Mahomet-Seymour’s new superintendent Kenny Lee said he operates on three core functions: “we’re going to be kid-friendly, we’re going to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars, and we’re going to encourage people to take risks because that’s the only way we ever get better.”
It’s a philosophy that has guided decision-making during his tenures at Minooka Community High School #111, Iroquois County CUSD #9 (Watseka) and McLean County Unit #5 (Normal). And one he will bring into the superintendent role at Mahomet-Seymour Schools when he begins on July 1, 2022.
Lee’s decision to pursue the position at Mahomet-Seymour fulfilled both professional and personal interests.
After spending six years at the helm of Minooka Community High School, Lee was ready to step back into working with students of all ages. In March, prior to the announcement of his hire, Lee, along with other candidates, had the opportunity to tour Mahomet-Seymour buildings. He said that being in the elementary buildings “really solidified” that he missed K-12.
Moving from the suburbs of Chicago to Central Illinois, close to where he grew up in Paxton, and near family, including his mother, brother and partner was also an important factor.
“I miss Central Illinois,” Lee said.
Lee’s contract, approved by the M-S board of education on Monday, gives him seven paid days of transition time with staff as the 2021-22 school year comes to an end. While there will be paperwork to review, an upcoming $97.9 million referendum and union negotiations coming up, Lee said that he will be focused on listening and forming relationships.
“I generally have found that once you have the opportunity to go into an organization, spend at least six months really listening and learning,” he said. “I certainly didn’t take the interview to brag about myself, but I think I’m a really good listener.
“I hear people. I’m not one of those people that’s waiting to talk as soon as you finish. I want to soak it in, and I want to listen to what you had to say and get to know you a little bit more.
“I think that it’s very important that we hear from all so far as you know what exactly needs to be done.”
Of course, data that is gathered and analyzed is important, but Lee said that without getting to know the people you serve, it doesn’t mean much.
Through some ups and downs at Minooka over the last six years, Lee said he tried to create spaces where students felt they could connect with adults, including himself.
With two campuses, a freshmen and sophomore campus, and a junior and senior campus, Lee established a student-advisory committee that he met with regularly to gauge students’ thoughts and concerns.
“I want to know everything,” he said. “They know that there are no repercussions. They know that I just take feedback, and sometimes they’ll see results right away and other times I’m processing what their feedback is and going through that.”
Lee hopes that after talking to staff about ways to get valuable feedback at all levels, this is something he will continue at Mahomet-Seymour.
As students and community members brought issues to the board of education and the administration, Lee tried to balance the outside world with the district’s core function of educating students. As issues of discrimination, students not feeling that they belong, students concerned about the school’s logo, and staffing issues weighed on student’s hearts and minds, Lee wanted to make sure that students were safe inside their classroom while he handled community concerns or researched and provided ways to help students “succeed and become better and better every day.”
Minooka undertook a cultural assessment, created an Equity and Diversity Committee and a student-led Allies in Diversity Committee that recommended training for staff teachers and students; consequences for racial slurs, violence and bullying; a taskforce to review the mascot and implications for inclusion; and the development of a diverse recruitment strategy.
While Lee tries to be visible in the schools throughout the school day, focusing on paperwork and emails before and after school, he knows he’s only one adult, and students need other trusted adults throughout the day.
“I think that one thing that we need to do to support that is to make sure that we have various activities and clubs and things like that, that help them buy into building relationships with their peers and with adults at school,” he said.
“The other piece with that is that with that involvement becomes some ownership and helps students build confidence as well.
“I think that it’s important that we educate students on where they need to go if they need to talk.”
Part of that initiative for both the Minooka board of education and the staff was to hire six additional school counselors to help students both academically and emotionally. Leaders also decided to provide support for American Sign Language classes within the Language Department, greater access to Advanced Placement courses and Dual Credit courses.
Those initiatives took planning. According to Lee, part of what the Minooka board was looking for when they hired him in 2016 was someone who had experience with strategic planning. Once hired, Minooka worked with a consulting firm to establish goals, some that came into fruition, some that were put on the back burner as COVID-19 took focus throughout 2020 and 2021, and some that are still being worked on today.
Lee said that the district reached out to all constituents: students, parents and other taxpayers who may not be plugged into what happens in the schools.
“That really gives you a good picture about the district,” he said. “You go through strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats and devise a plan and then move that way, as opposed to having a shotgun approach on moving an organization forward.”
Whether Mahomet-Seymour undertakes a strategic plan is yet to be seen. Still Lee, having gone through the process twice, believes that his role as a Superintendent is to continually look at how decisions made in the present affect the future of the district.
At times, those decisions are made at the board level.
Lee believes that the board of education is the “voice of the community.”
“I think that discussion is great,” he said. “I think that disagreement is great. I think that’s how you get better, right? To have difficult conversations, I think is a wonderful thing.”
At the end of the day, the majority of the board makes the decision, but then Lee said it’s still important to “(work) towards consensus and trying to just to understand.”
Along with capacity issues throughout the district, recently the Mahomet-Seymour School board has consistently heard from parents who have asked the district to provide information about the district curriculum. Lee witnessed this at the board meeting on March 21.
He said that he appreciates the “transparency approach” of putting more on the district website so that constituents can see what is happening in the classroom.
“We’ve got a set of state standards that we have to adhere to, and those are our guiding light,” he said.
Still, how those state standards are met is left up to each school district. Minooka, under the leadership of Lee, partnered with Lion Electric Company near campus to give students the opportunity to witness an innovative company manufacturing zero-emission vehicles. The district asked for internships, field trip opportunities and guest speakers to come to the high school.
Coming from a school district just outside of Joliet, Minooka has a more diverse tax base than the residential-heavy Mahomet-Seymour. Part of the connection with Lion Electric Company was a tax-break from the school district so that the business would occupy one of the many large warehouses within the community.
Lee said that for Minooka those tax breaks make sense, as many times, the district sees those breaks come to fruition in district funding within the next 5 to 10 years.
Districts and municipalities, alongside businesses alike, will have challenges in the upcoming years as minimum wage increases throughout the state and inflation continues to cause uncertainty.
Lee said some of those things, like minimum wage, are predictable, and that his district has accounted for it as it reaches $15 per hour by 2025. With a philosophy of underestimating revenues and overestimating expenses each year, Lee hopes that Mahomet-Seymour will continue to hold a balanced budget each fiscal year.
“I think that’s what’s important that with three to five year planning, when you’re looking at finances, is to make sure that you can make adjustments if you are going to have to make cuts or you envision something that’s coming down the down the road that you can adjust accordingly,” he said.
Like all school districts, Mahomet-Seymour will plan for fiscal year 2023 throughout the summer months.
Lee said he’s “eager” to get started.
“I’m just so excited to get down there that I’ll be down there as much as I can. But also being a responsible employee for my current district,” he said. “They have been very good, very good to me the six years that I’ve been up here and very supportive.”
