D135 Board Assembles Superintendent Requirements (Live Blog Transcript)

Update, 2:40 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012

Applications are now being accepted for a permanent Orland School District 135 superintendent.

Board members will be vetting each candidate, though a few stipulations were added to focus the search. The job ad requires five years of elementary school administration.

During Monday night's meeting, board member Tom Cunningham questioned the need for such a requirement, noting that when Dennis Soustek was originally hired as superintendent, his qualifications were different than what the board at the time was looking for.

Soustek, as well as board member Mary Bragg and Assistant Superintendent of Buisness Services John Reiniche, said elementary experience can't be duplicated and would be key for the right candidate.

"I don't think we'd want to be training ground for someone without elementary experience," Reiniche said.

Soustek said that even someone without five years of elementary administration could still apply, and the board would look at their application along with the rest of the candidates.

A decision on a superintendent candidate is expected by January 2013.

Original Post, 5:58 a.m., Monday, Aug. 13, 2012

District 135 board members will talk about possibly getting a hand with finding a new permanent superintendent during Monday night’s .

What sort of assistance they are seeking will be talked about during closed session, according to the posted agenda. Board discussion labeled “Superintendent Search” is included on the posted agenda for during the public meeting, though specifics are not included.

The board agreed on July 9 , as they did with the last superintendent search.

Board members will also be taking the first official read of a policy for showing DVDs and videos in the classroom, to further defining what is considered appropriate. Certain films may be rated for adult viewing but also have educational value, such as “Schindler’s List,” which was used as an example when the issue was discussed at a past meeting.

Read a draft of the policy with the attached files above.

A moment of silence will be held for Lucy Prunty, the 14-year-old daughter of Park School occupational therapist Cindy Prunty. Lucy Prunty passed away from bone cancer complications. The moment of silence will also be held for shooting victims in Aurora, Colo., and in Oak Creek, Wisc.

Orland Park Patch’s live blog through Scribble It will provide minute-by-minute updates from the meeting on this page starting at 7:30 p.m. Look in the Scribble It window above, and you’ll see an area where you can join in and offer your comments and questions. The same rules apply as on finished articles on the site.

Leading up to the meeting, let me know if there's anything you particularly want to know about in the comments.

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