ISD 166 board to meet on superintendent contract

Members of the Cook County school board are set to meet next week to hammer out a contract for Superintendent Beth Schwarz. According to board chair Mary Sanders the board will meet 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday the 14th.

At its November meeting the board voted four to one to extend a contract to Superintendent Schwarz. Member Terry Collins was the dissenting vote. However, the contract eventually offered could be full-time, part-time or for less than the usual three-year period. Full and part-time options have been discussed in light of pending budget reductions since mid-summer. Superintendent Schwarz:

 “In the world of superintendencies , there is no tenure. Many superintendents in their contract have provisions that say, ‘well, since I don’t have the security of tenure, you need to inform me in a timely manner if you are not going to hire me back.’”

Sanders said that while teacher contract negotiations -- which are currently being held -- are closed, administrative negotiations are mandated to be open. The teachers however have expressed dissatisfaction with Schwarz.

At the last school board meeting, Cook County Education Association President Jane Gellner presented a “no confidence” letter to the board. The letter states the reasons for calling the vote included superintendent micro-managing, lack of trust and respect, poor communication as well as intimidation and emotional volatility.

In discussing the letter, the board and teachers appeared to agree they should hold future public meetings to air these grievances. The first of those meetings has not been scheduled.

Sanders said all contract options are on the table. Schwarz has been under a pay freeze during her tenure. For Schwarz, the timing is important.

“I would expect that perhaps December or hopefully for me at the latest, January I will know my situation with the district; whether indeed that would be a part-time offer or a full-time offer.”

In its November performance evaluation, the board acknowledged a need for improvement between Schwarz and the teaching staff and suggested professional development counseling.

For her part, Sanders told the board last month, that in nine years on the board, she had never seen as much unsolicited support for the superintendent as she had in the weeks leading up to the November meeting. The meeting on the 14th will include a tour of the school, the open Superintendent’s contract meeting and a closed teacher contract session.