Park Ridge-Niles District 64 locked in Superintendent Dr. Ben Collins through June 30, 2030, and told families that all six schools under renovation will open on time, according to outcomes from the board's Aug. 13 meeting.
The four-year contract sets Collins' annual salary at $254,610 for 2026-2027. The board can raise but not decrease that figure in subsequent years. On top of base pay, Collins receives an annual 5% deferred-compensation contribution plus a one-time 4% contribution in August 2026, up to $10,000 per year for professional development and up to $7,000 for executive coaching.
The district's meeting recap states the board confirmed Collins met student-performance goals required under the Illinois School Code before approving the deal, which replaces a prior contract dated May 3, 2023. Individual board member votes were not published.
Construction: school by school
Director of Facility Management Michael Browning told the board that roughly 150 workers have been on site at Lincoln Middle School daily this summer. Lincoln is the district's largest project.
"There's been about 150 workers on site at Lincoln every day, and as some of the other school districts have come back to school already, it freed up some more workers from other job sites," Browning said at the Aug. 13 meeting.
Seven new third-floor classrooms at Lincoln will be ready when classes begin. Art and photo labs are scheduled for a Sept. 11 turnover. The multipurpose room faces continued delays tied to steel availability, weather and ComEd power restoration.
Those delays trace back to a fire-barrier problem Collins disclosed at a special July 21 meeting: crews discovered missing drywall above Lincoln's wooden roof panels, a decades-old safety-code violation. A similar but less extensive issue surfaced at Roosevelt. The board approved emergency remediation, funded by postponing planned parking-lot work.
Here's where each building stands as of Aug. 13:
- Carpenter: Roofing and casework complete; flooring going down; 95% of rooms will have furniture returned.
- Roosevelt: Progress steady, with more rooms finished and turned over to furnishing crews daily.
- Franklin: New multipurpose room coming together; basketball-rim delivery delayed; temporary windows installed, with permanent replacements planned for a future break.
- Lincoln: Seven third-floor classrooms ready; art/photo labs due Sept. 11; multipurpose room delayed.
- Field and Jefferson: New playgrounds essentially complete and already in use.
New bus partner, budget hearing ahead
The district has switched general-education transportation back to Lakeview/Sunrise for 2026-2027. Assistant Superintendent for Business Operations Brian Harlan said the district held a kickoff event with more than 30 company representatives and ran practice routes this summer.
The board also set Sept. 17 for a public hearing on the tentative 2026-2027 budget, to be held at the Hendee Rooms at Jefferson Early Childhood Center. That meeting doubles as the next regular board session.
