CHAMPAIGN— Those who want to be Champaign Unit 4’s next superintendent can apply now.
The job description is based on the input parents, teachers, students and former parents gave in 19 meetings and a survey with 1,314 anonymous responses.
“Students requested a strong communicator who is transparent, who listens to them and answers questions instead of leaving concerns unanswered,” said JG Consulting President James Guerra.
Guerra is leading the superintendent search for the district. He told the Unit 4 Board of Education on Monday that the qualities the community prioritized in the survey were accountability and transparency, education, experience and strong communication.
A new Board of Education pushed out the former superintendent in the spring over concerns that she was not a good communicator or transparent with the public. A group of Black activists disagreed, saying she was doing a good job and was the first Black, female superintendent they had been waiting for.
Guerra said the meat of his work starts now.
“The real work is recruiting and poaching candidates that are sitting in a good place right now in their respective roles. They’re not necessarily looking to leave their job. They’re content, they’re happy, but I’m recruiting them away to consider this opportunity. That’s where the real magic happens,” Guerra said.
He said the board will be able to interview and select a candidate in January. Unit 4 will pay JG Consulting up to $40,000 for conducting the search.