The Board of Education of Springfield Public School District 186 on Oct. 6 reviewed results from a superintendent-search survey and approved two days of focus groups to inform the vacancy announcement and recruitment timeline.

The survey, conducted by the Illinois Association of School Boards, collected responses that the consultant said totaled 1,578 participants across stakeholder groups. "Your top ideal candidate traits ... are to ensure an inclusive, safe school environment, fosters a professional culture for educators, focus on engagement, accountability, and empowerment," said Mr. Hilton, the IASB consultant presenting the results. He told the board the online instrument forced respondents to select five attributes from a list of 15 to produce comparable results across groups.

Why it matters: the board will use the survey and focus-group findings to finalize the vacancy brochure that will drive recruitment for a superintendent the board aims to appoint in January 2026 and have begin in July 2026. The board approved adding a consultant-led focus-group component for $3,000 to the IASB contract so the organization can run 18 sessions over two days, Oct. 22–23.

More details: IASB reported stakeholder participation that the consultant summarized as: six board members, 84 administrators, 655 faculty and staff, 604 parents and guardians, 179 community members and 50 students. The top candidate traits drawn from the survey and open comments were fiscal responsibility and budget management, student and staff safety and discipline, integrity and transparency, support for teacher retention and compensation, academic rigor and equity, and visible, authentic community engagement.

The district’s vacancy timeline presented to the board sets an application deadline of Nov. 14, candidate presentation in late November to early December, board interviews in mid-December and an expected appointment in January 2026 with the superintendent beginning July 2026. The board also discussed whether teaching and principal experience should be required or preferred; IASB recommended making district-level and central-office experience preferred rather than required, while classroom and principal experience were widely favored by stakeholders.

Board members noted the IASB-focus-group design: 18 invitation-only sessions with roughly 20 participants per group, divided among internal groups (administrators, certified staff, classified staff, union leadership), students (11th–12th graders), parents (elementary, middle and high school parents) and two external groups covering about 27 community organizations. Superintendent Jennifer E. Gill thanked IASB and district staff for compiling the packet of survey data and open comments for board review.

What happens next: IASB will conduct focus groups without board members present and deliver a written summary to the board for inclusion in the vacancy brochure. The board will later consider stakeholder meetings with finalists as part of the recruitment process.