Kevin Skinkis is in his 14th year as superintendent of Riverside Brookfield High School District 208. The Riverside-Brookfield Landmark sat down with Skinkis last week to discuss various topics, including the state of the district, his recent contract extension and feedback from a March school board candidate forum.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Q. What is the current state of District 208?
A. District 208 is in a very solid position. Our financials are solid, we have strong labor relations, we’re currently on a new contract extension for teachers and we are a wall-to-wall union, which means all of our different labor positions are in one union. Students, staff and family engagement is great. Over 70% of our students are involved in at least one extra-curricular activity outside of the school day. So, I think the current state of RB is in a very good place.
Q. RBHS received Exemplary designation from Illinois State Board of Education in both 2023 and 2024. How does that rank among your accomplishments in your tenure here?
A. I think it’s a huge accomplishment for the school district, but most importantly it’s a huge accomplishment for the students and the staff because they put the work in every day. I think it’s a testament to what we are doing here and how we are working with our students, and how our staff is committed to student success. It’s a reward for the community, because the better your schools are, the better your property values are. We have a great community that always gives to the high school.
Q. One of the things that came up at the school board candidate forum last month, hosted by the RB Music & Theatre Sponsors, is the need for increased two-way communications with the community. Do you agree or disagree with that?
A. It’s actually a Board of Education goal. We’re in our second year of it. [Community engagement coordinator] Kiley Fletcher is in her second year, and there is always room for improvement, but I think we’ve made some significant strides in two-way communication. Our social media presence is very strong. This year alone we’ve had five Parent Universities, where parents and students can come in and learn about topics that specifically will impact their student or their family. We’ve done four feedback surveys on various events that we’ve hosted to try to improve. How can we get better? You can always do better, and again, that’s one particular group’s maybe opinion, but it’s definitely a focus of ours.
Q. Your contract was extended early, approved in February. How did that come about?
A. I had one more year remaining on my existing contract. It’s fairly common for the superintendent and board, if things are going in a good direction, to try to renew the superintendent so they’re not in their last year, kind of like a lame duck, and so the board and I engaged in those conversations. They felt that I met all my goals. It took six or eight weeks to discuss it. Feb. 11 is when it was approved. I know it was a point of topic, like, “Well, we didn’t know about it.” It was on the agenda.
Q. Were you surprised that came up (at the candidate forum)?
A. You don’t negotiate in public. That’s not something that occurs. As long as it’s listed on the public agenda. In closed session is when I was having my discussions with the board and the board president, my attorney, with the board’s attorney. I have a great relationship with the board and we’ve done some really good things together. They’ve put a lot of time in, and I’ve put in a lot of time in with them and I think that’s why things have gone so well. A lot of the work that we do at our advisory councils and the regular Friday updates I send them to keep them informed, I think that’s why our meetings do run rather smooth.
Q. Perhaps not surprisingly, there were varying opinions at the forum regarding the top priority for the superintendent. What do you see as your top priority?
A. I think the focus over the next five years, we really are starting to move forward to career pathway for students. We have a very strong academic program here at Riverside-Brookfield. We’ve always been known for our AP program, where kids can earn college credits and have those credits transfer into whatever colleges or universities they attend. But what we’ve really started to make a push for is on the career pathway side of working with Triton and trying to identify with our local junior college pathways for students to where they can earn college credit while attending RB, and also coming out with some endorsements or certifications that can help them identify a career pathway. We’ve also started a partnership with the local plumber’s union. We just finished our second year of a pre-apprenticeship program so that they can get into the plumber’s union upon graduation. They earn points toward their apprentice test that they’ll take with the plumber’s union, so we’re trying to establish more relationships like that with the local trade unions.
If we talk about the focus is just really trying to get kids career pathway exposure and get them some opportunities, we just put in this dual enrollment program over the last two years. We’re paying for students, half of their day they are taking their classes here, the other half they go to Triton. We pay for their transportation, we pay for the classes, we have some students that are getting certified as nursing assistants. We had 13 students get certified in welding. We have another group of students that are taking criminal justice. One of programs that Triton offers in this dual enrollment, career academies we are a partnership with is fire science. If students want to take the EMT certification and the introduction to fire science at Triton, the high school will help pay for it, and this way, it’s another career pathway that we can help some of our local fire departments start creating a pipeline for future candidates.
Q. You were named 2025 Superintendent of Distinction by colleagues in the West Cook Region of the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA). What about your educational philosophy contributed to that award?
A. I think my educational philosophy has always been transparency and always students first. I think it’s an honor to be nominated for that award from my colleagues in West40, and I think my relationship with them and working with them now for over 14 years of just seeing that we always put the best interests of students first. Finding an opportunity for every student, finding ways to help every kid, working with our staff to make sure there is something for students and their interests after school. Always putting students first so they can grow, not only intellectually, but socially and emotionally.
Q. As a superintendent, how do you handle pushback from the board on a given issue? If the board doesn’t agree with a recommendation, what do you do next?
A. We have a couple of different layers in place so that we really shouldn’t be bringing something to the board unless we have really vetted it through the administration, through a board advisory council. So, when I go to those different meetings and we’re pitching ideas or strategies and there is hesitance from a board member or there are concerns, “Financially, can we sustain that?” Then we go back to the drawing board. That’s where a superintendent has to be able to navigate more than just knowing how to play school. You really do need to know how to build relationships with people, and how to problem-solve and critically think, and compromise.
