The decision by Dist. 200 Supt. Attila Weninger to retire at the end of the school year did not surprise members of the school board but was a disappointment to several of them.

Weninger, 58, had been in talks with the District 200 Oak Park and River Forest High School Board of Education since late summer on a contract extension, but those closed-session negotiations did not produce a new deal. Instead, he'll work through the end of his current three-year contract which concludes on June 30.

Weninger's backers on the board portrayed him as decisive and in the words of Jacques Conway, a school board member, being "willing to step on the toes of the adults at OPRF. He didn't mind taking a bullet. He was a leader. He made tough choices."

By contrast, Dietra Millard, currently the school board president, said the board will look for a new superintendent who can both make tough decisions while also engaging all of the school's various "stakeholder' groups.

Wednesday Journal has learned that board members Conway, John Allen and Ralph Lee supported Weninger staying on as superintendent. As the African-American members on the board, all three stressed that their support for Weninger was not only for his work in addressing the achievement gap and those students-particularly black males-caught in the gap, but for a range of issues.

Speaking to the Journal Monday, Allen expressed disappointment and said Weninger's retirement was a bad outcome for the district. He described Weninger as a good leader, having done what the board asked him to do in areas such as addressing the achievement and discipline gaps at OPRF.

Allen said he developed a good working relationship with Weninger, namely on the race discussion workshops conducted by the board in 2008, and the new hiring procedures for administrators the board is currently hashing out, among other initiatives. Allen maintained that Weninger made tough decisions that weren't always supported by some stakeholder groups. He's also concerned whether the school will be able to find another strong leader and a person who'll be able to please everyone.

"I think we have to ask ourselves how committed are we to actually solving these problems. And if we're not, then we've been wasting our time these last two years, and I didn't join the board to waste my time," said Allen, who was elected in 2007, the same year Weninger was hired.

Allen added that the next superintendent will have to be mindful of upsetting certain stakeholder groups.

"If you make tough decisions and get fired, then why make the tough decisions?" Allen asked.

But Millard, the board president, stressed that the next superintendent will have to be someone who's capable of working with all stakeholders. She said Weninger did many things well, including identifying programs to help those students with achievement issues. As for working with and bringing stakeholder groups together, she credited Weninger for attempting to do that, but noted that some groups didn't always feel they were listened to. Millard also feels the school will find a strong leader who can make tough decisions and still garner broad stakeholder support.

"I do believe that incorporating all stakeholders-and those would be the community, parents, students, administration and faculty - as a team is critical to succeeding," she said. "The strongest element of effective leadership is mutual respect, persuasion and delegation of democracy. Those would be the key factors we're going to look at in the next superintendent."

She added that the school will look for someone with a proven track record in working with various stakeholder groups, as well as "tested experience" in raising academic achievement.

Millard, who was elected in 2005, maintained that the board does not make decisions based on race, including in deliberations about the superintendent's contract.

"No vote was taken and it was ultimately his decision to retire, and we didn't make it for him. We're all concerned about achievement-black and white," she said. "Our decisions are made as a board. They're based on what each member feels, whether we're talking about retaining administrators or about a program. All of us are trying to look at the benefits and risks of what we're doing. No decisions are made along racial lines."

Allen agreed that everyone is concerned about achievement for all students, but acknowledged that the status of black males at the high school was of notable concern for him and the other two African-American board members.

Weninger would not discuss what occurred in the closed session contract talks, but rejected any suggestion that he didn't work well with stakeholder groups. He insisted that he had made the necessary tough decisions that needed to be made while also listening to certain groups. He said he didn't overrule any groups' views.

"I think my ability to make a decision and stick with that decision, even if some or many people didn't always didn't agree with it, I don't think that was something the school was used to," said Weninger, stressing that he has enjoyed his time in the district and is looking forward to working the rest of the school year.

He maintained that he and the board are strongly committed to leading the district until his retirement next June.

"I have a responsibility to the board and to the district, and I'm going fulfill that responsibility as much if not more than what I've done in the past two years," he said. "I'm not the kind of person who sits back and says, 'Well, now I'm going to retire and I can put in on cruise control.' That's not me."

Board member Ralph Lee said he's disappointed in Weninger's decision to retire. Lee, who was elected in 2007, said the superintendent has accomplished a great deal during his tenure.

He cited Weninger's effort in shifting the focus of student discipline at OPRF from simply punishing bad behavior to improving behavior. Lee, a retired OPRF teacher, said that while administering consequences is still a necessary and important function, the change was a good new direction for the school. The dramatic drop in expulsions in the last two years is an indication of that change, Lee noted. Four students were expelled last year, an increase of just one from the year prior. Before that, as Lee recalled, expulsions had been in the high double digits.

Another accomplishment of Weninger, said Lee, was changing the school's data system by creating the chief information officer position to oversee that department. This move should allow the school to demonstrate with statistics what improvements it's making in areas such as the closing the achievement gap, Lee said.

Concerning Weninger's eventual replacement, Lee would like to see that person continue in the direction set forth by Weninger.

Conway, also disappointed in the decision, said Weninger did an excellent job making necessary changes at the school, one area being increasing diversity among administration.

"I enjoyed working with him and it's going to be a hard task to find someone as hardworking and sharp as he is," Conway said.

But Wyanetta Johnson, president of APPLE (African-American Parents for Purposeful Leadership in Education), says Weninger's choice to retire is a good idea. A vocal critic of the superintendent, Johnson says she's going to work hard with the school to hire someone who will work with everyone. She said she wants the board to hire someone younger and with fresh ideas, but also with some experience.

CONTACT: tdean@wjinc.com