The Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Board of Education at its December 15 meeting confirmed the appointment of Luann Kolstad as Chief School Business Official (CSBO) effective July 1. Ms. Kolstad will replace Becky Allard, who is retiring from District 64 at the conclusion of the fiscal year on June 30.
After a rigorous screening process of an original pool of 39 candidates, seven applicants were advanced for first round interviews with the District’s central office administrative team. Two finalists then were invited to meet with a second interview team, which included several District administrators, two building principals, a member of the Board of Education, a representative from the teachers’ association, and two Business Office representatives. After a review of the feedback from the various interview committees and references, Superintendent Laurie Heinz conducted one-on-one interviews with both finalists before she selected Ms. Kolstad for the post.
“We believe Ms. Kolstad is clearly dedicated – as we are here in District 64 – on channeling resources to provide the programs and services children need, while being both vigilant and creative in containing costs in other areas,” according to Dr. Heinz. “Her track record also shows she understands how important it is to build relationships, work as a team, and communicate regularly about finances to all members of the community, which are attributes that we value highly in District 64 and will be emphasizing even more in future years,” she added.
Ms. Kolstad is in her fifth year as Chief School Business Official (CSBO) of Prospect Heights School District 23, where she is responsible for all financial aspects of the district’s operations, ranging from preparation of the budget, tax levy and financial projections through oversight of its buildings and grounds, transportation, and food service. Her recent efforts included managing a $10 million conversion of schools to geothermal heating/cooling systems, implementing security upgrades, and improving network infrastructure to support 1:1 learning. She also worked on a reconfiguration plan and on a budget-cutting initiative to contain costs and help the district operate within its available revenue stream.
Previously, Ms. Kolstad served for three years as Director of Finance & Operations/CSBO at Mundelein School District 75 where she planned and successfully passed a $9.9 million building referendum to renovate facilities. She began her school business career as an accountant in Hinsdale Community School District 181. Earlier, she served as a projects administrator for non-profit research institute SRI International.
Ms. Kolstad holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of Notre Dame, Belmont, CA, and a master’s degree in educational administration from Northern Illinois University. She currently is on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, having previously served on its leadership development committee.