DeKalb district administrator Tim Vincent named Superintendent of Galena Public Schools

DeKALB – Tim Vincent is headed back to his hometown, and will resign as a District 428 administrator after he was named superintendent of Galena Public Schools.

"As much as Galena is a dream job for me and checks a lot of boxes, it's going to be a bittersweet transition because of all the positive things that are going on with DeKalb," Vincent, director of curriculum and instruction for District 428, said Thursday. "I plan to support the transition as much as I can."

Vincent, 39, and his wife Lindsy Vincent, a kindergarten teacher at North Grove Elementary School in Sycamore, both grew up in Galena, and have family there. Vincent said he's looking forward to returning to his roots and for their three young children to be closer to their grandparents. Former Galena Superintendent Greg Herbst resigned in November, Vincent said. According to a report from the Galena Gazette, Vincent's hire was approved unanimously by the Galena school board this week, with a $140,000 salary.

"It's always been a conversation in our family to move back to Galena if the right opportunity came up," Vincent said. "I decided to throw my hat in for that and it just worked out."

A three-time Northern Illinois University graduate, Vincent's been with District 428 for 16 years, and was appointed as the districtwide Director of Curriculum and Instruction in May of 2019, with a salary of $130,200.

Prior to that, he worked at Clinton Rosette Middle School for 15 years. After graduating with his bachelors degree from NIU in 2003, worked as a science teacher for four years, then an eighth grade math teacher for two years before transitioning to building principal until his promotion last year. In between, he also received his masters from NIU in 2007, and his superintendent certification in 2016.

In his new administrator role in DeKalb, he's also been tasked with overseeing the school improvement plans for a number of D-428 schools designated "low-performing" or "underperforming" by the Illinois State Board of Education.

Over the past year, the school's have participated in a planning year to raise the scores. Vincent was also instrumental in appealing to the school board to approve $1.1 million worth of new hires.

He said he doesn't want the district to lose momentum as he and superintendent Jamie Craven work to fill his soon-to-be vacant role. Vincent said his position was posted Thursday, and the goal is to have a new person hired within a month so Vincent can help with the transition.

Craven said while he's happy for Vincent's next steps, he'll be sorry to see him go. Vincent's DeKalb position will be open to both internal and external hires, Craven said.

"Tim's been an integral part of the DeKalb system for a long time," Craven said. "And he's defiintely served the district and community well. We certainly wish him the best of luck."

His last day on the job in DeKalb will be June 20, and he'll begin in Galena July 1.

"I loved DeKalb," Vincent said, who moved to the area for college in 1999. "It really comes down to the people in the DeKalb-Sycamore area. A lot of those same relationships are still in place, so it's something that's going to be tough to leave."