Timeline established in superintendent search
<span>With the school year nearly three months old, the Chester District 139 Board of Education met in special session Wednesday to hammer out some details regarding its superintendent search.</span>
<span>Tom Leahy, a consultant with the Illinois Association of School Boards, met with the board to discuss the results of a survey the board members had completed following its previous regular meeting on Sept. 24.</span>
<span>The IASB is conducting the search for Chester's new superintendent after previous Superintendent Chris Diddlebock left in June to become the assistant superintendent of the Monroe-Randolph Regional Office of Education.</span>
<span>The survey was used to prepare the first draft of an online brochure for potential applicants. The brochure contains information about the district - including places of worship, fraternal and professional organizations, local industry and recreational opportunities.</span>
<span>"This is your story, this is about you," Leahy said.</span>
<span>During discussion between Leahy and the board, an application deadline of noon on Tuesday, Nov. 10 was set. </span>
<span>"We want somebody in the office who would help people with any technical issues," Leahy said in regard to the mid-day deadline.</span>
<span>Leahy said the opening has already been posted for about three or four weeks and according to the IASB website, Chester is one of eight districts statewide looking for a new superintendent.</span>
<span>The others are Orion District 223, Maercker District 60, Mercer County District 404, Hiawatha District 426, Washington District 52, Madison District 12 and Putnam District 535.</span>
<span>Leahy said he and another consultant will screen the applicants independently and compile separate lists of preferred candidates. The two consultants will then compare lists before presenting candidates to the board in November.</span>
<span>The interview process will begin in December, with a new superintendent appointed by the end of January. The new superintendent will have a starting date of July 1, 2016.</span>
<span>In its survey, the board members voted "previous successful experience as a superintendent" as one of its most important qualifications for the position.</span>
<span>Leahy cautioned the board that that requirement may limit the candidate pool and suggested changing "superintendent" to "administrator."</span>
<span>"Otherwise, you might not get the rising star who is an administrator or a principal," Leahy said, stating that Diddlebock was a former principal at Calhoun High School before winning the Chester job in 2010.</span>
<span>One requirement that the BOE is very adamant about is that residency in the district will be required for the new superintendent once he or she has been employed.</span>
<span>"I think that's what everyone wants," said Board President Mitch Hammel.</span>
<span>Other qualifications the board is looking for involve experience in finance and working with diverse populations. The district is also looking for a multi-year contract for its next superintendent.</span>
<span>After the discussion, the board approved its lone agenda item of the meeting, which was to approve posting of a vacancy for district superintendent of Chester CUSD 139.</span>
<span>Up next for the Chester BOE is next week's regular meeting on Thursday. It is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. </span>
<span>An agenda for that session will be released next week.</span>
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