Elmhurst Board Not Part Of Teacher Settlement

ELMHURST, IL – The elected Elmhurst school board wasn't involved – at least officially – in the decision to limit the power of a teacher's reprimand it issued three years ago.

In November, Superintendent Keisha Campbell, an appointed administrator, signed a settlement with the teachers union and York High teacher Kelly DeLoriea. Under the agreement, the reprimand can no longer be used as a basis for firing DeLoriea.

In 2023, the board's "notice to remedy" allowed the district to use the reprimand in future justifications for a termination.

It was unusual that a superintendent essentially revised a school board decision.

Patch filed a public records request for any correspondence between board members and the administration on the settlement. The district said last week it had no such records.

Board members may have discussed the agreement during closed sessions. Or Campbell or another administrator could have spoken privately to board members in person or over the phone.

In response to Patch's inquiry, board President Athena Arvanitis said the district was pleased to have come to an agreement with DeLoriea and the union.

Arvanitis said the board was aware of the settlement and that the district and union believed it did not require the board's approval.

"The agreement essentially memorialized that the Superintendent, who is the person who would recommend termination to the Board if she believed the Notice to Remedy had been violated, agreed not to recommend termination on the basis of a violation of the Notice to Remedy," Arvanitis said in an email. "The agreement binds her, and that is why it was signed by her."

Without a vote, the district avoided turning the public's attention to DeLoriea again.

In 2023, residents asked the board during meetings to vote against a reprimand. After the board supported it, the teachers union filed a complaint with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on behalf of DeLoriea. The union alleged the district retaliated against DeLoriea.

In the settlement, the union agreed to throw out the complaint.

DeLoriea was accused of revealing information about a conservative critic's child on social media.