After 13 years as Kane County’s Regional Office of Education superintendent, Patricia Dal Santo is retiring at the end of the month, officials said.
And, in her place, the Kane County Board appointed John Jonak at Tuesday’s board meeting to serve the rest of her term as superintendent.
Jonak was originally set to serve as an assistant regional superintendent in the office, succeeding Deanna Oliver, who is also retiring per the Kane County Regional Office of Education. But Dal Santo, upon deciding to retire, recommended Jonak to the county board for the superintendent position, a spokesperson for the office told The Beacon-News.
The Kane County Regional Office of Education serves over 100,000 students, according to officials with the office, across nine school districts in the county: U-46, Batavia 101, West Aurora 129, East Aurora 131, District 300, Central 301, Kaneland 302, St. Charles 303 and Geneva 304.
Dal Santo took over as regional superintendent in 2012, a news release from the Kane County Regional Office of Education said. She has worked for the regional office since 1993 and previously served as its director of Alternative Programs, having worked at East Aurora School District 131 before that.
A Republican, Dal Santo won reelection in 2014, 2018 and 2022, according to Kane County election results. Per the state, Regional Office of Education superintendents serve four-year terms, meaning the position is up for grabs in the 2026 election, the county clerk’s office confirmed on Wednesday.
According to the release, Dal Santo was involved in developing and piloting programs related to educator licensure, compliance and professional development registration during her time at the office, and helped inform a truancy intervention approach used by other offices that includes family counseling and prosocial activities.
She is also a former president of the Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools, according to the release, and is a representative for the Illinois Coalition for Educating At-Risk Youth.
Jonak previously worked as the superintendent of Rosemont Elementary School District 78, per the release. He will assume the role of regional superintendent on July 1, serving out the remainder of Dal Santo’s term.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
