Schools
D159 Superintendent: Resignation Is 'Bittersweet'
Mokena School District Superintendent Steve Stein, on the job for just over a year and a half, submitted his letter of resignation Nov. 20, effective June 30, 2013. He will move on to become superintendent of Peotone Community School District 207U.
Mokena School District 159 Superintendent Steve Stein will leave the district in June 2013, after less than two years on the job.
Stein announced his resignation Tuesday, Nov. 20, in a letter addressed to Patrick Markham and the rest of the D159 Board of Education. But the board had also been notified previously.
“It will probably be a blast for the community members who aren't as directly connected with the school," Stein said.
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Stein was named interim Superintendent in August 2011 after the reassignment of former Superintendent Karen Perry.
"It's been very humbling, a lot of people saying many many kind things about me and my time here. Anything like this is very, very bitter sweet," Stein said. "I have a very good working relationship with the board of education, with the teachers union, with the teachers, with the parents and the community."
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In the letter, Stein said that he is leaving Mokena 159 to become superintendent of the Peotone Community School District 207U.
“District 159 has provided me with many proud professional moments, and I am most proud of having the privilege to serve as superintendent since August 2011,” the letter reads.
Stein commended all of the faculty, staff and administration in the district for their tireless work for the students and said that he is sure that the district has, “come through its most difficult times and that great possibilities are ahead.”
Stein's resignation is effective June 30, 2013.
"The move is right for me at this time, both professionally and personally," he said.
Stein said that he was open to helping the board of education search for his replacement, although he was unsure if the board would ask him to help with the process.
“The board is really responsible. I will be happy to work with the board in any capacity that they ask of me,” he said. “If they want me to be a part of that process, I will gladly do that for them. If they do not want me to be part of that process, I can completely not be. It's really up to them.”
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