April 27, 2021
Dr. Michael Karner Appointed as Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools
At a special meeting this morning, the Lake County Board appointed Dr. Michael Karner as the new Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools. Karner is replacing Roycealee Wood, who has held the position since 2002, and recently resigned due to health reasons.
Karner is an experienced educator who has spent most of his career in Zion, and currently serves as Principal of the Regional Safe School Program of Lake County. Prior to that, he served for four years as Assistant Principal of Zion Central Middle School. He began his teaching career at Zion Benton Township High School, where he taught math, Spanish and ELL classes from 2007 to 2016. He also currently serves as the Varsity Football Assistant Coach for Antioch High School.
He earned his B.A. degree from Lake Forest College in Mathematics and Spanish, and holds an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Aurora University, an Ed.D in Curriculum & Instruction from George Williams College, and an Ed.S in Educational Leadership with a Superintendent Endorsement from Concordia University in Chicago.
To select Ms. Wood's successor, Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart invited a panel of area educational leaders to help review resumes and interview candidates. They included Valerie Donnan, Superintendent of the Special Education District of Lake County (SEDOL); Chala Holland, Principal of Lake Forest High School; Dr. John Price, Superintendent of North Chicago School District 187; and Dr. Darlene Ruscitti, DuPage County Regional Superintendent of Schools.
"I am pleased to appoint Dr. Michael Karner as the new Lake County Regional Superintendent of Schools. He has exceptional credentials and qualifications, and I am confident that he has the necessary skills to provide expert leadership to the Lake County Regional Office of Education," said Hart. "I also want to thank the educational leaders who generously gave of their time and talents to serve on this committee and help make this important decision."
Under Illinois law, Dr. Karner will serve in the position until the next general election, Nov. 8, 2022. The board was required to appoint a candidate of the same political party as Ms. Wood when she was last elected. This is determined by an individual’s declared party affiliation at the most recent primary election in which they voted. Accordingly, the chair was required to appoint a Republican to this vacancy.
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