows Decatur Superintendent Gloria Davis from when they both worked in Kansas and were part of a group called Schools for Fair Funding.
“The level of responsibility in this (Decatur) assignment was simply stated, one that I was unable to turn down,” Covault said in a statement. “Again, I can’t emphasize enough, this is not about leaving Grayslake.
“As I instructed my current board and superintendent, I do not take my commitments lightly. I would not have considered the Decatur assignment had I not applied for the position before accepting the District 46 assignment.”
Correll said District 46 officials were taken by surprise at Covault’s decision to leave. District 46 board President Ray Millington said Covault has had a positive effect on the business office during his short tenure.
Tylavsky had been hired after District 46 officials fired Edward Towle in May 2010. Towle, who never reported to work, was dismissed weeks after his hiring when officials learned he was on paid leave at Brown Deer School District in suburban Milwaukee.
Towle has since sued District 46 in federal court, claiming breach of contract. Towle had been hired to replace Brad Goldstein as chief school business official.
Gaunt said the director of business affairs job in Decatur had been filled by Norm Durflinger for more than a year on an interim basis. About 9,000 students attend Decatur schools.