On June 30, 2026, River Forest School District 90 Superintendent Dr. Ed Condon will retire. After that date, his plans include spending time with family, traveling and possibly looking at opportunities both inside and outside education.
“Between here and there, there is more to be done,” he said Oct. 20, sitting next to Board of Education President Katie Avalos.
That includes supporting the board in their search for his successor. Call it the search for the ideal superintendent.
“The most important thing is that the individual selected carries and holds the same values as the school community, and the Board of Education is a strong repository of that,” Condon said. “That person undoubtedly will put the needs of kids at the fore.”
He added: “Collaboration is the only way to get anything done. Having folks with a shared support of that goal or outcome or objective, someone who meets those characteristics would be very successful in the position.”
But there is a lot of work to get to a point where a decision can be made. Avalos said initial discussions about who Condon’s successor could be were held after the general election in April. In August the board hired Libertyville-based superintendent search firm BWP & Associates to kick off the process formally.
The application window closed Friday, and the district, through BWP, had received about 50 resumes. BWP was to begin screenings this week and carry out the first round of interviews in early December. The goal is paring that group down to two to three finalists.
“In an ideal world, we will announce our new superintendent in early 2026,” Avalos said.
Avalos and her cohorts on the board received plenty of helpful insights from multiple parties about who the ideal superintendent should be. After working with BWP on a leadership profile, open meetings for community members were held, along with separate meetings for teachers and small-group sessions with PTO leadership. River Forest Education Association’s leadership met with BWP as well.
More significantly, 225 community members participated in a survey that provided “some really good responses,” said Avalos.
“It was just helpful to see what River Forest is looking for, and some of the main pieces is someone who has a strong commitment to instructional leadership,” she said. “Someone who is going to be responsive, available to work alongside staff, teachers and parents. A problem solver, analytical and the ability to make tough decisions.”
That’s a long list, translating to long hours, made even longer in light of teacher contact negotiations with the River Forest Education Association. A tentative agreement was reached earlier this month.
“It was definitely a busy time,” Avalos said. “When you decide to run for public office and donate your time, that’s part of the job.”
Make no mistake, Condon said – there are many, many challenges of being superintendent of a high-performing school district, where two of its three schools – Lincoln Elementary and Willard Elementary schools – were named Exemplary in October by the 2025 Illinois Report Card.
“How do you continue to find opportunities to continue to be better and continue to refine and improve?” he said. “One of the hallmarks of this organization is there is a continuous improvement mindset. That’s part of our way of thinking and acting, the desire to always be better and work in ways that don’t allow us to rest on our laurels.”
But it’s immensely gratifying as well. Condon pointed to the depth of commitment by faculty, staff, the board, families and students, along with his administrative team.
“This has been the honor of my career,” Condon said, adding that he’s going to keep working hard until June 30, 2026.
“If they’ll have me until then,” he deadpanned with a smile.