District 211 selects Daniel Cates as next superintendent
In June, the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board agreed to open its search for a new superintendent to candidates from outside the district as well as within it.
But in the end, at another special meeting on Thursday, the board decided it was better to promote from within after all.
The board chose Daniel E. Cates as its next superintendent of schools, effective July 1, 2014. District 211’s associate superintendent for administrative services will replace Superintendent Nancy N. Robb, who will retire after 34 years in the district.
District 211 said it is offering Cates a four-year contract with a base annual salary of $215,000.
Cate will be the seventh superintendent of the state’s largest high school district, which serves 12,500 students.
“The Board of Education is very pleased with its choice of Dr. Cates as superintendent of schools,” board President Bill Robertson said in a news release. “He has been a leader in District 211 for some time, and as a board we feel his appointment as superintendent keeps us moving in a positive direction towards meeting our educational and financial goals.”
“The Board is pleased with the feedback it received during the search process, and we are sure that staff, students, parents, and community members will enjoy working with Dr. Cates in his new role as superintendent,” Robertson said.
The district used the firm School Exec Connect to conduct the search.
Robertson said the board decided to hire from within because “as a board we strongly feel that Dr. Cates is the best fit for the superintendent position to take our district into the future. Dr. Cates is well-rounded in his experiences. He has a strong connection with the staff and community stakeholders, and truly understands curriculum and finances.”
Cates has worked in District 211 throughout his career, starting in 1992 when he was hired as a school psychologist. After being promoted to the position of assistant to the director of special education in 1998, he was appointed director of special education in 2001, serving in this role until 2008. He played a key leadership role in founding the district’s second alternative school and led the expansion of special services available to students within District 211, the district said.
He was appointed assistant superintendent for administrative services in 2008, before serving as associate superintendent for administrative services in 2011.
Cates received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1987. He earned his doctorate from Indiana University in 1994.
The search process included gathering feedback from surveys and focus groups from a committee composed of community members, parents, teachers, support staff and administrators, the district said.