The Proviso High School Township District 209 school board intended to name a new superintendent in late April, but as the expected deadline passed, board President Amanda Grant said she had doubts.
She said she is “not sure how this process is going to go” and “not sure how it is going to end.”
In order for a superintendent to be successful they need to have board, staff and community support, Grant, explained, but the past two board meetings made it clear that won’t be the case in Proviso.
Grant’s comment came after an early April board of education meeting, where public comment portion of the meeting was largely dominated by community members who expressed concern regarding the three selected finalists, included not having students reflected in district leadership and candidate qualifications. During the meeting, board member Arbdella Patterson also called for the search to restart from the beginning.
Patterson told Forest Park Review that her position stands.
“In the spirit of transparency, I believe the superintendent of schools search process wasn’t completed fairly,” she said. “Thus, I am calling for the board of education to restart the superintendent of schools search process, immediately.”
She did not elaborate the reasons.
Grant, however, has said publicly that she believed the search was properly handled.
“Times have changed, families have changed, communities have changed, technology has changed but one thing has to remain constant and that is that our students need to come first,” she said. “They deserve a superintendent who has experience, who has the grit, who has the knowledge, and who truly cares about them as individuals and collectively as our next generations who is going to be leading the country.”
“We need that. I believe we have that,” she said.
According to Grant, there have been many reasons why the search has taken this turn, including the refusal by two board members to sign confidentiality agreements.
Hazard Young Attea Associates, the agency hired to conduct the search, said confidentiality agreements are standard practice. Not signing one “compromised the search,” said Grant.
Grant also said that not all board members participated equally in the interview process. She did not name the members she was referring to.
“The board also agreed they would be present for the interviews and that wasn’t the case either,” Grant said. “Some attended the interview but refused to participate. Refused to ask candidates questions and refused to answer questions asked of them by candidates.”
Grant also said those board members wouldn’t speak with the HYA associates to discuss what they wanted in a superintendent
“In many ways the process was set up to fail by certain board members,” Grant said. “By not participating, by not having input, and by making the decision from the get go that if it couldn’t be their person, they didn’t want anyone.”
Board members Rodney Alexander and Arbdella Patterson did not respond for comment by the time of this article. Neither did board members Sandra Hixson, Jennifer Barbahen or David Ocampo.
Grant also said she has been experiencing outside “political pressure” regarding the search from the day after it was announced.
“Never in seven years have I felt the political pressure that I am feeling now,” Grant said. “To vote a certain way, to do a certain way, to do what people want. When you are imposing your will over what is best for kids, that is a problem.”
She did not name which politicians contacted her.
The superintendent search began last August, after the resignation of James L. Henderson, who served as superintendent for the district since August 2020.
The board then appointed longtime district administrator Bessie Karvelas as acting superintendent during the national search.
In February 2024, the board announced the appointment of two interim superintendents while Karvelas stepped away due to a family medical emergency.
Alexander Aschoff, district coordinator for data and assessment, and Luke Pavone, deputy superintendent of operations, were appointed to the co-acting interim position.
In May, the board will be reconfigured. Grant said she will not seek to hold on to her current position.
“I urge you that we do not put anyone in an officer position who is running for reelection,” she said during her remarks at the late April meeting. “It is a campaign year and if you’re doing the work, it will speak for itself.”
During that meeting Patterson reiterated her concern over the search.
“There was inconsistency in this process and with that being said this process needs to be done over,” Patterson said. “It has nothing to do with politics. If you are going to do it, do it right, be transparent. That is all I am asking, and that did not take place.”
The next board of education meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 14 at Proviso Math and Science Academy.
