District 210 Selects Search Firm to Recruit New Superintendent

took its first steps toward replacing Supt. Sandra Doebert with the selection of a superintendent search firm this week. 

During its regularly scheduled business meeting Tuesday night, the District 210 Board of Education approved a contract with School Exec Connect, a national search and consulting firm based in Highland Park.

The firm was chosen to recruit a superintendent to replace Doebert, who announced in April that she would be retiring at the end of the 2011-2012 school year.

“Choosing a superintendent is the most important task with which a school board is faced,” District 210 Board President Beverly Marzec said in a statement. “The search is an involved process that requires time and experience to recruit the best qualified candidates, verify backgrounds, interview candidates multiple times, and ensure that the process meets legal, community and Board of Education requirements.”

According to Tony Hamilton, director of school and community relations for District 210, it is common practice for school boards to seek outside services to recruit superintendents due to the "time-consuming and complicated" nature of the process.

The District Board of Education received three proposals from area search firms, which included formal presentations and financial bids for the project.

School Exec Connect's base fee will be $7,250. The cost is significantly lower than the other two bids, which ranged from $11,900 to $17,500, Hamilton said.

According to a district press release, School Exec Connect offers a large network for recruiting candidates, and has completed more than 80 superintendent searches in the Midwest.

Tom Madden, who served as District 210's superintendent from 1990 to 2002, is a partner at School Exec Connect, and will take part in the search. He will receive no financial compensation for his services, Hamilton said.

Madden will be joined on the search team by Kathy Robbins, an associate at the firm who currently serves at the superintendent at Leyden High School District 212.

As the sitting superintendent, Doebert will also provide input. She is also an associate at School Exec Connect, but will receive no financial compensation for her services, Hamilton said.

Doebert has served as the superintendent of District 210 since 2002, making her the first female superintendent in the school's history and one of only four superintendents to have served at least a decade. She came to the school in 1994 as an assistant principal, a role she filled for seven years before serving as the assistant superintendent in the 2001-02 school year.

In April, Doebert said school board members had been aware of her retirement plans for some time and planned to begin the search process for a new superintendent before the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year.

The board will soon begin meeting with School Exec Connect to develop a timeline for the search process, Hamilton said. They expect to name a new superintendent by early 2012.