The Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 Board held a special meeting on May 6 at the District 205 Center, 162 S. York St. Board members voted unanimously (6-0) during the brief meeting to approve the appointment of Linda Yonke and Stephan Bild to serve as co-principals at York High School during the 2026-27 school year.
Yonke served as York’s principal from 1998 to 2004. She then moved on to New Trier Township High School District 203, where she spent two years as an assistant superintendent before serving as the superintendent for 11 years. Since retiring in 2017, Yonke has served in interim superintendent positions, including a stint as District 205’s interim superintendent in 2021.
Bild, who has more than 50 years of experience in education, served as the principal at Downers Grove South High School. He retired from that position at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Bild has since served as an interim principal at Glenbrook North High School and Lake Zurich High School.
Jessica Hurt, York’s principal since the summer of 2023, was recently appointed as the director of high school curriculum at Indian Prairie School District 204. That district includes three high schools—Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley in Aurora, and Neuqua Valley in Naperville. Hurt officially assumes her new position on July 1. Hurt appeared at the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board meeting on April 6, when the board approved her appointment.
“I am so thrilled to be able to join this prestigious district and team to lead the work at all three high schools,” said Hurt at the meeting.
District 205 Superintendent Keisha Campbell and the district’s board members did not mention Hurt by name during the special meeting on May 6. At the board’s previous regular meeting on April 21, Campbell spoke about the importance of identifying a new candidate to serve as York’s next principal. She said that the district’s administration was working to identify an interim principal, which would allow the district to conduct a comprehensive and inclusive search, beginning in the fall of 2026.
“Recruiting and hiring a new high school principal ideally takes place earlier in the school year to attract the highest quality candidate,” said Campbell during the special May 6 meeting, which lasted less than 20 minutes. “Therefore, the administration developed a plan to secure interim leadership for the 2026-27 school year, so that we can conduct a full search for a permanent principal who will officially start on July 1, 2027.”
Campbell then said she was pleased and proud to recommend Yonke and Bild to serve as York’s interim co-principals for the 2026-27 school year. Campbell described Yonke and Bild as “retired administrators with a lengthy educational leadership focus, specifically at the high school levels.”
Yonke will earn $1,300 per day in her role as York’s interim co-principal, while Bild will earn $1,100 per day. There was no discussion during the meeting about how Yonke and Bild will divide their time at York.
Without referring directly to Hurt, board member Brian Bresnahan stated that he understood and appreciated the challenge created by Hurt’s recent resignation. Bresnahan that while Yonke and Bild were experienced and respected, he did have some reservations about their appointment. Bresnahan said his primary concern was that York’s current freshmen and sophomores will experience three leadership teams in four years. He said the district had talented assistant principals who could help provide stability.
“We have seen the stability she brings to this district during transitional periods,” said board member Courtenae Trautmann while speaking about Yonke. Trautmann added that she was grateful Yonke was available to serve as one of York’s interim co-principals during the next school year. “We can take the time to find the best leader moving forward,” added Trautmann. “I love the idea that we have the ability to lean on Linda and Stephen to bridge this gap.”
Board member Beth Hosler referred to Yonke and Bild as two experienced leaders. She said their service as interim co-principals would give the board and administration time to go through the process of selecting York’s next principal.
One board member—Kelly Henry—was absent from the special meeting on May 6. After board members voted unanimously to approve the appointment of Yonke and Bild, District 205 Board President Athena Arvanitis thanked them for stepping in during a time of transition.
“Thank you for giving me the opportunity to return to one of my very favorite places in the world—York High School,” said Yonke in her brief remarks near the end of the special meeting. “I have a deep connection to York in many ways. I was principal when we passed the referendum [in March 2000] and it was rebuilt. I left in the summer of 2004 when it had been finished in January of 2004.”
Yonke stated that she lived in Elmhurst for eight years, and that if she hadn’t gotten her job at New Trier Township High School District 203, she would probably still be living in Elmhurst.
“I love the spirit of York; there’s nothing like the spirit of York,” said Yonke, who noted that her son graduated from York in 2003. She also said that after 22 years of working in the central office of school districts, she was happy to be returning to a high school, and being “right on the front lines of educating teenagers.”
Yonke provided consulting services for District 205, and provided those services in York’s last search for a new principal—the search that led to Hurt’s appointment in that role in 2023. Hurt replaced Shahe Bagdasarian, who also spent three years as York’s principal from 2020 to 2023. Bagdasarian left York to take a superintendent’s position in Oak Lawn.
Yonke also assisted District 205 in the search process that resulted in Campbell’s hiring as the district’s superintendent in 2021. When David Moyer’s tenure as District 205’s superintendent ended on March 31, 2021, Yonke became the district’s interim superintendent from April 1 to June 30 of that year.
“I’m most excited about connecting with students,” Yonke added.
“I love being in high school,” stated Bild in his comments at the special meeting. “I probably wasn’t ready to retire when I did so 12 years ago.” Bild said that in the last 12 years, he has been in many schools, assisting them in a process similar to the one he will undertake at York.
“I’ve learned how to be a temp,” Bild said. “I simply serve as a bridge to what’s coming. I look forward to the partnership with Linda. I’m looking forward to being a Duke.”
The last day of student attendance for District 205’s current 2025-26 school year is Thursday, May 21. The first day of student attendance for the district’s upcoming 2026-27 school year is Thursday, Aug. 13.
The board will hold its next regular meeting on May 19.
