MINOOKA – Hiring a new superintendent can seem straightforward, unless the superintendent being replaced holds two jobs.
Minooka Community Consolidated School District 201 faces this challenge, having to find a replacement for Superintendent Al Gegenheimer, the district's superintendent and business manager.
Gegenheimer is retiring early and will remain with the district until June 5. After that, an interim superintendent will be named until a replacement is found, the district hopes in July.
The board hired consultant Dave Love of the Illinois Association of School Boards to assist in the search. Love and the School Board met Tuesday to discuss the search, including whether applicants should have a background in school finance, or to hire a seperate business manager.
“We don’t need to add more staff; we can find someone who does both jobs. Do you think it will be difficult finding someone like Al Gegenheimer?” Board Member Doug Martin said.
“Yes I do, Doug. This is a difficult situation because we need a financial person as well as a superintendent," Board Vice President John Clucas said. "Al is doing two jobs, he is like the CEO and the CFO of a company. It’s going to be hard to find someone who can do that."
The board decided to include school finance in the qualifications for a new superintendent. If such a person is not found, the search will be restructured to possibly split up the positions.
Salary also was a hot topic. Love suggested including numbers in the job posting, but the board had a difficult time putting numbers to the position.
Martin threw out some numbers, based on other area superintendents, but Board President Jim Satorius said if the board wishes to hire someone for two positions, the salary base will have to be higher.
“We need to put in the job ad that the salary is regionally competitive," newly elected Board Member Ed Cronin said. "People can go online and look at the salaries of other districts and know what’s competitive, and then can determine if they want to apply or not."
Hiring process
Love said he targets June for all of this to happen, with a hire date to be determined.
Once applicants are screened, Love will present the top six candidates for interviews. Three will be chosen for a second interview with the board, as well as a focus group comprised of district staff, community members and parents.
The top candidate will receive a visit by two board members. They will meet with district staff and perform interviews asking community members about the candidate. The board then will proceed, depending on findings.
An electronic survey was developed for residents and will be available soon.