Arthur Jones arrived at Lake Forest School District 67 as a sea captain gaining command of a schooner in the midst of a hurricane. The district’s direction was of secondary concern to the new superintendent. His mission was to save the ship and guide it to calmer seas.
It was August 1992, and District 67 was mired in seemingly endless scandals. A controversy over test scores had demoralized the district, which had been known for its award-winning curriculum.
“I knew I was coming into an organization that was in crisis,” Jones said. “It needed stability and a course toward recovery.”
To a large extent, he succeeded. But last week, the 51-year-old administrator shocked the district by announcing his resignation after just 18 months to begin a career in banking.
It was a private decision, he said, motivated by retirement incentives offered by the state and by his family’s needs.
While it’s certain that Jones will leave District 67 in June amid the calm waters he sought, his legacy and the district’s future are still in doubt.
With its dirty laundry aired and with an apparently renewed interest in student needs, will District 67 regain its place among the state’s best? Or will the loss of Jones’ soothing, mediating style leave the district open to the kind of infighting and distrust many have blamed for its downfall?
Only time can heal the wounds left by Allen J. Klingenberg. The autocratic former District 67 superintendent was convicted of official misconduct last year in connection with misstating moving expenses when he left Lake Forest to take up his short-lived duties as superintendent of Morton High School District 201 in Berwyn and Cicero. The same is true of marks left by Linda Chase, a school principal and Klingenberg’s paramour, who left the district last year after battling test-fraud charges and other complaints.
But how quickly the district will cleanse its reputation depends in large part on how adeptly the Lake Forest School Board continues the morale building, curriculum changes and streamlining of business practices that were among the highlights of Jones’ brief tenure.
In many ways the future is secure, with teachers signed to a three-year contract, a new language arts curriculum slated for next year and changes in the district’s antiquated science, math and social studies programs scheduled through the mid-1990s. All those were accomplished while Jones was superintendent.
There also have been changes in District 67’s business practices. They include the end of no-bid contracts, a revamped transportation agreement that cut costs and resolution of the science-grant scandal that led to some of the criminal charges against Klingenberg. Prosecutors did not pursue charges over the science grants.
Many of the issues have been at the core of complaints trumpeted for several years by local school reformers. And while Jones was only partially responsible for their resolution, his conciliatory style has been credited for bringing longtime foes together to seek compromise.
“He restored calm and confidence where there was none of either,” said one school reform activist. “The real question is whether the next person will be their own person, too, and be able to stand up to the School Board.”
Along with his successes, Jones has also suffered his share of disappointments in Lake Forest, according to those close to the superintendent. There was frustration with the virtual revolving door that brought new faces to the School Board on a monthly basis last year, resistance to personnel moves he suggested and a general reluctance to end the politically charged atmosphere that has long dogged the schools.
“There are special interest groups, like those who want to preserve the gifted program, who worked against Jones,” said one observer. “He wanted to cut that program back, to spread the resources out, but they wouldn’t let him do that. There was a great frustration with the Lake Forest mentality that some children are always better than others.”
For their part, School Board officials said they have begun a preliminary search for a new schools chief, one they hope is like Jones.
“If we can find Art’s clone, that would be wonderful,” said board President Peter Fritts. “His management style and unquestionable moral and ethical standards are what Lake Forest wants. I just wish we weren’t searching for a replacement so soon.”
