District 159 Board Moves Forward with Superintendent Search

The board determined the executive search firm that will assist in the selection process at a meeting Thursday.

The Mokena School District 159 board of education held a special meeting Jan. 3 to discuss the specifics of the search for a new district superintendent. Current Superintendent Steve Stein announced his resignation on Nov. 20. He will leave the district at the end of June. The board voted Thursday to approve the bid for B.W.P. and Associates to serve as the executive search firm throughout the superintendent selection process. “The search firm acts as a facilitator,” said Board Member Katherine Moore. The board selected B.W.P. because of its previous experience serving schools in the area, including districts in Orland Park, Tinley Park and Oak Lawn. B.W.P. was one of five firms considered by the board. Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates …

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Have a Question for the New D161 Superintendent? Tell Us

Patch will conduct a one-on-one interview with Barb Rains next week to talk about her new position. Submit a question, and we just might use it.

Last week, the Summit Hill School District 161 board hired Barb Rains as the district's new superintendent, removing the interim label from the title that she's held since the summer, when former Superintendent Keith Pain suddenly retired.  The decision wasn't without controversy. Although Rains has been praised for her work as interim superintendent, some district residents and board members objected to the board not going through a hiring process that posted the open position and interviewed candidates.  READ: Board Hires Barb Rains as New Superintendent Next week, Rains has agreed to sit down with Patch for a one-on-one interview to talk about her plans for the D161 and the challenges the district will face in the new year and beyond.  …

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River Smith

9:35 pm on Thursday, December 29, 2011

Also some great questions...especially the one about a FULL outside audit. I'd be interested to see how much fluff there is in the budget.   more ›

Editor's Notebook

What D161 Can Learn From Mokena's Superintendent Hiring

Summit Hill isn't the only local school district that hired a new superintendent without doing a candidate search. How has that decision worked out for Mokena School District 159?

While debating during a board workshop last week whether Summit Hill School District 161 needed to post its superintendent position, Board Vice President Joy Murphy asked her colleagues, "Did Orland do a search? Did Mokena?" They were rhetorical questions, but they illustrated the point that not all school districts go through a hiring process that includes interviewing candidates. Some parents, D161 residents and even board members have been critical of the board's decision last week to put interim Superintendent Barb Rains into that role on a permanent basis. READ: D161 Board Hires Barb Rains as District's New Superintendent In the case of Mokena School District 159, the school board reassigned Superintendent Karen Perry and named Steve …

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D161 Board Hires Barb Rains as District's New Superintendent

The board approves the hiring 5-1 amid criticism from the public and some board members that the position should have been posted and other candidates interviewed.

In an almost five-hour standing room-only meeting that included unanimously passing a property tax levy, outlining plans to eliminate inefficiencies in the district and sparring between members of the public and board members, the big news from Wednesday's meeting of the Summit Hill School District 161 board didn't come until the very end after members returned from an hour-and-a-half closed session. That's when the board voted 5-1 to hire Barb Rains as the district's permanent superintendent, removing the interim label from the title she's held since former Superintendent Keith Pain resigned over the summer. Her contract begins immediately and will run through June 30, 2013, at a salary of $145,000, an increase of about $30,000 from her …

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D161 Board Sharply Divided Over Superintendent Hiring

Some members want to hire interim Superintendent Barb Rains on a permanent basis, while others think the board should look at other candidates before making a decision.

When it comes to hiring a permanent superintendent Summit Hill School District 161 board members agree on many of the qualifications that that individual should have, and they agree that it's one of the board's highest priorities. But that's about it. Opinions clashed yet again between board members at Tuesday's workshop to discuss public input about hiring a superintendent gathered from surveys the district had given out to teachers, staff members and parents. The point of contention surrounds posting the opening and fielding applicants or simply hiring interim Superintendent Barb Rains to the position permanently. READ: Who Will be the Next D161 Superintendent? Board President Mary Kenny, Board Vice President Joy Murphy and board member …

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Joe Vince

6:17 pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2011

@BMW and @Stella Nyder: Barb Rains has a certificate of advance study in superintendency from Lewis University. She was the human resources director for Orland School District 135 from 1990 to 2008. In 2008, she was hired as the HR and PR director for D161. As for what will happen to Rains's previous position, I haven't heard any talk about what will be done with it. I'd imagine it will be …   more ›

Editor's Notebook

Budget, Superintendent or New Board Member: What's Most Important Issue for D161?

Dee Molinare officially resigned as a Summit Hill board member Thursday, and the district is now accepting applications to fill her seat. Is this task the most daunting for D161 right now? Take our poll and tell us.

Give this to the board of Summit Hill School District 161 this year: There's never been a dull moment. The newest wrinkle is finding a replacement for board member Dee Molinare, who turned in her resignation Thursday before she was seated on the board for Lincoln-Way High School District 210. Molinare was appointed to the D210 seat over the weekend, replacing David Izzo, who was recently appointed to the Will County Board. READ: Molinare to Join L-W Board; Must Quit Summit Hill Board Applications for her seat, which runs through 2013, must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, and are available at the district's website or the administrative offices. Applicants must be: READ: New D210 Board Member Welcomed; Lower Tax Levy Approved …

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Editor's Notebook

Should D161 Hire Firm for Superintendent Search? Tell the Board Tonight

Summit Hill school board members will listen to public comments about the superintendent hiring process at a special meeting Thursday. Find out what some residents are already saying about the idea.

The board for Summit Hill School District 161 will take another step toward hiring a permanent superintendent when it holds a public forum at 7 p.m. Thursday at the district's administrative offices to hear what community members think about hiring an outside search firm. Since former Superintendent Keith Pain's unexpected retirement in late May, Barb Rains has been serving as the interim superintendent for D161, while still retaining her role as Summit Hill's human resources and public relations director. READ: D161 Board Holds Off on Search Firm to Pick New Superintendent Board members discussed how to proceed with the hiring process at their Nov. 9 meeting, suggesting different approaches to the situation. Here's what some of the …

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Juvenal

10:42 pm on Friday, December 2, 2011

Gutless and clueless: just like every other public school board in the state. Maybe they should hire a "consultant" to tell them how to wipe their asses and wash their hands after a bathroom trip too? All the "consultant" will do is ask the ISBE for a list of candidates and read their resumes one time before spending an hour writing up a report "ranking" the resumes......   more ›

D161 Holds Off on Search Firm to Pick New Superintendent

Board members voiced their opinions at Wednesday night's meeting. Ultimately, they decided to gather community input before deciding whether to use an outside search firm to help with the hiring process.

Some school board members got a tad heated Wednesday night when they broached the subject of how best to search for a new superintendent for Summit Hill School District 161. The debate centered on whether help from an outside agency is needed for the search or if the district should rely on its own in-house resources. An informal board vote ruled in favor of officials holding off on hiring a search firm. Instead, they will continue distributing surveys to various groups of stakeholders. They also took one more step during Wednesday's regular meeting, which was held at Dr. Julian Rogus School, by scheduling a Dec. 1 public forum in the district office to gather community input in lieu of—at least for now—seeking those outside services. …

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taxpayer

1:14 pm on Tuesday, November 15, 2011

What you are saying Lou is unfounded to those of us parents that truly care about our childs education. Since I pay the salaries of these administrators and superintendent, I think I deserve a voice. Do I think I know everything, no, but I do know that our district deserves someone who cares about the 200+ staff along with the students they are about to be incharge of. After us taxpayers getting …   more ›