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Board approves Founders Elementary assistant principal contract after debate over elementary AP roles
Summary
The DeKalb CUSD 428 Board approved an employment contract for an assistant principal at Founders Elementary after discussion about the district’s use of assistant principals in elementary schools and a request to remove the item from the consent agenda for separate consideration.
The DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 Board of Education voted to approve an employment contract for an assistant principal at Founders Elementary for the 2025–26 school year after a brief discussion and a separate roll-call vote.
The contract was removed from the consent agenda at the request of a board member for separate discussion; the item was then presented, motioned and seconded, and approved by roll call. A single abstention was recorded; multiple board members voted yes in the roll call recorded in the public meeting record.
Board member Mark Shervat asked that the assistant principal employment contract be removed from the consent agenda so the board could discuss the broader district practice of hiring assistant principals for elementary schools. Shervat said he would vote in favor of the Founders contract but asked the board to review the district’s approach because other nearby districts, he said, do not hire elementary assistant principals and taxpayers, he said, expect resources “in the classroom as opposed to being in the front office.”
Principals and district leaders defended the practice as a targeted response to school needs. Jen Hilliard, identified in the meeting as a principal, described operational reasons for having multiple building leaders at large elementary schools — citing evaluation loads, coaching, teacher observations and the need for administrative coverage when a principal is out of the building. A district presenter said assistant principals and restorative deans helped reduce suspensions and expulsions in elementary schools by addressing behavior earlier, before it escalated in middle and high school.
The administration provided a comparative example, saying Sycamore School District differs from DeKalb 428 in income and student demographics and therefore the districts are not directly comparable on staffing choices.
The board’s approval authorizes the superintendent to execute the attached employment contract for the 2025–26 school year for Founders Elementary. No additional policy change or district-wide decision on the number of elementary assistant principals was made during the meeting; board members asked that the topic be examined in future discussions.
Board members recorded votes on the employment contract by roll call in the public record. The motion carried; one abstention was noted.
