Incoming Unity superintendent had eye on job for two years
Dec. 20—TOLONO — Brian Brink will be new to the Unity school district when he takes over as superintendent next summer, but he's already familiar with the area: He's an Illini season ticket holder and brings the family up for games whenever they get the chance.
"My dad raised me to be an Illini fan," Brink said, though he earned his degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. "I'm doing the same with my kids."
Now that they'll be moving up to the Tolono area, he's happy it'll be easier to make it to Illini games and he won't be "paying for games we're not going to."
A trip to Champaign-Urbana was Brink's first introduction to Unity schools.
His family lives in a golf-cart community, so when he saw a nice golf cart while driving near Tolono, he followed it to see about getting his own.
It turned out the cart was headed toward a Unity facility, and Brink loved the look of it as soon as he laid eyes on the school.
Southern Illinois' Tamaroa school district, where Brink is currently superintendent, doesn't receive the same level of funding as Unity does.
"The facilities are first-class," Brink said. "There's nothing down south where we are that compares. That's obviously what caught my eye at first, but it was really learning about the people and the community."
He told his wife, Jessica, that he'd apply to the superintendent position there if it ever opened up. That was around two years ago.
Interviews for the position meant more trips up north, including with the family for the final round.
Brink's son, Beckham, will be in ninth grade next year, and his daughter, Blythe, will be in fifth grade, so they wanted a tour of the schools they'll be attending.
Having his children in his district is one of the main things Brink is excited about for the new position.
His current district only includes a grade school, which earned the highest designation given — "exemplary" — on last month's state-issued report cards. Unity has two elementaries, a junior high and a high school.
Tamaroa's enrollment last year was 83. Unity's was 1,517.
Brink said this is an opportunity to keep doing what he's doing, but also to make decisions that will have a direct impact on his own children.
"I'm just looking forward to them being embarrassed about Dad being in school with them," he said.
The family took restaurant recommendations on the visit and ended up stopping by Old Orchard Lanes & Links for pizza.
Brink said Monical's is another frequent choice; as a Centralia native, the central Illinois chain is a favorite for him.
Brian and Jessica — who works as head of procurement for the Americas for fertilizer, chemical and metal manufacturer ICL Group — have done some window shopping for a new home in the Tolono area, but the new superintendent said they aren't in too much of a hurry yet.
He'll start in his new position on July 1, 2024, the day after Andy Larson retires following a 14-year run.
In the meantime, there's plenty to do in Tamaroa, especially in the days before winter break.
"It's Christmas-party time," Brink said.
Once he's closer to his start date, Brink said he plans to connect with more of the local community and conduct interviews to find out what people like about the district and what they'd like to see changed.
That way, he'll have an idea of what he's getting into and have a list of issues to work on as he steps into the new position.
