School District Supt. Leaving Over Freshman Campus Spat
DOLTON, Ill. (WBBM) -- Voters' anger over a plan to convert a south suburban high school into a freshmen-only campus has prompted the departure of the district's superintendent.
District 205 Superintendent Kamala Buckner says she may have taken different courses of action, reflecting on the election of three new school board members who oppose turning Thornridge into a freshmen center.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Nancy Harty reports
Podcast
Buckner says she is leaving at the end of the school year but doesn't want the district to stop thinking of new ways to raise low test scores.
An estimated 43 percent of incoming freshmen read at the 5th grade level.
She says "bold and radical" changes are uncomfortable, but necessary.
Buckner says abandoning the freshmen center jeopardizes a $18 million federal grant and puts in limbo plans for summer school.
The three new school board members are expected to be sworn in on May 3 or 11 and Buckner's last day is slated for the end of June.
She graduated from Thornton Township High School and has worked in District 205 for her entire career.
