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Schools

District 202 Begins Search for New Supt.

Board announces it will hire a deputy superintendent who will take Harper's place as he retires after 33 years with the Plainfield School District.

The Plainfield School District 202 board on Monday announced it will begin its search for a new superintendent to succeed Dr. John Harper, who plans to retire in July 2014.

Board president Roger Bonuchi said the district will use a succession plan to help ease the transition to the new superintendent. The board will ultimately decide on a deputy superintendent who will become superintendent once Harper retires.

As part of the process, board members have invited a pool of candidates to meet with them in the coming month. They will then form a committee of parents, community and staff members and another committee of administrators who will interview the candidates and offer feedback to the board.

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The board will hold at least two closed-session board meetings in October to discuss the new superintendent search.

On Monday night, the board of education issued a letter to District 202 staff and community members announcing plans to begin the search for Harper's replacement. 

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The letter reads, in part: 

The Board of Education has invited a pool of highly qualified candidates to meet with us this month to determine if we believe they might be excellent candidates for our District.   

Once a pool of qualified candidates is formed, we will create two committees: one made up of staff members and parents/community members and the other consisting of administrators. These committees will interview the candidates and share their feedback and perspectives with the Board of Education. We will ask these committees to act in a confidential manner to ensure that we have the strongest candidate pool possible. 

To read the entire letter, click here.

Harper will retire as his contract with District 202 expires. He has been with the Plainfield School District for his entire career, starting in 1981, when he was hired as a social studies teacher at Indian Trail Middle School. He stayed at Indian Trial for nine years, going on to serve as dean of students and assistant principal.

He became principal at Grand Prairie Elementary in 1990 before moving on to serve the same role at Timber Ridge Middle School in 1996.

Harper became the district's assistant superintendent of operations in 1999 before being promoted to superintendent in 2002.

According to District 202 documents, Harper's base salary for the 2011-12 school year was $251,788.

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