Some significant changes in leadership are on the horizon for the Herscher school district.

Three of four schools in Herscher Community Unit School District 2 are slated to have new principals in the 2026-27 school year.

The search for a new superintendent will also be happening soon, as Superintendent Rich Decman is planning to retire after one more school year.

He expects the superintendent job will be posted in a few months.

“Change is scary, but I also think it’s exciting, and there’s lots of new opportunities that are going to occur next year and the following year,” Decman said. “I look at it as a positive.”

In April and May, three executive search committees are slated to present to the Herscher School Board. The board will then decide if the district will be moving forward with a superintendent search firm.

The position would likely be posted shortly thereafter, and then a timeline for the search will be set.

Year of new principals

The 2026-27 school year will be the year of new principals for Herscher CUSD 2, with three of the four schools set to have new leaders.

Herscher High School Principal Brad Elliot has accepted the position of superintendent at Reed-Custer Community Unit School District 255U.

The district is located primarily in the city of Braidwood in Will County and also covers the communities of Custer Park, Essex and Godley.

Elliot’s resignation, effective the end of the 2025-26 year, was accepted by the Herscher School Board in January.

“We root for Brad’s success until [Reed-Custer] plays us, then we hope the Tigers can bump him,” Decman said.

Replacing Elliot at Herscher High will be Brett Miller, the current Herscher Intermediate School principal.

Miller has been HIS principal for about 15 years and previously was an assistant principal at the high school.

The next Herscher Intermediate School principal is expected to be named during Monday’s board meeting.

Meanwhile, Mark Taylor, assistant principal at Limestone Middle School, will be moving into the LMS principal’s seat next school year. Taylor replaces the outgoing principal, Michelle Chavers, who is retiring.

Bonfield Grade School Principal Molly Wepprecht will be the only returning principal for the district.

Decman noted that “you get fresh takes” with new principals, even though most are familiar faces.

“Most of the folks hired have been in the district, just changing spots or taking on bigger roles,” he said.

Elliot reflects on time in Herscher

Counting his time as a student, Elliot, 42, of Limestone, has spent the majority of his life, about 30 years, in the Herscher school district.

A 2002 Herscher High graduate, Elliot’s career started as a teacher for one year in Bradley Central Middle School.

Then, he returned to Herscher CUSD 2 and taught for seven years at Limestone Middle School.

He was an assistant principal at Herscher High School for three years and has been the HHS principal for the past eight years.

He was also a middle school basketball coach for several years and a high school assistant baseball coach for a couple of years.

Elliot said he enrolled in an online Education Specialist graduate program through Northern Illinois University.

He aimed to learn about the inner workings of school systems, from finances and law to staffing and curriculum, with the goal of one day having the ability to apply for a superintendent position if he wanted to.

After two years in the graduate program, Elliot completed an internship and qualified to take the superintendent exam.

He passed the exam and was browsing options when he found the opening in Reed-Custer.

“I’m very happy where I am, and I was not necessarily looking to leave or escape,” he noted.

Despite his love for the Herscher district, the opportunity in Reed-Custer knocked at the right time.

“I feel very fortunate to have been given an opportunity sooner than I anticipated,” he said.

Elliot continues working toward his doctoral degree through NIU’s online graduate program.

His family is still ingrained in Herscher schools, and they will remain living in the community for the time being.

His wife, Timoney Elliot, is a media specialist at Bonfield Grade School and Herscher Intermediate School, and they have a son in kindergarten and a daughter in fourth grade attending the Herscher district.

Elliot said his time working in Herscher has helped prepare him for the next step.

What he’ll miss most are the relationships he’s built with staff, students and administrators over the years, but he hopes to carry their lessons with him.

“I’m really proud of the staff at Herscher and their commitment to our kids, their trust they’ve instilled in me, and their willingness to challenge me,” Elliot said.

He expects he’ll feel right at home in Reed-Custer, as the district is similar in size and curricular and extra-curricular offerings.

He also has found a similar feeling in that the staff, students and community there take great pride in their schools.

“That is definitely a preference of mine,” Elliot said. “I have very much enjoyed the small-town vibe.”