Flossmoor School District 161 Board of Education plans to hire three new assistant principals in 2024.The district will begin the search to fill new assistant principal positions at Flossmoor Hills and Heather Hill elementary schools on Dec. 19.
The district also will be hiring an assistant principal to fill a vacancy at Serena Hills Elementary. After a lengthy hiring process, training for the new administrators is scheduled to begin in July.
“I expect to have a good number of internal candidates for these positions,” said Superintendent Dana Smith. “I really want to make sure that we’re picking people who are going to advance the work that we are trying to do and be able to support teachers, students and families at a higher level.”
Board documents stated that “the addition will increase response to student academic and behavioral needs and collaboration time with teachers to continue improving instruction. The assistant principals will also facilitate Individualized Education Plan/504 meetings and help address the special education needs of the building.”
The addition of assistant principals at district elementary schools is expected to allow more time for principals to complete their other responsibilities. By collaboratively distributing the workload, the district aims to empower administrators to more effectively address the diverse needs of families within the district.
The annual salary of an assistant principal in District 161 is approximately $80,000 to $90,000.In other news, the Dec. 5 meeting of the board served as a hearing for the 2023 tax levy. The board voted unanimously to approve the recommendations made by Associate Superintendent Frances LaBella.
Under the guidance of LaBella, the board voted to adopt the 2023 property tax levy and accept the 2024 Property Tax Relief Grant in the amount of $1,914,461. The district will abate $2,069,858 for two years in conjunction with the 2024 Property Tax Relief Grant.
There is also a plan to abate the revenue recapture funds from the Senate Bill 508 legislation. The board will vote to approve this abatement in January because the Cook County Clerk has not released the amount of the abatement yet.
The levy was discussed in greater detail at previous meetings.