HPHS’s Debby Finn — principal for last 5 years — will retire after school year

Township District 113 will soon begin its search for the next principal of Highland Park High School with the pending retirement of Deborah Finn, the school’s principal since 2018.

Finn is set to retire following this school year. Her contract expires on June 30, 2024.

Finn began in District 113 in 1997 as a math teacher at Deerfield High School, according to her LindenIn profile. She became a department chair at HPHS in 2008 and was named the high school’s interim principal in 2018.

Less than a year later, the District 113 School Board removed the Finn’s interim title and approved a three-year contract for Finn to serve as the school’s principal. Finn’s contract was extended another two years in 2022.

Finn stabilized a rotating chair in the HPHS principal’s office.

In 2018, Finn replaced Principal Elizabeth Robertson, who shifted to a role in district administration after just one year as HPHS principal. Prior to Robertson, Tom Koulentes was the school’s principal from 2014 until 2017, when he took a similar job at Libertyville High School; and Brad Swanson held the post from 2009-2014, when he moved over to Glenbrook District 225.

Finn’s base salary for the 2022-’23 school year was $211,034, according to her contract.

The district has also seen plenty of movement at its superintendent position. It is currently searching for a new superintendent following the Dr. Bruce Law’s retirement announcement. The next superintendent will be District 113’s eighth in eight years; though Law held the position for the last four years.

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