Indian Prairie School District 204's 26,000 students will start the 2026-27 school year under a new superintendent and a reshaped board after the district honored its departing leader and a longtime member, then appointed a replacement, all at a single meeting on Tuesday, June 9.

Superintendent Adrian Talley's last day with the district is June 30. Dr. John Price, most recently superintendent of North Chicago District 187, takes over July 1 on a three-year, $335,000-per-year contract. Talley is headed to Stamford Public Schools in Connecticut as its next superintendent.

"I leave the district believing I have taken what was given to me and made it better," Talley told the board at the June 9 meeting, according to NCTV17. "I'll let the record speak for itself."

Board member Susan Demming read a proclamation thanking Talley for leading the district through the COVID-19 pandemic, spearheading its first strategic plan, and what she called his "deep commitment to student well-being." Talley said the tribute caught him off guard. The board and staff had kept it a surprise, listing the honors on the agenda as "retirement proclamations," though Talley is not retiring but moving to a new post.

Price led North Chicago 187, a district of roughly 3,800 students, for nine years. During his tenure there, the district received a $40 million gift from AbbVie that funded a new middle school, and he was named Lake County's superintendent of the year in 2023. He will inherit oversight of Indian Prairie's $420 million bond-funded facilities overhaul, approved by voters in 2024.

The same meeting marked the board's first session since 13-year member Justin Karubas's resignation became official May 24. Karubas, a lifelong Naperville resident and Waubonsie Valley graduate, cited health issues and the upcoming graduation of his youngest child from Neuqua Valley. Board member Catey Genc read a proclamation highlighting his role in creating the student advisory board. Board President Laurie Donahue credited Karubas with personally motivating her to run for the board.

To fill Karubas's seat, the board appointed Andrew Bernard, 38, a Naperville resident and business teacher at St. Charles North High School. Bernard previously oversaw a $54 million budget as chief school business official for the A.E.R.O. Special Education Cooperative in Burbank. His oldest child starts kindergarten in the district this fall.

"I have young kids coming into the school system. I'm personally invested," Bernard told the Aurora Beacon-News.

Bernard will be sworn in at the board's next meeting on Monday, July 13, and will serve until April 2027, when the seat goes up for election. He has said he intends to run.