District 219 Hires Superintendent's Deputy From Connecticut

SKOKIE, IL — The Niles Township High School District 219 board created a new deputy superintendent position and hired a longtime administrator from the same Connecticut school district as the superintendent it hired last year.

Roszena Haskins has spent the past 16 years as a school and district administrator in West Hartford Public School, according to a District 219 spokesperson.

Haskins' current job title is executive director of equity advancement for both the school district and the municipality of West Hartford. Her new job will be heavily focused on the district's equity efforts and recruiting and keeping staff.

Superintendent Tom Moore, who last year succeeded Steven Isoye upon his retirement, said in a statement that he was thrilled that Haskins and her family are relocating from the East Coast to the Chicago area.

“Choosing Dr. Haskins to serve as my Deputy Superintendent is going to be the single most important thing I do for District 219," Moore said. "She is the best educator I know.”

Haskins "believes in the power of student voice and works to mobilize diverse community stakeholders to advance equity in access, opportunity, and successful outcomes for all students in school, in careers, and in life," according to a statement announcing her hiring.

According to the statement, Haskins has experience teaching students at the preK-12 level in Virginia and Connecticut, where she was a special education teacher before becoming a middle school and high school principal.

Haskins said it was an honor to have been hired by District 219, where she will be reunited with her former boss when she officially begins work in July.

“The district’s outstanding reputation that I have come to learn about, witness, and experience fills me with excitement about joining the great work being done and optimism about the future of D219," Haskins said in a statement Tuesday.

"I am humbled to be given this opportunity to serve within such a special community that values diversity and embodies a firm commitment to excellence in public education that every student deserves. I am thrilled about the challenge, change, and reward ahead, and I cannot wait to make District 219 a place I get to call 'home,'" she said. "This is an exciting time for my family and me.”

According to the meeting materials from Tuesday's school board meeting, Haskins was hired on a three-year contract, the details of which were discussed behind closed doors.

District officials did not publicly release the contract before or after its approval at the meeting, so Skokie Patch filed a public record request for a copy.

A District 219 spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the cost to taxpayers, including whether the creation of Haskins' position added a new administrative position to the district's budget or whether it replaces another administrative role.

Update: Haskins' contract provides for an annual salary of $225,000 for the first year, with an increase for next year to be determined by the school board, along with matching contributions of up to 3 percent of the base salary — which comes out to $6,7500 for the first year of the contract — among other benefits.