The Oak Park Elementary School District 97 Board of Education voted 5-0 in February to give superintendent Ushma Shah a two year contract extension.
Shah came to District 97 as superintendent in 2022 after having worked for the Chicago Public Schools and Elgin Unit School District U-46, the two biggest school districts in Illinois. The School Board approved the contract extension at its Feb. 25 meeting. Board members Jung Kim and Cherre Moore were not at the meeting and did not vote on the contract.
“The board and Superintendent Shah have agreed on a two-year contract extension, which will take us through June 30, 2027, which we are very happy about,” Board President Gavin Kearney said. “We’re looking forward to continuing the great work of the district.”
Shah thanked the board for the contract extension and vote of confidence.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve Oak Park District 97, ” she said. “I am confident that we will continue to come together to transform the district and achieve universal student success.”
As part of the vote, the board approved a retroactive salary increase of 3.4% for the 2024-25 school year for Shah. That raise will be applied when the School Board approves a new teachers contract which is expected to happen soon. The School Board and the teachers union at District 97, the Oak Park Teachers Association, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract but the School Board hasn’t yet approved the agreement. Details of the tentative agreement with the teachers have not been disclosed.
Shah is currently paid $230,287.50, the same as last year. When her retroactive 3.4% raise takes effect, her salary for the current school year will rise to $238,117.28. Her salary for the next 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years have yet to be determined.
Shah graduated from Knox College in 1992 where she majored in education and anthropology. She earned a master’s degree from UIC in curriculum and instruction in 1995 and went on to earn a master’s degree and doctorate in education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education through its urban superintendents program.
She began her career in education as a fifth grade teacher at a Chicago Public School in 1993 and taught for seven years before moving into administration as the founding principal of an alternative middle school for at risk students in Chicago. Shah worked for Elgin U-46 for 10 years, one year as chief of equity and social justice and nine years as assistant superintendent of elementary schools. Immediately before coming to District 97 Shah worked for one year as the interim Chief Portfolio Officer for the Chicago Public Schools where she oversaw charter, contract and alternative schools among other things.
Equity has been a focus for Shah for some time and continues to be at District 97. Shah is a co-founder of the Illinois Coalition of Equity Leaders.
Bob Skolnik is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
