Crystal Lake Central principal named interim superintendent for District 155

CRYSTAL LAKE – School District 155 has tapped two familiar faces to take over interim superintendent duties after Johnnie Thomas' sudden resignation from the position Tuesday night.

Steve Olson, who has served 16 years as the principal for Crystal Lake Central High School, was appointed interim educational superintendent of the Crystal Lake-based school district after the board spent about two hours Wednesday night in executive session discussing how best to fill the position.

Because Olson does not yet have all the required certification to authorize decisions as superintendent, the board also named Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Tom Kim the acting superintendent to sign necessary documentation.

“He is going to be, for all intents and purposes, the superintendent,” board President Adam Guss said of Olson. “But for things that require a signature from someone with that certification, we have someone who is already in the district office that can sign off on those documents.”

The board called an emergency meeting Wednesday night after news spread Tuesday that Thomas, who had been the District 155 superintendent for the past five years and was contracted through the 2019-20 school year, had been offered a superintendent position with Rich Township School District 227 in Matteson.

Guss said the board met to discuss filling the position for the upcoming school year, for which classes begin Aug. 16, and determined Olson and Kim were the best options to shoulder superintendent responsibilities for the 2017-18 school year.

He said the district likely will hire an outside search firm to find a permanent superintendent between now and the 2018-19 school year, and expects the board to begin interviewing candidates by Christmas.

“It was tricky,” Guss said of filling the role on short notice. “It was stressful in that school starts Monday and we’ve got to have something in place for Monday, but the fact that we have as many quality people [in the district] as we do made it a lot easier.”

Guss said details of Olson’s and Kim’s contracts – specifically their salaries – had not yet been determined, but he expects to receive those figures and to approve both contracts at next Tuesday’s regularly scheduled board meeting.

An administrator and teacher salary and benefits report posted on the district’s website showed that Thomas made a base salary of more than $187,000 during the 2016-17 school year. Olson made $160,000 in base salary as principal.

For Olson, the decision was no less sudden than for the board members. He has held numerous leadership positions during his 33 years in the district, and had applied for the superintendent position in 2012 when Thomas was hired, giving him some familiarity with District 155 families.

“I think they’ll find a lot of comfort in knowing I’m a family man first,” Olson said. “I spent the first half of my career at Crystal Lake South, so it’ll be important for me to get to know the people in Cary and Fox River Grove so they get to see me as the person I am.”

The district’s leadership shake-up comes one week before about 6,600 students start classes at Cary-Grove High School, Crystal Lake South High School, Crystal Lake Central High School, Prairie Ridge High School and an alternate education campus.

In May 2016, the district approved, 4-3, extending Thomas’ contract as superintendent through the 2019-20 school year, with 2 percent annual increases starting in 2016-17 and adding 7.5 more reimbursable vacation days, giving him 12.5 total. The deal also eliminated the performance bonus package from Thomas’ contract.

District 227’s board announced its search for a new superintendent in June after hiring two administrators last summer to share interim duties for the 2016-17 school year. The board held special meetings last Friday and Saturday to interview candidates, according to the board’s meeting agenda.

Thomas could not be reached for comment.