CHAMPAIGN — Champaign Unit 4 School District is bringing on a new superintendent, Geovanny Ponce, and he wants a new cabinet.
On Monday, the Unit 4 Board of Education approved demotions or resignations of 11 top administrators, with the understanding that they can reapply for their jobs. The changes will take effect in July.
“I think we’ll be losing history, friendship, and a lot of knowledge,” said Board Vice President Fatima Ahmed. “But I feel like the restructuring is something that will benefit our students and ultimately that’s our goal, to create a unit that’s supporting students, and I hope that Dr. Ponce’s plan will help us achieve that.”
Many of the administrators are longtime familiar faces at school board meetings, like Chief Business Officer Linda Matkowski, Assistant Superintendent of Equity and Engagement Angela Ward, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Ken Kleber and Chief Communications Officer Stacey Moore.
Three administrators resigned, including Matkowski and Moore. Others are getting classroom positions like elementary or history teacher.
Even interim superintendent Dan Casillas, who Board President Tony Bruno thanked for “righting the ship” between administrations, will return to the classroom unless he succeeds in winning a spot on the new cabinet.
In an interview with the News-Gazette, Ponce said that he wants to create a smaller, more focused cabinet.
“Dr. Ponce is the superintendent we have chosen to be here, and we are supporting his experience and his knowledge,” said Board Member Grace Kang. “He brings a wealth of that to the district. We’re supporting his vision, and this is part of his vision.”
Kang was one of two to abstain from voting for the second component of the plan, which is to hire JG Consulting to conduct a nationwide search for Ponce’s next cabinet members. The cost for the contract is a maximum of $128,000.
Both Kang and Board Member Justin Michael Hendrix said they were uncomfortable with that amount. Hendrix said he also found working with JG Consulting “lackluster” in the recent search for Ponce.
Some community members were concerned about losing Black administrators in the transition. NAACP Champaign County President Minnie Pearson said giving the administrators notice was neither a good or bad thing.
“To understand that a number of them are people who are my color, who look like me,” she explained. “I want you to know that our children perform a lot better when they see people in the district and in and out of their buildings who look like them. And right now, we are concerned about the lack of achievement of our Black children, Black and brown children.”