Current Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez announced in August that she would not renew her contract. She will conclude her duties June 30, 2026. After the district conducted a national search, officials ultimately selected a familiar face for her successor.
Billy Hueramo began his career with District 428 in 2007 as a student teacher. He then became an English as a Second Language teacher at Clinton Rosette Middle School.
Hueramo served as assistant principal at Huntley Middle School and principal at Littlejohn Elementary School before moving to the role of Elementary Curriculum Coordinator. Most recently, he has served as the district's director of Teaching and Learning.
Hueramo is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, having served from 2000 to 2008.
He says his personal motto is "live it and never forget it," drawing upon his experiences from his time as a student teacher onward to prepare for the top job in the district.
"I think having those multiple perspectives is what allows me to collaborate with various unions and our leaders and our assistants," he said. "I respect each one of those jobs."
Early Learning Development Center
Hueramo expects overall student enrollment to remain steady over the next few years, but he says the district could see growth with the development of the Early Learning Development Center and the district's specialized programs like the dual-language offerings.
The district is planning to build a new Early Learning Development Center to increase early childhood classrooms. The Center is currently housed within Huntley Middle School.
"We felt that having their own space and a space that made them feel valuable as students and as staff and our families, not just a space in the wing of a secondary school, was important."
A new design committee for the project is tasked with reviewing program requirements, collaborating with architects and designing a space that is "developmentally responsive, welcoming, and built for long-term success." The committee will continue to provide updates to the school board throughout the spring.
Meanwhile, the district faces decisions on what to do with more space at Huntley which could involve re-configuring schools to reduce class sizes. An original plan in the fall was met with community pushback. An additional committee is reviewing alternative options to present to the school board.
Immigration enforcement
With ICE enforcement across the nation and in the Chicagoland area, Hueramo says the district has been proactive in ensuring the safety of students. He says that involves coordination with the Illinois State Board of Education related to legislation and policy protocols.
"The biggest thing we’re trying to figure out is what type of professional development we all need — teachers, leaders, assistants — everybody — to ensure our students are safe."
Hueramo says he has a personal connection to the anxiety some students are feeling.
"My parents were undocumented when they came here," he said. "I'm blessed to become a resident and now a citizen. My mom's a citizen. My dad passed away when I was 16, but I truly understand where you live in fear of something happening to your kid or to yourself.”
Funding challenges
There are threats to freeze federal Title funding. Hueramo says it can be a challenge for districts to plan with so much uncertainty.
"We rely quite a bit on our Title grants, so we have our grant manager who is keeping an eye on what we're spending and ensuring that we're prioritizing and utilizing our grants in the current fiscal year, so that if we do not receive the grants next year, we are able to adjust. So, we're making sure that we're not taking too much so that if we don't get those grants, we're still able to run our everyday processes that we do within our buildings. We've been very blessed to have those grants, and I hope they reconsider and are able to provide us with all those grants for our students."
Curriculum strategy
He says the district is also currently writing literacy curriculum.
"We shifted over to the science of reading, which is part of the Illinois comprehensive plan. So, when we got the Illinois comprehensive plan and we sat down with the state, they actually told us we're ahead of the game. The gains that we're seeing are a little bit slower, but there's so much more to implementing the curriculum."
He also points to the district's newest elementary school as a "STEAM" structured school.
"All those skills are what makes a student well rounded. And so that's why we went to a STEAM school. So, I think that seeing that and giving our students hands-on experiences is essential."
The role of family support
He says parental involvement is a priority for his upcoming role as superintendent.
"I think we rely quite a bit on the education system to do almost everything. Our teachers are social workers. They're our caretakers. They play so many different roles, and if we can partner, we can build stronger relationships with our families. I feel like we can do so much more for our kids, and if we're doing that, we're just going to have such a better community all around."
"I feel like we get frustrated in education with so many things, but at the end of the day, it's about what can we do that's best for our students, and that's the climate and culture I want to continue to drive because I know people are doing the hard work that they should be doing. I think they need to be felt valued for doing it. And I think our students need to feel the same thing. And it's kind of if I'm valuing our staff; our staff are valuing our students and our families, and our community is going to come together and do some great things."
He takes on the new role July 1, 2026.
WNIJ's Peter Medlin contributed to this report.
Copy Edited by Eryn Lent
