THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2007
River Trails School Chief Leaving
By BOBBY CHILVER
Journal Reporter
River Trails Elementary School Dist. 26 Superintendent Edward Tivador will be leaving the local district at the end of the current school year.
Tivador, who has been serving in his current capacity for about the last year, has been hired as superintendent of Northbrook/Glenview Elementary School Dist. 30.
"I'm doing this for personal and professional reasons," Tivador said.
His last day with Dist. 26 is June 29, but Tivador said the move will not distract him from his duties during the rest of the school year.
"We have a strategic plan and we are committed to it," Tivador said. "I will continue to stay the course and move toward it's implementation."
Tivador informed members of the River Trails school staff of his decision to leave last Friday morning.
Dist. 26 Board President Tom Fallucca said the announcement was a surprise to the board, who will now have a short time to find a replacement.
"We're more disappointed because he's been doing a good job," Fallucca said.
The board won't have much time to reminisce however, as the hiring process is already underway. Fallucca said the district will use the same firm to find a new superintendent as they did to find Tivador, except this time it will be free of cost.
According to Fallucca, the contract originally signed with the firm, Exec Connect, states that if the chosen superintendent does not stay at least a year, the firm will do another search for free.
The firm still has all its research and data about qualified candidates from last year's search so Fallucca is confident the district will find another good fit within the short time period. After Exec Connect chooses and interviews several candidates, the board will then have the opportunity to do their own interviews and select Tivador's replacement.
"The most important work a school board does is hire a superintendent," Fallucca said. "I have a lot of confidence we'll end up with another quality superintendent."
Fallucca said the firm is already underway in its search and estimates they may have narrowed the candidates down to about a half dozen by now. He said commitment to the district will be a priority in interviews but there is still no way to guarantee how long a superintendent will stay.
Tivador's contract, signed only about ten months ago, was a three year deal. There will be no penalty for breaking the contract, however, as the board has agreed to the resignation and the contract included a mutual agreement clause for such situations.
Tivador will move on to familiar territory, as he has previous experience in Dist. 30. He served as their Business Manager for six years.
Tivador officially became the superintendent of Dist. 26 on July, 1, 2006. Prior to arriving at River Trails, he had served 12 years as the deputy superintendent of Lake Forest Elementary Dist. 67 and High School Dist. 115.
He began his career as an elementary teacher at both Little Shepard Day School in Naperville and then in Dist. 61 in south suburban Darien. After that he served three years in Downers Grove Dist. 58 as the coordinator of Business Services. He was then the business manager for Dist. 30 for six years before moving to his deputy superintendent position in Lake Forest.
Tivador is currently completing his educational doctorate at National-Louis University. He has earned a BA and MBA from Illinois Benedictine College and holds a Superintendent Endorsement and Chief School Business Official Endorsement.
Dist. 26 serves northeast Mt. Prospect and small portions of Des Plaines and Prospect Heights.