DeKalb School District 428 won’t move forward with associate superintendent job

DeKALB – DeKalb School District 428 won’t move forward with plans to consider creating a new associate superintendent job, the board member who proposed the idea said this week.

Discussion on the topic was not listed on Tuesday’s meeting agenda, despite school officials indicating at their March 4 meeting that a potential decision would be postponed until this week.

Board Vice President Christopher Boyes, whose idea it was to consider a second in command, said the job proposal was withdrawn from the meeting agenda for consideration.

“There are times where we as board members, we as board people, we’ve missed the mark,” Boyes said. “I thought I had a great idea. It was something that I thought was good, and I threw it out there. Once I talked with people within the district, I talked with people within our community, and I talked with people just all over, I realized, hey, it’s not the time, it’s not the place for this role.”

The position, as drafted, would have come with $223,748 in total salary and benefits, school board documents show. If the duties were filled this school year, it would have cost the district $74,869.

The duties outlined in the job description for the associate superintendent position already largely fall under the purview of the district’s superintendent, officials said.

Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez’s contract previously was extended by the District 428 board in February 2024. That contract won’t expire until 2026.

It’s not yet known if the district or Garcia-Sanchez will pursue renewing that contract once it expires.

Garcia-Sanchez was not immediately available for comment.

Boyes said he regrets his decision to float an associate superintendent job proposal before the board.

“I just will, full transparency, admit I missed the mark on this one,” Boyes said. “I thought that it was something that would be a bigger support for the district.”