Two Building Principals Leaving District 308

Updated at 1:35 p.m. Wednesday.

A pair of District 308 principals have handed in their resignations, and are moving on to other districts at the end of this school year.

’s longtime principal, Kevin Lipke, has accepted a job as superintendent of Pontiac School District 429, according to Kristine Liptrot, director of communications for the Oswego School District. His last day in town will be June 30 – he’ll begin his new job on July 1.

Lipke has been principal at Long Beach since 2007. Prior to taking the job, he taught at Lincoln Elementary School in Jacksonville for 10 years, and served as principal of a K-8 school in the Jamaica School District for three years.

Lipke is well loved in the Boulder Hill community, and Superintendent Dan O’Donnell described him as “a people person with excellent communication skills that will ensure him a successful career as a superintendent.” 

“I wish Kevin all the best as he makes the transition from building principal to superintendent,” O’Donnell said. “He has done an amazing job for the students and families of Long Beach Elementary and I am confident he will bring the same sense of energy and success to his new district in Pontiac.”

Tracy Murphy, principal of , has also accepted a new job – she will be principal of Gower Middle School in Burr Ridge. The Gower 62 Board of Education on Tuesday night. Her last day is June 30.

Murphy has been with District 308 for 17 years, starting as a 7th grade language arts teacher at Traughber Junior High for five years. In 2000, she was promoted to assistant principal at Thompson Junior High, and one year later, to principal, a job she has held for 11 years. She began her career as an English and reading teacher in New Lenox.

While she is happy in Oswego, Murphy wanted to work in a smaller district, she said.

“I think it’s a chance to know the students, the families better when it is (a smaller district),” Murphy said. “I work at a very large junior high right now. We’re 900 students this year, we’ll be 1,000 next year. Going to a smaller building was very appealing to me.”

O'Donnell called Murphy a "highly successful principal who will be dearly missed."

“Tracy has done an outstanding job leading Thompson Junior High through growth, renovation and construction projects, and improving academic achievement for all students in spite of ever-changing demographics," he said.

The resignations are the latest in a string of administrators leaving the district. O'Donnell and assistant superintendents Todd Colvin and Tim Neubauer all recently have announced they would be leaving at the end of the year. Board president Bill Walsh said the resignations are part of "natural career progressions." 

"Everyone makes personal decisions for their own reasons," Walsh said. "I congratulate both Mr. Lipke and Mrs. Murphy on taking those next steps in their careers."

Board member Mike Scaramuzzi said the volume of turnover at the top is a concern that may have something to do with the level of pay administrators receive in the district.

"If you don't pay administrators market rates, this is what can happen," he said. "The board takes criticism for paying administrators too much, but for the most part these people are leaving for better paying job opportunities."

That doesn't mean, however, the board won't be able to find equally qualified replacements, Scaramuzzi said.

"With change comes opportunity, and there are many people within the district who may now have a chance to advance in their own careers," he said.

Walsh said it's his personal wish that the new superintendent the board hires in the coming months will fill the building positions left open by Lipke and Murphy.

O'Donnell said the administration is hoping to move more quickly than that.

"District administration will post both positions with the goal of hiring successors to Murphy and Lipke within the next month," he said. "This will allow for a smooth transition for our Thompson and Long Beach students, families and staff."

Burr Ridge Patch Editor Sabrina Wu contributed to this report.