Unit 4 Faces Gap in Filling Permanent Superintendent Position

Champaign's interim school superintendent says the search for a permanent superintendent is going well.

Dr. Robert Malito said he expects his permanent replacement to be on the job this summer. But Malito said he will have to step down about six months earlier. As a retired superintendent, he can only work as a school administrator for 100 days a year. So, Malito has been working just a few days a week to make his contract with Unit 4 last as long as possible. Still, he said he plans to make sure the district is headed in the right direction when he steps down.

"It's like almost a bus trip," Malito said. "We're 70% there, the bus is running well, the driver is going well, the focus is correct, we just have to finish out the trip. And so, someone else will probably finish out the school year on behalf of Unit Four."

Malito expects to leave Unit 4 in January, about the same time a new superintendent is chosen. But he said that person will likely have an existing contract that prevents him or her from coming to Champaign before the end of June. Malito said the Unit Four School Board will be exploring all options for another interim superintendent for the spring semester.

In the meantime, Malito said the executive search firm School Exec Connect has so far fielded 45-to-50 applications for the Unit 4 superintendent position. The deadline for applications is Oct. 28. Malito said that during November and December, the school board will hold private interviews with seven finalists from the pool of applicants, and the top two or three will be brought to Champaign to meet the public.

The new Champaign school superintendent will succeed Arthur Culver, who stepped down last summer after managing the school district for nine years. Culver recently took over as the superintendent of the troubled East St. Louis school district.