Two More Administrators Leaving District 308

Two more District 308 administrators have tendered their resignations, district officials announced Thursday.

Both Bryan Buck, principal at , and David Kennedy, assistant principal at , are moving on to other districts, officials said. Buck, who has been at Plank since it opened in 2006, will serve as principal of James Howard Monroe Middle School in Wheaton, while Kennedy will become assistant principal at Jerling Junior High School in Orland Park.

Buck, a former sixth grade teacher, began his District 308 career in 1999, serving as an assistant principal at both and . He then went on to earn the distinction of opening two District 308 schools as principal. In 2001, he was tapped to lead the new , and he served five years there, moving on to Plank when it was opened in 2006.

“We are losing a great, experienced principal in Plank Junior High’s Bryan Buck,” said Superintendent Dan O’Donnell, who praised his 13-year tenure as “one of the longest and most successful in the district.”

“Bryan’s high expectations wrapped in his personable leadership style will be dearly missed,” O’Donnell said.

Kennedy has been with District 308 since 2009, when he took the assistant principal position at Thompson. Before that, he was a dean and athletic director at Somonauk High School and a social studies teacher and dean at Plainfield Central High School. Kennedy’s last day in District 308 is June 30.

O’Donnell said that while Kennedy’s tenure was brief, he “made a huge impact on our students and their families.”

“He is a valued member of our administrative team and his expertise will be missed,” O’Donnell said.

The District 308 board is actually searching for two new assistant principals at Thompson. Shannon Lueders, a current assistant principal, will to replace outgoing principal Tracy Murphy on July 1, and her position will be filled as well.

The departures of Buck and Kennedy are the latest in a line of top administrator exits that began with Assistant Superintendent for Administration Todd Colvin’s . He was followed by and Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance , along with , Long Beach Elementary School Principal , and Brokaw Early Learning Center Principal .

In April, the District 308 Board to replace Neubauer, and last month with former Ankeny, Iowa superintendent Matthew Wendt to step into the top spot in Oswego. This month, the board Leuders as Thompson’s new principal, and hired Christine Smith to lead Long Beach.

The process for filling the newly-open positions is underway. The two assistant principal positions are listed on the district website.