When the 2009-10 school year dawns, Lyons Township High School District 204 will have a new superintendent – someone with a familiar face.
The school board at its March 9 meeting announced the appointment of Tim Kilrea to the superintendent’s posting, replacing Dennis Kelly, who is retiring after a 17-year run at LTHS.
Kilrea, 44, is District 204’s director of human resources, a post he has held for the past two years. The district’s previous HR director, Attila Weninger, left the district to become superintendent at Oak Park and River Forest High School.
“Tim embodied everything we wanted in a superintendent,” said District 204 board President Mark Pera. “He’s young, energetic and has fresh ideas. He also has a broad range of experience.”
Kilrea was chosen from a field of five finalists, according to Pera.
Prior to coming to LTHS two years ago, Kilrea had been a teacher and administrator during a 20-year career in education. Most recently, Kilrea was assistant superintendent at Thornton Fractional Township District 215 after serving for one year as principal at Thornton Fractional South High School.
Prior to that he worked in the Lincoln-Way High School district for 15 years, first as a history teacher and later as assistant dean of students, social science department chairman, coordinator for deans/director of student activities and associate principal for curriculum and instruction.
Kilrea holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education from the University of Illinois, a master’s degree in educational administration from Governor’s State University and a Ph.D. in educational administration from Illinois State University.
The married father of two girls will be paid $190,000 as LTHS’ superintendent.
According to Kelly, Kilrea is an excellent communicator whose array of experiences will help him adapt to the top job in District 204.
“He’s a very personable guy and the kind of person who communicates well,” Kelly said. “He’s had a lot of experience in a variety of positions, so he can not only put the pieces together, but he can see the full picture and knows what the details should look like.”
Kilrea said that when he came to LTHS two years ago the superintendent’s job wasn’t on his radar. That changed, he said, after the district hosted community forums in early 2008 to define the kind of person district residents, students and staff wanted in a new superintendent.
“When I saw what the community wanted, I felt I had those qualities,” Kilrea said. “And I knew that, eventually, I wanted to be a superintendent.”
While Kilrea’s first official day as superintendent won’t be until July 1, both he and Kelly have already begun working together on the transition.
“For the next four months Tim and I will be joined at the hip,” Kelly said. “On a daily basis, he’ll be handling issues related to the job.”
Kilrea said that some of the challenges that lie ahead include coping with the general economic downturn and its effect on school funding. But Kilrea said that his number one philosophy will be to make decisions with the welfare of students in mind.
“We need to keep our eyes on students,” Kilrea said. “That is going to be the underlying tenant of the decisions we make.”
The board’s decision to hire Kilrea caps a year-long search process, in which the district enlisted the firm of Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates to find candidates for the job.
The district agreed last March to a contract that would pay the search firm up to $25,000 for their services. To date, the district has paid the company $17,000, according to Jennifer Bialobok, community relations coordinator at LTHS.