School Board Hires New Administrators; State Still Owes District $8.6M

won’t officially take the reins of the district until June, but his senior staff is certainly taking shape.

The district’s school board and Monday, tabbed a half-dozen more that will help Mitchem lead the district come next school year.

Most notably, the board hired Heather Hill Elementary Principal Venus Smith to replace Faith Dahlquist as the district’s pre-K-5 assistant superintendent for curriculum.

Smith will begin July 1 and take over for Dahlquist, who is .

Smith has a Bachelor of Arts degree in education and a master's in educational administration from Governors State University and has been principal at Heather Hill for four years.

Smith said she would work diligently with other administrators, teachers, staff members, parents and other stakeholders to make sure her vision for Valley View comes to fruition.

“I want to ensure that each student within my or my team’s realm of influence receives every possible intervention, strategy or resource so that he or she can reach their fullest potential—and I mean academically, socially and emotionally,” she said.

Dahlquist’s position, which will be split between two administrators in , came under fire from board members in August when  drew the board's ire.

Other administrators hired Monday included: 

Meghan Gibbons

• Position: Director of Food Services
• Replacing: Sharon Nichols (retirement)
• Effective: July 1
• Current position: Director of nutrition services at Evanston Township High School since August 2007
• Education: Bachelor of Science in dietetics, Illinois State University

Christy Vehe

• Position: Director of 6/12 Math and Science
• Replacing: New position
• Effective: July 1
• Current position: Director of Middle/High School since June 2010
• Education: Bachelor of Science in elementary education and Master’s of Education in Educational Administration from University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign, Master’s of Arts in Mathematics Education from DePaul University, National Board Certified Teacher (EA/mathematics)

Carrie Stange

• Position: Director of K-12 Data & Assessment
• Replacing: New position
• Effective: July 1
• Current position: Director of elementary schools since June 2010
• Education: Bachelor of Arts in education from Lewis University, Master’s in Teaching and Leadership and Master’s in Administration and Supervision from St. Xavier University, currently working on EdD in Curriculum and Leadership at Northern Illinois University

Pamela Pritchard

• Position: Director of 6-12 Literacy/Social Studies
• Replacing: New position
• Effective: July 1
• Current position: English department chair at Bolingbrook High School for five years
• Education: Bachelor of Arts in English, with a minor in Writing, University of Illinois at Chicago; Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction, with a reading endorsement, Lewis University; Type 75 Administration Certificate, Concordia University.

Brigitta McGreal

• Position: Director of Grants and Accountability
• Replacing: New position
• Effective: July 1
• Current position: Career and technical education department chair at Bolingbrook High School for six years; family and consumer science instructor at Bolingbrook High School for nine years
• Education: Bachelor of Science in family and consumer science education, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point; Master’s in Educational Administration and Leadership, Lewis University

Christina Sylvester

• Position: Assistant Principal, Brooks Middle School
• Replacing: Jane Ellingsworth (retirement)
• Effective: Aug. 1
• Current position: 7th and 8th grade Spanish teacher at Fairview South School in Skokie for five years
• Education: Bachelor of Arts in Spanish language, Northwestern University; Master’s in Instructional Leadership, Loyola University of Chicago

Board Member Evens Set to Vacate Board

Monday marked the last time the Valley View school board as you've come to know it will meet. 

With the April 5 election right around the corner, at least one new personality will sit on the board, replacing Mike Evans, who did not run for reelection. 

on the  Board of Education. Three incumbents and five newcomers are seeking three open four-year spots on the board, while two candidates are running for a single two-year seat.

State IOU Growing

The state continues to lag behind on making school funding payments to the Valley View School District.

School board president Steven Quigley said the state now owes Valley View roughly $8.6 million.

That figure is up from the .

That includes funding for bilingual education, state-mandated early childhood programs, special education funding, state free breakfast and lunch reimbursements and transportation funding.