Porter Township Schools superintendent departs on cusp of building projects

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Updated: March 21, 2012 8:07AM

The Porter Township School Board accepted the resignation of Superintendent Nick Brown on Thursday.

Brown leaves June 30 for Hawthorn District 73 in Vernon Hills, Ill., about the time that the Porter Township Schools begin major construction projects at Boone Grove Middle School and Boone Grove High School.

And it’s before the school system redistricts in the fall, using Porter Lakes Elementary School for kindergarten through third grade and Boone Grove Elementary School for fourth and fifth grades to alleviate oversized classrooms.

“It is a new challenge, professional challenge,” Brown said about his new position.

The Chicago north suburban school Brown is leaving for is a kindergarten to eighth-grade district with about 4,000 students.

He hadn’t planned on moving after seven years at Porter Township Schools, but he saw the position and applied, he said.

His wife, who teaches in the local district, will remain until their daughter, who will be a junior next year, graduates.

The board also approved hiring Exec Connect of Illinois in the superintendent search, the choice of three headhunting firms the board met with earlier this month.

The process includes resident input and is expected to result in a hiring the week of April 16.

The timeline is on the district’s website.

The board also approved looking for bids for Phase I of the construction projects, which begin before the new superintendent begins July 1.

The projects are expected to be finished when school begins in the fall. Each is under $2 million, so they don’t need to go to referendum.

The high school project is estimated to cost $1.99 million, and the middle school project is at $1.8 million.

“We think we have a good chance of coming below (estimates) since the market is so competitive,” Brown said. Because of this, the school district will seek long-term borrowing once the bids are in to avoid over-borrowing.

Work includes repaving parking lots and taking care of flooding problems.

On April 26, the board will have a public hearing for Phase II of work on the schools — two more projects less than $2 million each.

Phase II includes roof and air conditioning work at the high school and ventilation, kitchen and technology upgrades for the middle school, plus some classroom renovations.

The school district plans to begin Phase II after completing Phase I.