School District 116 Lauded for its Turn Around!

Dennis Stonewall the CEO of District 116, sent me this article from "Managing School Business" about the Districts turn around. When I took office the district (about 25% of Round Lake is in District 116) was bankrupt, staff morale was at all time low, and all anyone wanted to do was blame someone else.

When the state stepped in and imposed the over site committee I went along with the process more from a feeling of, it can't get worse then it already is then from one of optimism! The real reason I was supportive was the availability of special interest rates and funding options from the state that I felt could start the recovery. I was unsure of the level of commitment and or leadership we would get to manage the turn around. That over site committee eventually hired Wally Korpan as Chief Financial Officer and Dennis as Chief Executive Officer.

In a pleasant surprise we got leadership willing to make tough choices, and hiring and retaining quality leadership at the education level. Anyone who has seen Dr. Jeff Brierton Principal at the High School can attest to the fact that his brand of leadership and educational motivation work and in spades! The district has turned around completely and while this article does not talk about it, scores are up dramatically, which in the education world is the bottom line!

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