Interim principal officially takes the helm at Niles West

Niles Township High School District 219 has selected one of its own, and someone already in the right chair, to be the principal of Niles West High School. 

The D219 board of education voted unanimously on Tuesday, Feb. 3, to appoint Steve Parnther, a Niles West alumnus, to the position.

Previously the school’s assistant principal, Parnther became Niles West’s acting principal last year after the school’s previous leader, Jeremy Christian, informed staff in June 2025 he accepted a position to become Proviso West High School’s principal, said Takumi Iseda, D219’s director of communications, in an email. Christian was Niles West’s principal for two years after taking over for Karen Ritter, the school’s principal since 2019.

A news release on D219’s website describes Parnther as a “passionate educator” who brings more than a decade of experience to the job, including prior positions as the assistant principal of operations at Niles West and as the dean and assistant athletic director at Niles North High School.

In recommending him before the board on Feb. 3, Ray Chung, D219’s director of human resources, noted Parnther is a graduate of Niles West and someone invested in the local community.

“He’s really someone that’s not just going to announce problems but really wants to get in the weeds and be a partner with us and run alongside us and the board,” Chung said. 

“And so he’s been very well received by our union leadership, by the teachers at West, staff at West, and so we’re very excited about this appointment,” Chung continued.

Parnther’s three-year contract will provide him an annual salary of $210,000 starting on July 1, 2026, said Iseda. The district’s 2025 salary and benefits report shows Christian was paid an annual salary of $200,000. 

Christian left Niles West for the principal position at Proviso West High School in Hillside “to be closer to home,” Iseda said.  

Before joining D219, Parnther gained a master’s degree in school leadership from Concordia University, a master’s of curriculum and instruction from the American College of Education, and a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and sports studies from Eastern Illinois University. 

Superintendent Tom Moore said that Parnther is the right leader at the right time, especially during a major renovation at the high school.

“I’m so proud of the plans that’ve been put together and the work that’s been put into all of this,” Moore said during a construction update for the addition to Niles West’s campus.  “But plans break down without the right people and Steve is the right person and I couldn’t be more excited.

“He has my full support. He has our full support. The response from the community was rather thunderous that he was the right person to lead West as we go down this path.”

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