Even though the Homer Elementary School District 33C Board fired a teacher Sunday, parents said their work is not over yet.
More than 70 parents and community members attended Tuesday’s board meeting demanding the resignation of school board members and staff involved with the hire, more accountability from district staff and increased security at the district’s schools. Several also said they plan to run for school board in 2025.
Meanwhile, Superintendent Craig Schoppe said in a statement that student safety continues to be a top priority and the administrative team is conducting a thorough review of the hiring processes.
Late last week, parents began circulating screenshots of social media posts allegedly posted by a recently hired teacher who was scheduled to work this year at four different elementary schools in Homer Glen and Lockport on a rotating basis.
Several of the social media posts depicted Satan worshipping. Some included references to violence, such as “Kill the Poor,” or directed profanities at police.
Another post, which parents said was the most alarming, was an admission the teacher has “done things in conditions of psychosis and mania that have been violent and hurtful.” In the same post, which was made in recognition of mental health awareness month, the teacher talks about suffering from an irrational thought process, making fears and anxiety triple.
Some of the social media posts dated back to 2014.
The board held a special meeting Sunday, and voted unanimously to fire the teacher effective immediately.
Parents said even though the teacher has been fired, they were concerned about the safety of their children because the teacher gained national attention, may have been angered or embarrassed about his dismissal and has admitted to violent behavior.
“I don’t know how you felt after this board meeting on Sunday, but I left more terrified,” Lori Hibbott said as parents in the audience audibly agreed. “I didn’t sleep Sunday at all. … I’m thankful you fired the person you mistakenly hired. But you placed our children in the crosshairs and it’s not acceptable by any stretch of the imagination. Parents, don’t give up.”
Neil Kennelly said he kept his children home from school Monday because he was worried about any retaliation. He said the communication from the district was lacking and the community has lost its trust in district officials.
“I understand that you say there is no active threat right now,” he said. “There is a national spotlight put on us. We need to have a better plan. … I’m not looking for every little detail, but a little would be nice. I need to have confidence in you. You want trust? You want my confidence? Earn it back please.”
Schoppe said in a statement that Will County Sheriff’s Department and Lockport Police Department will be on school grounds for the foreseeable future. The sheriff’s office is allocating both marked and unmarked patrol deputies to be present, he said. The district also hired a school resource officer in July to monitor schools.
Schoppe also said the district’s hiring process will be reviewed.
“To be clear, our hiring process far exceeds the standard process set forth by the state of Illinois,” Schoppe said. “It is our highest priority that we audit our process to ensure we select candidates of the highest quality and the best fit for our school community. Specifically, we are currently investigating third-party screening firms and are evaluating the potential to add their services to our hiring process.”
Schoppe said he will provide the results of the hiring process evaluation and recommendation to improve the process to the board in the coming weeks.
He declined to answer questions beyond the statement.
According to meeting minutes, the teacher submitted his resignation from Worth Elementary District 127, which was approved April 12 to be effective June 1.
District 33C parent Tim Sipowicz thanked fellow parents, who were researching their children’s teachers and not afraid to speak up. He said if they didn’t do the work, the teacher would have been in the classroom this year.
“I give credit to parents who did more for free in such a short amount of time than you all did over the past few months when this was the job you were hired to do,” he said at the school board meeting. “I give credit to the parents who weren’t afraid to share and vocalize their concern about the graphic and disturbing subject matter they discovered despite the backlash they may receive.”
Sipowicz said the parents’ concern has nothing to do with the teacher’s gender or sexual orientation, as some people have suggested in social media posts, but rather about the teacher’s violent admissions.
“The disturbing and graphic material is exactly what this whole push and uproar is about,” he said. “It confuses me greatly when an individual tries to twist the narrative and make it out to be about either gender or sexual orientation when the concern actually has nothing to do with either.”
Sipowicz said it was disheartening, when the material discovered was so “blatantly evil and violent,” that there was not unity and agreement the teacher did not belong in a school system.
“Can a person change? Absolutely,” he said. “However, there was nothing ever provided to prove that individual has in fact changed.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
