New Hinsdale D181 Leader Comes From Wealthy District In Another State

HINSDALE, IL – Jim Wipke is going from one wealthy school district to another.

On Monday, the Hinsdale School District 181 board unanimously approved Wipke as the new superintendent, giving him a five-year contract. He will replace the retiring Hector Garcia, who started as superintendent in 2018.

He is coming from the Ladue School District, which is on the Missouri side of the St. Louis suburbs.

In Hinsdale, Wipke, who holds a doctorate, is set to start July 1, though the district said it would work with him for "transitional opportunities" to spend time locally before then.

Under his contract, Wipke will make $270,000 a year, with a $20,000 signing bonus. In Ladue, his salary was $264,000 as of last school year, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Ladue and Hinsdale are similar economically. Ladue is the richest town with over 1,000 people in Missouri, while Hinsdale is among the wealthiest in Illinois.

District 181 has a poverty rate of 2 percent for people under 18, compared with 1 percent in Ladue, according to the U.S. Census.

In Ladue, Wipke runs a district that includes six elementaries, one middle school and one high school.

By contrast, District 181 has seven elementary schools and two middle schools.

Ladue's enrollment is 4,500, while District 181's is 3,500.

According to a District 181 news release, Wipke brings 32 years of experience as an educational leader, with more than a decade as a superintendent. In 2019, he took the helm in Ladue.

The news release said Ladue is consistently ranked as the top school district in Missouri.

Before becoming a superintendent, Wipke held roles such as fifth-grade teacher, sixth-grade World History teacher, middle school assistant principal and middle school principal.

Wipke earned his doctorate in education from Maryville University in 2008. He completed two master's degrees from Southwest Baptist University and his bachelor's of science degree in education from Harris-Stowe State University. All the colleges are in Missouri.

District 181 said it received 34 applications for the superintendent's job.

"Following an extensive nationwide search process, the Board unanimously selected Dr. Wipke because of his successful track record and embodiment of outstanding leadership qualities," the board's president, Bill Cotter, said in the news release.