Palatine CCSD 15 board hires BWP to lead superintendent search after presentations from five firms
Summary
After hearing presentations from five search-consultant teams, the Palatine CCSD 15 Board of Education voted to hire BWP to conduct the district's superintendent search. Board members asked about recruitment of seated superintendents, community engagement and confidentiality; the board then moved to closed session on personnel.
The Palatine CCSD 15 Board of Education voted on the night's final motion to hire BWP to oversee the district's search for its next superintendent after presentations and questions from trustees.
Board members opened the meeting saying the purpose was to "select the firm that will support District 15 in finding our next superintendent." Multiple consultant teams presented their approaches: Student Centered Services emphasized stakeholder listening sessions and a customized leadership profile; the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB/ISB) highlighted statewide networks and confidential first-round screening; HYA stressed human interaction and a board portal for materials; School Exec Connect emphasized a large field-based consultant pool and multilingual outreach; and BWP emphasized local suburban experience, active networking and an expedited phased timeline.
BWP representatives, including Joe Porto and Mark Friedman, told the board they would tailor recruitment, perform active outreach to seated superintendents and other leaders, and bring a vetted slate of finalists. "We know this community; we know exactly who to look for," one BWP presenter said during the pitch. The firm outlined a condensed timeline that could allow interviews in January and a hire in February, while noting contract negotiations and legal steps can extend that schedule.
Other firms spelled out their differentiators. Dawn Green, a partner at Student Centered Services, said the firm is "hungry" to do the work and emphasized multilingual community engagement and individualized screening. Jim Helton of the Illinois Association of School Boards described ISB's statewide networks and a high-volume outreach capability, saying the group is a market leader in Illinois and can coordinate cross-state background inquiries. HYA's presenters highlighted a confidential online board portal and a data brief for candidates; School Exec Connect representatives emphasized in-field relationships and a two-year guarantee in case an eventual hire departs early.
Trustees focused questions on how each firm would recruit high-performing, seated superintendents who may not be actively seeking a job, how candidates' capacities to lead a large, diverse elementary district would be evaluated, and how multilingual input from the district's large Spanish-speaking population would be gathered. Firms offered a range of methods: active personal outreach at conferences and through professional networks, one-on-one recruitment calls, focus groups, surveys and the use of translators or Spanish-speaking consultants during in-district engagement.
Before taking the final selection vote, the board moved to convene in closed session under state statute to discuss appointment and employment matters. The record shows a motion to approve BWP's selection was made and seconded; the board expressed assent and BWP was congratulated on being chosen. The transcript records the motion text on the record and indicates vote-taking by roll-call affirmations and voice votes; exact tallies were not specified in the public record provided.
Next steps on the search process were not set on the public record beyond the board's formal selection; the meeting adjourned after the motions. The board will now work with the chosen firm to finalize the search timeline, community-engagement schedule, candidate profile and the consultant contract that will govern the next phases of recruitment and hiring.
What happens next: the district and BWP are expected to collaborate on a planning meeting that finalizes the leadership profile to be used for recruitment, the timeline for advertising and interviews, and the scope of in-district focus groups and stakeholder engagement. The board also moved to closed session under 5 ILCS 120 to discuss personnel-related specifics before concluding the public meeting.
