Glen Ellyn District 89 to launch superintendent search

Glen Ellyn Elementary District 89 is looking for its next superintendent.

School board members soon will begin the search for a new district leader to replace departing Superintendent Emily Tammaru.

The board scheduled a Jan. 3 special meeting to discuss the search process and timeline. It also voted to use consultants from Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to help recruit and interview superintendent candidates. The same Schaumburg-based firm conducted the search that led to Tammaru’s hiring in 2016.

Tammaru’s successor will become only the sixth superintendent to oversee the district since 1958. Tammaru is leaving to take the superintendent’s job in Northbrook-Glenview District 30. She is set to begin her new position in July after seven years in charge of District 89.

Under a proposed agreement with Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, the district will pay the search firm $24,500, which includes any and all consultant travel. The district will pay the consulting fee in three installments, with the last due upon the appointment of a new superintendent.

The board also could decide to pay an additional expense for the firm to provide a third-party check into a finalist’s transcripts, social media and “legal and financial background.”

As written, the four-page agreement does not indicate when the board hopes to have a new superintendent in place. But the firm would coordinate the search over four phases. The first part of that process could include forums, focus groups or surveys to gather input from district employees and residents about what qualifications they would like to see in the next superintendent.

Tammaru has spent much of her career in District 89. She was named principal of Briar Glen Ellyn Elementary School in Wheaton in 2007. Three years later, she became assistant superintendent.

Tammaru was paid a $190,000 base salary in her first year as superintendent. She now receives a salary of $233,980, according to the district’s administrator compensation report.

During her tenure, the district has passed two referendum bids. Voters in 2018 approved the district’s first operating tax rate increase in more than 30 years amid rising enrollment.

This June, more than 72% of voters said “yes” to a $27 million borrowing plan to pay for infrastructure projects at all five of the district’s schools. Most of the referendum work is expected to be completed over the next two summers.

In District 30, Tammaru’s selection unanimously was approved by the school board, capping a superintendent search that began in the spring and drew nearly 30 applicants. She will receive a starting salary of $260,000.

“I’m very confident our fantastic team and thoughtful board will ensure a seamless transition for the next leader,” Tammaru said in a statement released by District 89. “I will be ready to provide any support I can to the next superintendent.”

District 89 serves almost 2,300 students from parts of Glen Ellyn, Lombard and Wheaton.

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