At midnight tonight, a 36-year tradition comes to an end. Charles J. Caruso steps down from the helm of Deerfield schools.
Thirty-six years on any job is remarkable. But it is almost unheard of in the hot seat of a school superintendency.
Yet Caruso, 61, has filled that top spot in the same district longer than any other superintendent currently serving in Illinois, according to the State Board of Education.
”The average tenure of a superintendent is about three years,” said Lake County School Superintendent Sybil Yastrow, marveling at the
accomplishment.
Superintendents` positions are tenuous because ”you don`t get a lot of security when working with school boards,” Yastrow said.
”The district always knew it had someone special,” said board President Libby Savner, a 12-year board veteran. ”He never got stale.”
Reflecting back through the years, Caruso said the challenges he faced on the job came more from the outside world than from within the district.
”Every societal blip, be it the civil rights movement or single-parent homes, has an impact on the schools,” he said.
Education evolved from a strictly academic focus to an emphasis on preparing kids for life, he said: ”No longer are studies limited to reading and writing. We have to teach students they can get venereal disease or get pregnant.”
During Caruso`s tenure, Deerfield went from a rural, Christian community to a pluralistic culture with a wide set of values, he said.
”When I first started, we did more on Christmas than the churches,” he said. ”We had to figure out how to handle religion in the schools.”
Even though he has been through some controversial times and made some unpopular decisions, Caruso has collected a long list of admirers who say he is intelligent, unafraid to speak his mind and who credit his longevity to a strong ability to work with people.
”He is a great problem solver with a unique ability to communicate with people,” Yastrow said.
When pressed to name his greatest achievements, Caruso agreed his strength is dealing with people.
”I`m not confrontational. I`m a person who listens and I`m accessible,” he said. ”I provided the leadership that allowed us to go through those changes without letting them tear us apart. I provided a balance.”
Caruso is an educator as well as an administrator, according to State Superintendent Robert Leininger. ”A lot of superintendents are just administrators. They don`t know about the programs like Chuck does,” he said. Leininger, a former school superintendent himself, said the two worked on committees together as members of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. He called Caruso a leader who would readily speak out at a meeting if he disagreed. ”Chuck is free with advice, whether you want it or not,” Leininger said affectionately. ”He was not afraid to tell me when he thought I was going the wrong direction.”
Caruso`s rise to the top was quick. In 1953, at age 24, he was hired to teach 5th grade in then-District 110, and two years later he was the district`s superintendent, a pace that he said ”could never happen today.”
”Back then Deerfield was a teeny tiny town with only 5,000 people,” he said. ”The district consisted of one school with 250 kids and 10 teachers.” The town also had a second school district, No. 109, that operated one school on the east side. At the end of his second year as teacher, the District 110 superintendent left unexpectedly and Caruso was picked to take his place. In 1978 the two Deerfield districts consolidated into one called 109, with Caruso at the helm.
Caruso`s 36-year tenure was not always smooth. At first, ”Deerfield started to grow like crazy,” he said, and the district grew right along with it, opening more schools, reaching eight elementary and two junior high schools in its prime. But the growth pattern was like a roller-coaster ride that soon took a downward plunge.
The district responded by closing schools, eventually cutting the number of elementary schools in half, from eight to four. Caruso called closing schools the toughest decisions in his almost four decades in the office.
”Shrinking down is hard because no matter what you do, somebody`s hurt. You can`t convince people who bought a house one block from the school that now their children have to travel a mile to school.”
There were other unpopular decisions as well, notably tax-increase referenda to promote to residents, but they paled in comparison to closing schools, Caruso said. ”It`s not exciting to tell homeowners you want to raise their taxes, but at least you know it will help the kids.”
Nor were his decisions always well accepted. When Caruso recently denied a parent petition requesting that 6th graders play competitive sports, the rejected parents responded that they look forward to the new superintendent taking over so they might get what they want.
Another change for the district came six years ago when teachers formally organized into a union and negotiated a joint contract for the first time.
”He (Caruso) is a tough negotiator,” said Deerfield teacher Bonnie Meyers, who was president of the union during its first two years. ”It had to be difficult getting used to the teachers being organized after all those years without it,” she said. ”The teachers had to show him we wanted to work together and, once he saw that, the relationship was positive. By the time my term was over we had all really grown.
”The teachers respect him,” Meyers said. ”It would be hard to be popular under such circumstances, but they really respect him.”
Except for the first few years of his tenure, Caruso has lived in Deerfield, a situation that has often turned trips to the grocery store into impromptu discussions with members of the community.
Board President Savner praised Caruso for living in his district, saying
”many superintendents are not willing to give up privacy and freedom, but he (Caruso) enjoys it.”
In-district residency has meant being under a close hometown scrutiny for Caruso`s wife also. Dorothy Caruso said she often felt the pressure related to her husband`s role in the community, but that it was felt strongest by her when the two districts consolidated into one.
”Not everyone was happy about the change. Some of the people in the other district were warm and welcoming, but others were not. I have a great sadness about that even today,” she said. ”I would feel it more at gatherings. We were the new guys coming in from a comfortable position and I could sense that not everyone liked it.”
Not that this soured her feelings toward her husband`s career. ”It`s been wonderful,” she said. ”I have loved every minute.”
Caruso still has energy for the job. He is in good health and four years away from the official retirement age of 65. Why is he leaving now?
Pensions are frozen after 38 years of service. ”When I got near that magic number, people started asking me when I was going to retire, and I began to think it might be time.”
Come Monday morning, July 1, District 109 will be headed by Glenn ”Max” McGee, who comes to Deerfield after five years as Aptikisic-Tripp District 102 superintendent.
Caruso`s advice for his successor?
”Move slowly. The district doesn`t need a shaking up, so he (McGee)
should become familiar with the community before making any changes,” he said. ”He won`t have to come in and do surgery. Band-Aids, yes.”
Caruso is less certain about what his own future holds.
”I`m going to see what the first couple of months are like,” he said, admitting that he worries about the retirement horror stories he`s heard about people who are lost once they turn in the office keys.
”What scares me is that my life now is programmed automatically by meetings on this job. When I don`t have that, will I have enough going? I have to figure out how to run my own life.”
First on the agenda, golf and tennis are planned for every day this summer. He and wife Dorothy have three children and four grandchildren, all living in different areas, so they plan to spend more time traveling to see them. After that, Caruso figures he will hold some sort of job, adding that he has already received consulting offers.
One thing is certain: The people of Deerfield will not soon forget Charles Caruso. A grateful School Board made certain of that. The board surprised Caruso at a farewell reception in May by announcing it will change the name of Wilmot Junior High School to the Charles J. Caruso Junior High School.
Which school to rename was easy because Caruso lives at the edge of the school that will carry his name. He`ll be able to look out over his yard and say, ”That school is named after me.” And for generations to come, the Caruso name will carry on, on diplomas, school jackets and chants from the cheerleaders shouting, ”Go Caruso, Go.”
