After searching for about four months to find a new leader for its schools, the St. Charles Community Unit School District Board of Education has found the person for the job.
Last week, the board hired Donald Schlomann, who is currently the superintendent for Belvidere (Illinois) Community Unit School District 100. He has held the post since June 2002.
Schlomann, 50, will replace Barbara Erwin who is set to retire Saturday, Aug. 4. She has been the superintendent since July 2004. He begins his duties Sunday, July 1.
“St. Charles is a wonderful community and has a wonderful district,” Schlomann said. “This is a chance for me to advance my horizons professionally.”
He said he chose to come to St. Charles because the city is much like the Belvidere community.
“The district in St. Charles has many of the same attributes as Belvidere does,” he said. “It is a small community that is growing quite rapidly but still maintains that small community feel.”
On Monday , March 19, the School Board unanimously approved a three-year contract with Schlomann. According to the contract, his salary is $225,000. In addition, he will get an automobile allowance of $7,200 per year and the School District will reimburse the cost of a cellular telephone and monthly cell phone bills which he will use for both district and personal business, the contract states.
While at Belvidere, Schlomann said he led four referendum measure efforts in five years which resulted in adding a high school and an elementary school, including additions and remodeling to existing schools. Within the next two years, District 303 may seek a referendum to build a fourth middle school.
Schlomann was also the lead negotiator of two teacher contracts and initiated monthly meetings with union representatives to resolve potential conflicts. Teacher contracts at District 303 expire this year.
He said he also improved communications by coordinating monthly meetings focused on common needs. School Board President Bobbie Raehl said the top characteristics the School Board was seeking in a new leader was someone who inspires trust, self-confidence and models high standards of integrity and personal performance with the ability to develop and communicate a vision of quality education for the future to the board, staff and community.
Raehl said Schlomann is a good fit for the School District.
“We found out during the interview process, he is multifaceted,” Raehl said Monday. “He has hands-on experience in finance and in curriculum and instruction. He’s also a very good communicator.
“He is a man of integrity. He is well liked in his district and those are the positive characteristics we saw in Dr. Schlomann.”
He is married and has two college-age children.
An educated choice
Before Donald Schlomann was superintendent for Belvidere Community Unit School District 100, he worked two years as the vice president of School Specialty in Appleton, Wis. While there, he managed the development of a new division for a large company to deliver services to schools through the Internet. From July 1996 to July 2000, Schlomann was the assistant superintendent for curriculum at Appleton Area School District. And from November 1992 to July 1996, Schlomann managed a $100 million dollar budget and ancillary services while working as the assistant superintendent for business services at Appleton. He said he started his career teaching math and economics at the high school level in Madison, Wis.
Schlomann holds a bachelor of science degree in economics and a master of science degree in business, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds a doctorate degree in education from the same university.
