Missed Chance: Top Hinsdale D86 Job Goes Unfilled

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale High School District 86 may go without an assistant superintendent for academics for a year – the result of a missed opportunity.

The position is seen as the district's second in the chain of command.

At a school board meeting Tuesday night, officials said the window to hire a permanent assistant superintendent has passed.

"It would be difficult to cultivate an attractive pool of candidates (now)," said Jodi Bryant, assistant superintendent of human resources.

That's because most candidates are already under contract with other districts, she said. The typical contractual year starts July 1.

On June 26, the board was poised to vote on a recommended finalist for the position.

But members decided against taking a vote, saying the board as a whole never got the chance to interview candidates.

On Jan. 27, the Lisle School District 202 board voted to hire Jason Markey, District 86's assistant superintendent for academics, as assistant superintendent, starting July 1

In February, District 86 launched its search for Markey's replacement. It held rounds of interviews, involving faculty, staff and administrators.

Board members were invited to interview finalists, but some could not make it. At Tuesday's meeting, board President Catherine Greenspon said the administration should have scheduled finalists' interviews during the closed session of a regular board meeting.

During the meeting, board members said they were fine with the principals of Central and South high schools sharing the duties of the vacant position.

Both principals, Central's Bill Walsh and South's Kari Peronto, presented their plans for "Moving Forward in Our Buildings."

Near the end of the meeting, Superintendent Michael Lach indicated he preferred hiring an interim assistant superintendent.

"I believe we have a quality interim solution that can come together that would be an internal candidate," he told the board.

He suggested the board discuss specific names behind closed doors.

Both schools have assistant principals for instruction, whose duties relate to the assistant superintendent's. Christopher Cirrincione has held that role at Central since 2023, while South's Kurt Vonnahme was promoted a year ago.

The permanent replacement, Lach said, would start a year from now. An interim hire would be promoted with the understanding that the job would last a year and that the person would then step down, Lach said.

During the meeting, board member Jeff Waters asked whether Lach still believed, as he did in his previous district, that a school system could do without an assistant superintendent for academics.

In Highland Park-based Township District 113, Lach recommended eliminating the assistant superintendent's post, which he held for four years. He suggested the principals carry out such duties.

“I have become convinced that in District 113 ... the schools really have such individual characters and histories and cultures that they really work fairly independently of each other,” Lach told The Record, a North Shore publication, in January 2024. “It occurred to me that (curriculum and instruction) needed to be pushed down to the buildings, especially to the principals. That’s where the work really gets done.”

Despite Lach's advice, District 113 kept the position.

In response to Waters, Lach said his statement to the newspaper was true in District 113, but not in District 86.

Waters asked, "What's different?"

Lach said the local board and community pay more attention to academic matters and place greater emphasis on ensuring things are similar at each campus.

"I'm not trying to throw shade here, but the systems in 113 to identify and support kids who are falling behind were more robust," Lach said. "So the districts are different. I think (the assistant superintendent's) role will provide momentum and help us accelerate our improvements."

The board held a closed session. No votes were taken afterward.