The Homer Elementary School District 33C Board Sunday fired a recently hired elementary school teacher after parents reported seeing disturbing posts on social media that included references to violence.
The District 33C meeting room quickly reached its capacity of 69 people and more than 100 people watched the special meeting in an overflow area in the gym.
After a brief closed session, the board approved the immediate firing of the teacher, who was hired to teach this year on a rotating basis at William J. Butler, William E. Young, Luther J. Schilling and Goodings Grove elementary schools in Homer Glen and Lockport.
Parents said the safety of their children was their number one concern after seeing social media posts allegedly made by the teacher depicting Satanism and with messages such as “Kill the Poor” and “Love the Devil Back.”
Some of the posts were as far back as 2014, and parents began sharing screenshots of the images late last week.
One message issued profanities directed at police.
Another social media post attributed to the teacher talks about struggles with bipolar disorder, stating “I have done things in conditions of psychosis and mania that have been violent and hurtful.”
In a statement, District 33C Board President Elizabeth Hitzeman said while the board cannot comment on the specific staff member, all new teachers undergo background and reference checks.
“Though extraordinarily rare, there are times that process may not be flawless,” Hitzeman said. “However, when additional information that is legally relevant to an individual’s ability to work safely and successfully in the district does come to our attention, we take the time to consider that information and then take appropriate action.”
Parents attending the special board meeting said the district dropped the ball with the hiring and wanted accountability. Several parents suggested that anyone involved in the hiring should resign or be fired and also asked board members and the superintendent to step down.
Parents also wanted to know what the school district plans to do to keep students safe and what policies would change to avoid questionable hiring decisions in the future.
“Hiring a teacher with unpredictable behavior for elementary school is neglectful,” parent Lilly Miceli said. “As elected officials for Homer Glen schools, it is your job to do what is right for our children. That includes doing your due diligence with hiring new teachers and staff members. The technology we have is at our fingertips. This should be caught. Social media is a public forum. If this person is saying and posting this publicly, what will he do behind closed doors with our children?”
Steven Selucky, another parent, said the graphic social media posts are disturbing.
“This board of education and administration has failed the community in a most egregious way,” Selucky said. “The safety of our children who we hand off to you for your care has been neglected and overlooked. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, this is at least extreme incompetence and neglect of duty.”
Selucky said he was concerned for the safety of the students since the teacher has now gained national notoriety and has posted violent messages.
“You let this threat into our community, the threat is not gone and it will be a dark cloud looming over our hometown for years to come,” he said.
Nick Kolliniatis, a parent and unsuccessful board candidate in April, said the first day of school should be exciting time for students and families.
“You ruined that for these families,” Kolliniatis said. “Instead, you instilled fear and anger.”
Renee Ghenciu said she woke up on the first day of school “gob smacked” when she saw the graphic images attributed to the teacher.
“How do I, in good faith, tell my child you’re safe,” Ghenciu said. “How dare you put us in that position.”
Other parents said there was little communication between the district and families.
“Sorry does not cover it,” Lejla Kappmeyer said. “I want to know what safety procedures have you put in place for our children. Safety is the only concern. No politics should ever matter when it comes to safety of your children.”
Parent Sarah Jones said the community is livid over lack of transparency and said that the district needs better security checks.
“If he slipped through the cracks, who else did?” Jones said.
Two people Sunday spoke out in favor of the teacher, including a former District 33C student and a grandmother who previously worked in education and in the mental health field.
Grandmother Juanita Gay said she was concerned the teacher was being tried in the court of public opinion and spoke out to ensure the firing was fair and not because of differently held beliefs.
“I’m concerned about a young teacher being eviscerated in a public forum,” Gay said.
District 33C Superintendent Craig Schoppe said he understands parents trust him to ensure a high-quality education and hire the best staff.
“I realize that I may have lost that trust from many of you, but I will work to regain it,” Schoppe said. “Although the hiring process is not flawless, I will work to review and improve our processes.”
Schoppe said there will be an increased security presence from the Will County Sheriff’s Department and Lockport Police Department, and the school’s resource officer will be monitoring district schools.
Homer Glen Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said she supports the board’s decision, and questioned how the town was put in this situation in the first place.
“I truly hope you consider a different path when hiring the next teacher and some sort of discipline, if not resignation, for those who made this recent hire,” Neitzke-Troike said. “I do not believe this hire was with ill intent; however I do believe a ball was dropped. I hope you pick that ball up and think of our children first from now on at all costs.”
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
