Sycamore board narrows superintendent search timetable; reviews enrollment projections and board goals

Sycamore CUSD 427 board members received updates on the superintendent search, enrollment projections and board goals.

Search process: The board said it received an unusually large applicant pool and used consultant HYA to vet candidates into Tier 1 and Tier 2. The board scheduled initial interviews for December 5 and noted the process may require second‑round interviews and additional deliberation later in December with due diligence and negotiation steps to follow.

Enrollment & board goals: The board reviewed the annual enrollment projection memo tied to new policy 5.204 (prepared by district staff referenced as 'Nick') and judged the projections to be largely in line with prior expectations. Members asked for additional data options such as actual‑versus‑anticipated student‑to‑teacher ratios by building and discussed using Illinois State report card data as a starting point for a district dashboard. Board members also discussed timing for district goal setting in April and how those district goals would feed into a superintendent’s strategic plan and contract appendices.

Next steps: Interviews on December 5 proceed as scheduled; the board will continue budget and LTC joint meetings in February and revisit goal-setting inputs in April.

Sources: superintendent search update and enrollment/board goals discussion recorded in the meeting transcript.