During its April 21 meeting, the District 97 Board of Education approved the appointment of Felicia Starks Turner as the district’s Associate Superintendent of Education. She will oversee the district’s Business Office and the Student and Administrative Services Department, which were combined as part of a central office reorganization plan approved by the board on April 7.
Starks Turner, who currently serves as the Senior Director of Student and Administrative Services, will assume her new role on May 1, 2020.
During the April 21 board meeting, the board also approved the appointment of Patrick King, the district’s current director of finance, as the senior director of finance, effective July 1, 2020.
Additional details about the reorganization, which includes changes to both the District 97 Business Office and Human Resources Department, are included below.
Business Office
During the 2019-20 school year, the District 97 Business Office was led by Interim Chief School Business Official (CSBO) Mark Sheahan, and King assisted with the management of the district’s financial operations.
Rather than seeking a new Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, the district has eliminated the position and created the role of Associate Superintendent of Education to oversee both the Business Office and the Student and Administrative Services Department.
Superintendent Carol Kelley said that Starks Turner has the necessary leadership skills and experience to manage both departments and establish a positive working environment in the Business Office, which has experienced a significant amount of change over the past several years.
“Dr. Starks Turner has been an exemplary educator and administrator in District 97 for more than two decades,” Kelley said. “I am confident that her vision and talent will provide stability to the Business Office as they work to strengthen their processes and maintain the district’s strong financial health.”
Starks Turner said she is excited to take on her new position this spring.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my work with the Student and Administrative Services Department, and I am grateful for the opportunity to expand my role,” she said. “I look forward to working with both teams to ensure the continued success of our students, staff and schools.”
Other changes to the Business Office include:
- King will become the Senior Director of Finance, overseeing the district’s budget, food services, accounts payable, payroll and transportation. He has significant financial experience, and is currently completing courses at Northern Illinois University to earn his CSBO endorsement.
- The Business Office will hire a Transportation and Payroll Coordinator to support the work of our current Payroll Specialist and manage the district’s transportation services.
Human Resources
The reorganization of Central Office include the following changes in Human Resources:
- The department will add a new position, HR Coordinator - Strategic Partnerships and Recruitment, to assist in the development of a Human Capital Management Plan. The role will oversee strategic university partnerships and recruitment efforts to improve the diversity of our workforce, specifically focusing on candidates and new hires of color.
- Cathy Hamilton, the district’s former Administrator of Substitutes and Teacher Assistants, retired in January 2020. That role will be eliminated, with most of its responsibilities being assigned to the new role of HR Coordinator - Substitutes and Systems.
- Shifting the two current HR Coordinators to HR Managers (TRS and IMRF) to encompass additional responsibilities, including benefits and retirement planning.
- The department will eliminate one of its three administrative assistant positions, and one (registrar) will move to Student and Administrative Services.
- The registrar will work with the Student Information and Registration Manager Liz Battaglia to ensure an efficient and effective registration process.
- The remaining HR administrative assistant will be the receptionist for the district office.
The reorganization plan will result in a savings of $107,868 in fiscal year 2021.
About Felicia Starks Turner
Felicia Starks Turner has held a number of positions in District 97. She was the assistant principal at Longfellow Elementary School from 1995 to 1999, and the principal at Irving Elementary School from 1999 to 2005. She then moved to Central Office, where she has held several leadership positions.
Starks Turner has a bachelor's degree in education and a master’s degree in school administration from Bradley University. She holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
About Patrick King
Patrick King joined District 97 in June 2019 after serving two years as the director of financial reporting for the Cook County Comptroller’s Office. Prior to that, he spent six years at the firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (three years as a manager and three as a senior accountant). He was also an internal auditor for the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund for two years and a senior audit/tax associate for CBIZ MHM, LLC for four years.
King has a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.