Schools

UPDATED: District 113A Board Approves Early Retirement of Superintendent Tim Ricker

Ricker's retirement will be effective June 30, 2012, a full year before his contract with the district is set to expire.

This story was updated with comments from District 113A Board Member Lisa Wright, who is the official spokesperson for the board.

Tim Ricker, superintendent of , will retire at the end of the 2011-2012 school year—a full year before his contract with the district is set to expire.

The District 113A Board of Education unanimously approved Ricker's retirement at the monthly board meeting Tuesday night as part of the personnel report in the consent agenda. There was no discussion prior to the vote.

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Ricker's final day with the district will be June 30, 2012. Further details of his retirement agreement with the board — including his pension — were not immediately available.

An estimate of any possible pension in Illinois has yet to be determined, but the amount will become available once Ricker retires and begins collecting, said Dave Urbanek, a spokesperson for the Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois.

Find out what's happening in Lemontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When approached after the meeting, Ricker declined to comment on his retirement, saying only that "it is what it is." He referred all questions to Board President Mike Aurelio or Board Member Lisa Wright, the board's official spokesperson.

In an email Wednesday morning, Wright said she was not surprised by Ricker's decision to seek early retirement, and that he is "simply exercising his right ... allowed under his contract."

"He has expressed a desire to spend more time with his family," she said. "He did express that same sentiment some time ago."

Ricker has served as the superintendent of District 113A since July 2006. Before coming to Lemont, he worked as a teacher and administrator in the Missouri public school system for more than 30 years.

Patch was informed Thursday by a source within the district that Ricker at the end of the current school year.

When reached by phone Friday morning, Ricker declined to comment before the board had the opportunity to discuss the matter. However, he acknowledged a "premise" in his contract that enables him to retire early provided there is a mutual agreement between him and the school board.

According to his contract, which can be found on BoardDocs under the the Freedom of Information Act report of the district's June 2009 business meeting, Ricker's contract can be terminated by: mutual agreement of the parties, retirement of the superintendent, resignation, discharge for cause, and permanent disability of the superintendent.

With Ricker's letter to the board and their approval of the consent agenda Tuesday night, his departure is official, Wright said.

The board has already begun the search for his replacement, she added.

"Without providing closed session details, I will say that the Board has begun the process of searching for a new superintendent," she said. "The details of that will be forthcoming in future BOE meetings."

Wright said she is confident Ricker will "continue the successes that District 113A has had these past few years," including "balanced budgets, the building of fund balances, higher test scores and adherence to the financial plan."

"The board ultimately makes decisions, which Dr. Ricker implements, and he he will continue to do so through the end of this school year," she said. "The board thanks him for his contributions and wishes him the best as he moves on."

This article will be updated with comments from District 113A board members as they become available.

For more on Tuesday's board meeting, .


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