School Boards from both Mundelein School Districts 75 and 120 on Tuesday named Dr. Corey Tafoya as the next superintendent to lead within its shared services model.
Tafoya, currently the Superintendent of Harvard Community Unit School District 50, will take over the leadership of retiring Mundelein Superintendent Dr. Kevin Myers beginning on July 1.
The decision to hire Tafoya was finalized in a unanimous vote Tuesday evening during a special joint meeting of school boards from the two districts.
“We’re thrilled,” said Mundelein High School District 120 Board President Peter Rastrelli. “The more we got to know him, the more we realized he was the one. There’s something very approachable and very outcome-focused with him, but with a balanced approach.”
“Corey will fit into our districts seamlessly,” said Mundelein Elementary School District 75 Board President Kristie Fingerhut. “We have the right person for the job.”
Tafoya has served as District 50 superintendent since July 2017. Prior to that he was assistant superintendent at Community High School District 155 in Crystal Lake for three years. He served as the Woodstock High School principal from 2005 to 2014.
Tafoya, who is bilingual (Spanish), said he was excited to find a pair of school districts that reflected his own values.
“This is such an amazing alignment,” Tafoya said. “It had to be a good match for me. Mundelein’s programs like Dual Language and AVID along with the building improvements and a real sense of community, all really resonate with me.”
During his time in District 50, Tafoya created a Portrait of a Graduate and Portrait of an Educator, established a dual degree program with a community college, and implemented AVID school-wide programs preK-12.
Under his leadership in 2022, Harvard School District 50 was one of 13 school districts in the nation to be recognized with a Lighthouse Award, demonstrating a commitment to learner-centered, equity-focused and future-driven education. In 2024 he was recognized as IASA’s Kishwaukee Region Superintendent of Distinction.
Tuesday’s action by the School Boards marked the first time the two districts worked together to hire a shared superintendent. Kevin Myers was already the District 120 superintendent when the shared services model was adopted in 2019.
The decision to hire Tafoya brings an end to a search process that began in January 2024 when the two boards hired BWP & Associates to conduct a comprehensive superintendent search. Following community and staff engagement meetings led by BWP, board members considered more than three dozen applicants last fall, interviewing six candidates before announcing it would be extended into the winter.
In January 2025, the boards considered a smaller, but better defined pool of candidates and interviewed the top four. Rastrelli said there was remarkable alignment and consensus on Corey among the 14 members of the two school boards.
Tafoya was born in Denver and raised in Casper, WY. He earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in U.S. History and Spanish Teaching from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa and his Masters Degree in Educational Administration at the University of Northern Iowa. He received his Doctorate in Education from the University of Northern Iowa.