The Avoca District 37 School Board plans to hire former Superintendent Joseph Porto to mentor his successor, Kevin Jauch, at a cost not to exceed $6,000 this school year.
Under the agreement, which could be approved Thursday by the School Board, the former and current superintendents would meet twice a month from August to September and once a month from January to June. Porto’s firm, JMP Consulting, would be paid at a rate of $135 per hour.
Porto retired June 30 after nine years at the helm of the small 640-pupil district, which serves portions of Wilmette, Glenview, Winnetka and Northfield. He announced in 2008 that he planned to step down in mid-2011 when he became eligible for maximum retirement benefits with 35 years of service credit.
The School Board in December tapped Jauch, then principal of the district’s Avoca West School, to succeed Porto after casting a wide net in a national search that attracted 72 applicants. Porto is credited with dramatically improving student achievement in the district after the School Board adopted a business-oriented model for continuous improvement, based on Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great.
The School Board is expected to approve the mentoring arrangement during its regular board meeting Thursday, which starts at 6:30 p.m. in the community room at Marie Murphy School, 2921 Illinois Road, Wilmette.
