Antioch Elementary Dist. 34 to approve 'mutual separation agreement' with superintendent
Antioch Elementary District 34 and its superintendent, Jay Marino, are parting ways.
The school board Tuesday night was expected to approve a "mutual separation agreement" with Marino, who is serving in his sixth school year in that role.
Marino has been on leave for an undisclosed reason since Nov. 1. The separation agreement would be effective immediately.
Pending approval of both school boards, Jim McKay, superintendent of Community High School District 117, would oversee day-to-day operations as temporary interim chief for District 34.
He also will provide support for time-sensitive matters for the district, which serves about 2,800 students in five schools covering Antioch, Lake Villa and Lindenhurst.
School board President MaryBeth Hulting offered no explanation for the pending action in a letter to the community.
According to the letter, the board and Marino "have tentatively agreed that it is in our mutual best interests to pursue changes."
She said the board expects "in the very near future" to name an interim superintendent to complete the 2019-20 school year and begin the process to find a future superintendent immediately after. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Marino, an Iowa native, was selected from among 29 candidates to replace Greg Buchanan beginning with the 2014-15 school year.
He had served the previous five years as superintendent in the Dunlap K-12 district in Peoria and was given a three-year contract in District 34 with a starting salary of $198,000. His current base salary is $221,122. He could not be reached Tuesday.
According to an online biography, Marino is an international consultant assisting American and European school organizations in their continuous improvement efforts.
His primary work is focused in the Netherlands, where has made 20 visits since 2009 working with over 200 schools, according to the site. He was last in the Netherlands the week of Oct. 7.
Marino's tenure included the successful passage of a referendum in 2017 that provided funding for a $25.6 million building renovation and expansion program.
In the process, 16 mobile classrooms have been eliminated. The district's master facility plan included changing the configuration to a K-5 structure to reduce the number of school transitions, create neighborhood schools and allow for more efficient busing.