Elmhurst District 205 approves contract with interim leader

The school board in Elmhurst Unit District 205 has approved a contract with Linda Yonke to serve as interim superintendent.

Yonke, a retired superintendent of New Trier Township High School District 203, will be paid $1,250 for each day worked without any benefits.

Yonke will fill the interim role for a period starting Friday and ending June 30, although that term could be shortened if a permanent replacement to David Moyer is able to start work before the end of June.

Moyer is leaving the district after six years to take the helm of a New York school system. Moyer and the board have mutually agreed that his last day will be March 31.

The board approved Yonke's contract in a 5-0 vote Thursday.

Yonke's pay is "consistent with the daily rates for interim superintendents in top-performing school districts and with the compensation paid to Dr. Moyer after factoring in benefits," school board President Kara Caforio said.

Yonke is one of the consultants with School Exec Connect, an Oak Park-based firm hired by the District 205 board to help search for a new superintendent. The work of the search firm is now coming to a conclusion, Caforio said.

Board members this week have been interviewing the final three candidates for the top job.

Yonke also is the former principal of York High School in Elmhurst.

"Dr. Yonke is a highly qualified leader," Caforio said, "and we are grateful to have her walk our community through this transition."