ILTS ILTS Superintendent 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Illinois law, which body has the authority to terminate a superintendent's contract before its expiration?
- The Illinois State Board of Education
- The local school board (Correct answer)
- The regional superintendent
- The Illinois General Assembly
Correct answer: The local school board
The local board of education holds authority to hire, evaluate, and dismiss the superintendent under Illinois School Code.
Question 2: A superintendent discovers a principal has been falsifying student attendance data. The first action should be to:
- Immediately terminate the principal
- Notify the school board and begin an internal investigation (Correct answer)
- Contact local media to ensure transparency
- Transfer the principal to another school
Correct answer: Notify the school board and begin an internal investigation
Proper protocol requires informing the board and conducting a thorough investigation before any disciplinary action.
Question 3: Which Illinois statute primarily governs the fiscal management responsibilities of a superintendent?
- Illinois Human Rights Act
- Illinois School Code Article 10 (Correct answer)
- Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act
- Property Tax Extension Limitation Law
Correct answer: Illinois School Code Article 10
Illinois School Code Article 10 outlines the superintendent's fiscal duties, including budget preparation and financial reporting.
Question 4: When developing a district strategic plan, the superintendent's primary role is to:
- Independently set all goals without board input
- Facilitate a collaborative process involving the board, staff, and community (Correct answer)
- Delegate all planning to building principals
- Adopt the state's template plan without modification
Correct answer: Facilitate a collaborative process involving the board, staff, and community
Effective strategic planning requires the superintendent to lead a collaborative, stakeholder-inclusive process aligned with district needs.
Question 5: A superintendent's decision to close a school building must ultimately be approved by:
- The Illinois State Superintendent
- ISBE regional office
- The local board of education (Correct answer)
- A community referendum vote
Correct answer: The local board of education
School closure decisions require formal board approval as a major policy action under Illinois School Code.
Question 6: Under the Illinois Teacher Evaluation System, which entity bears primary responsibility for designing the district's evaluation framework?
- ISBE alone
- A joint committee of teachers and administrators (Correct answer)
- The superintendent acting unilaterally
- The regional office of education
Correct answer: A joint committee of teachers and administrators
Illinois law requires a joint teacher-administrator committee to collaboratively develop the evaluation framework.
Question 7: The Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) most directly affects the superintendent by:
- Setting teacher salary caps
- Limiting the annual increase in property tax revenue a district can collect (Correct answer)
- Requiring voter approval for all budget amendments
- Mandating per-pupil spending minimums
Correct answer: Limiting the annual increase in property tax revenue a district can collect
PTELL caps the extension of property taxes, constraining the revenue growth available for district operations.
ILTS ILTS Superintendent 2
Under Illinois law, which body has the authority to terminate a superintendent's contract before its expiration?