The Duneland School Corporation transformed in so many ways during Superintendent Chip Pettit’s seven-year reign.
Duneland School Board President Brandon Kroft helped hire Pettit in 2019 and watched him guide the district through the changes.
“Much sadness” were the initial words Kroft used to describe his feelings Thursday in a news release announcing that Pettit was leaving Duneland in June.
Pettit, 51, is taking the superintendent’s job for Hinsdale Township High School District 86 in Illinois, which serves a cluster of suburban communities about 20 miles west of Chicago. Residents within the suburbs served are highly educated and say they live there because of the two high schools’ reputation for quality, according to the district’s website.
The Hinsdale Township District 86 serves around 3,775 high school students, actually fewer than Duneland’s 5,831 students, K-12. Pettit was paid $190,500 to head Duneland in 2024, public records show. The advertisement for the superintendent’s job shows they were offering between $270,000 to $325,000 to the successful applicant, the district’s website states.
The Hinsdale district’s school board hasn’t formally approved Pettit’s contract yet, but in a Facebook posting announcing his selection, stated that they were impressed with his “charismatic and student-centered leadership” and how the Duneland district’s academic performance “significantly improved” during his tenure.
“It has been my honor to serve the Duneland community. I am proud of our shared accomplishments and the unwavering commitment to student success that defines this community and school corporation,” Pettit said in his prepared statement. He wouldn’t comment beyond his brief statement.
Ronald “Red” Stone, who is now a Porter County Council member, was on the Duneland School Board when they chose Pettit to lead the district.
Pettit was then principal for Crown Point High School, his alma mater, but had never been a superintendent.
Stone said one of the reasons he wanted to give Pettit a chance was that he also had been a successful high school football coach at Crown Point. Pettit was also a standout high school athlete, as he was chosen as the Indiana Mr. Baseball in 1992 and went on to play at Valparaiso University.
“He’s a competitor. If you give him an opportunity, he’s not going to lose,” Stone said.
But what Pettit faced during his first year was what no superintendent could plan for: the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pettit had to figure out how school could still be conducted. Duneland students returned to in-person schooling earlier than their counterparts in Chicago-area suburbs.
Post-Tribune
Duneland School Board Assistant Superintendent Robert McDermott hands a microphone back to Superintendent Chip Pettit during a board meeting at Chesterton Middle School Monday, April 5, 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Andy Lavalley/Post-Tribune)
There were several contentious school board meetings in 2020 and 2021, with parents complaining about restrictions and requirements that students wear masks. Pettit was always careful in how he responded in his remarks, seeking to resolve situations outside the public eye.
At the same time, Pettit was tasked with launching a $171 million package of capital improvements for all of the district’s buildings, except the high school. Pettit, along with the board, decided to close the Chesterton Middle School building, which once served as the high school, and to renovate the Westchester and Liberty Intermediate Schools so they could accommodate the seventh and eighth graders.
The old Chesterton Middle School building is now being transformed into the YMCA’s Healthy Living Campus. Duneland is keeping its administrative offices and some programs on site.
The pandemic helped to drive up construction costs by an average of 30%. The first contract for the Westchester project came in at $39.8 million, about $10 million more than estimated.
Pettit had originally hoped that there would be enough capital improvement money available to address issues at the high school. Last year, the district borrowed an additional $14.3 million, which was used, in part, to replace the carpet at the high school and build a new soccer complex.
School board members say that one of Pettit’s greatest accomplishments was improving student performance.
The Duneland district finished first in Northwest Indiana and eighth in the state on the ILEARN examinations for third through eighth graders.
“I just think he elevated our school system. He wanted not just to be the best in Northwest Indiana, but the best in the state,” Stone said.
School Board member Jocelyn Hibshman, whose husband is a Duneland teacher, has said that she believed student performance improved because Pettit hired more aides to help children who were falling behind and assistant principals to handle disciplinary issues.
“He is very teacher-focused and curriculum-focused, making sure that every student has the opportunity to learn,” Hibshman previously said.
During his tenure, Pettit and the school board made increasing teacher pay a priority, so Duneland is now eighth in the state. Starting pay is now $56,500, up from $39,000 for the 2016-17 school year.
Kroft lauded how Pettit implemented increased college and career opportunities for students and expanded advanced placement and dual credit course offerings at the high school. Pettit also created an internship program for high school students.
Duneland also brought its special education programs in-house, changing its relationship with the Porter County Education Services, which had been supervising special education teachers.
What turned out to be Pettit’s last big decision was going to the voters early to ask for renewal of an operating referendum in November. The referendum renewal’s approval means the district will get a maximum of $16.1 million annually, up from $8.9 million. It will also allow the district to stay financially ahead of challenges posed by the state’s property tax reforms, enacted with Senate Enrolled Act 1.
Kroft said the school board will now start the process of finding Pettit’s replacement.
“While the school board is very disappointed to see Dr. Pettit leave, the foundations for success that have been built during his tenure as superintendent will continue to pay dividends to our students and staff for generations to come,” Kroft said.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
