Belleville District 118 superintendent will not seek re-appointment

Longtime Belleville District 118 superintendent Matt Klosterman told the school board Tuesday that he will finish his four-year contract but not seek another. Meanwhile, the boatrd approved contracts with three unions representing nearly 400 district employees.

Klosterman said after the meeting that the three-year contract means about a 1.5 percent pay increase for each year of the contract. About 250 teachers, about 85 paraprofessionals, 37 custodians, 11 building administrators and 10 principals are represented under the contracts. Union representatives were not at the meeting.

The board met in closed session for 45 minutes before voting to accept the contracts.

The Tuesday evening meeting started off with resignation announcements, including that of the superintendent himself. Klosterman will finish out his four-year contract but will not seek another.

“It’s not been an easy decision for me but it’s time,” he told the board on Monday. Klosterman said his family, including his three sons, have long been a part of District 118.

“I can’t imagine working anywhere else. I hope to finish my career here,” he said. “Four years is a long time but it also goes by so fast.”

The announcement was made close to the start of the board meeting, after Klosterman told the board that the district had more than 95 percent attendance on the first day of school and that the district could be looking at an additional $1.4 million in state aid this year over last year.

In a largely jovial meeting, the board hired several teachers, paraprofessionals and administrative assistants.

New hires include: Marla Weis, a district part-time music teacher; Alexandria Allen as a kindergarten teacher at Westhaven; Kacie Wall as a district social worker; and Sarah Lanxon as a parent educator in prekindergarten.

Kristina Hebel was hired as a part-time reading teacher working with parochial schools within the district, and will be paid $25 per hour with a maximum salary of $10,000 for the school year. She will receive no other district-paid benefits.

Kathy Neu, a retired District teacher, is hired for one day a week at $300 to assist children with hearing disabilities. She will receive no other district paid benefits. Danielle Makina was hired as a social studies teacher for one class and response-to-intervention paraprofessional for the rest of the day;

The board went into closed session at about 8:45 p.m. to discuss litigation and contracts.

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 12:28 PM with the headline "Belleville District 118 superintendent will not seek re-appointment."