History was made Wednesday night at Washington Community High School.
District 308 assistant superintendent Karen Beverlin was hired by the school board at a special meeting as the district's next superintendent. She'll replace the retiring Kyle Freeman on July 1, 2027.
On that date, Beverlin will become the district's first female superintendent and first WCHS graduate to be the high school's superintendent since the one-school district was formed in 1920.
Beverlin will be the district's second internal superintendent hire. The distinction of being the first belongs to Ray Torry, whose 20 years is the longest tenure for a District 308 superintendent.
Beverlin was back at work Thursday morning, just hours after an emotional night on Wednesday.
Family [including her husband Jason and son Joe], friends and colleagues filled the audience seats in the WCHS library to witness the school board's unanimous vote to name Beverlin the district's 13th superintendent.
"I'm thrilled, honored and excited," Beverlin said at the meeting before publicly signing a contract extension.
"We're going to have a lot of fun," she said. "The school is going through great times right now and we're going to keep it going, and make it even better."
WCHS is one of the top 10% of high schools in the state, according to the Illinois Report Card.
Beverlin is a 1990 WCHS graduate. Before she came to the high school, she attended District 50 schools in Sunnyland from kindergarten through eighth grade.
She followed the same educational path as her parents, Russell and the late Linda Aschenbrenner.
"My father still lives in the house I grew up in," Beverlin said Thursday.
She said she's lived off and on in Washington during her life after high school, with the locations dictated mainly by jobs. She does not currently live in the city.
Asked Thursday if someone had told her while she was attending WCHS that she'd be the high school's superintendent someday, she said she'd think the person was crazy.
"I don't think I even knew what a superintendent did back then," she said. "Do I think about being the superintendent at WCHS next year? It hits me now and then."
Beverlin's contract was set to expire June 30, 2027.
The school board on Wednesday extended the agreement through June 30, 2030. Her current salary is $139,000. Her salary will increase to $165,000 when she becomes superintendent.
Board Vice President Chris Kopinski, filling in for President Jennifer Essig, who is battling laryngitis, discussed the superintendent selection process during the special board meeting.
The process included a survey of superintendent qualities put together by the Illinois Association of School Boards.
Nearly 450 survey responses were received and there were 41 pages of comments.
Beverlin's alignment with survey responses, the respect she has in the community and with the high school staff, and her financial expertise were some of the reasons for the board's decision to hire her as superintendent, Kopinski said.
Beverlin has been the District 308 assistant superintendent since 2022.
She previously was the Dunlap School District assistant superintendent from 2012-17 and chief school business official for SEAPCO (Special Education Association for Peoria County) from 2017-22.
She improved the financial conditions at Dunlap and SEAPCO during her times there, Kopinski said.
After earning bachelor's and master's degrees from Southern Illinois University and Northern Illinois University, respectively, Beverlin received her superintendent's licensure from Western Illinois University and a doctor of education in school leadership from Aurora University.
Here's a list of the 13 District 308 superintendents since 1920 with the years they started and how many years they had the job. Lee Edwards was the superintendent on two occasions.
• 1920: Harvey Urban (2 years)
• 1922: Raymond Kimmell (15 years)
• 1937: Paul Crafton (6 years)
• 1943: Lester Elam (10 years)
• 1953: Ray Abernathy (16 years)
• 1969: Ray Torry (20 years)
• 1989: Lee Edwards (4 years)
• 1993: Richard Longbucco (1 year)
• 1994: Richard DeFauw (4 years)
• 1998: Lee Edwards (6 years)
• 2004: Jim Dunnan (10 years)
• 2014: Kyle Freeman (13 years)
• 2027: Karen Beverlin (appointed 2026)
