PEORIA (25News Now) – The school year just started, but in Peoria they’re looking ahead to the next leader. Wednesday, Peoria Public Schools gave parents and community members a chance to weigh in on what they want to see in a new superintendent.
The school board is replacing Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat, who is retiring when her contract expires at the end of the current school year in May.
At Wednesday’s town hall, people could speak to school board members and representatives of the search firm they hired, From the Heart Educational Services, LLC. The firm promises parents’ viewpoint will guide the hiring process, but also shared several qualities they feel make up a good leader.
“We are living currently in an ever-changing technological world. So, we want someone who’s highly skilled in that area, and that’s going to expose our children to technology so they have the ability to compete at all levels,” said Walter Milton, the CEO of From the Heart, and a former superintendent himself.
One parent said she wants someone who will lessen the achievement differences between different groups. Music teacher Maura Shepherd asked the firm how they’ll make sure that fine art education is valued, not seen as a way to give other teachers time to plan.
Others voiced support for the new superintendent to live in Peoria.
“Would love to have somebody that’s fully passionate about Peoria and our district. Secondarily, I’d love to have a candidate that has experience as an Assistant Superintendent in a district similar to Peoria Public Schools,” said parent Doug Shannon.
The firm also told parents what they expect the timeline to look like. Although not finalized yet, the plan to start the application process sometime in October. There will likely be three rounds of interviews.
They hope the new candidate will be selected around January or February.
Board president Gregory Wilson confirmed that the district is paying $44,000 for the search firm’s help.
This was likely the only town hall that will be held for the superintendent position, but the search firm will be back in Peoria later to conduct focus groups. Parents and families not at Wednesday’s meeting who have comments can email the search firm at [email protected].
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