School officials in Park Forest have accepted the resignation of a tenured teacher who was accused by at least one parent of making inappropriate remarks to students.
Richard Herz taught in Park Forest School District 163 for 14 years. The board voted 6-1 Monday night to accept Herz’s brief letter of resignation. Board President Virginia Ford was the lone holdout, saying she would rather terminate Herz “for what he has been accused of.”
Herz has repeatedly turned down requests to be interviewed about the matter.
“I am not going to make any comments, and neither will any attorney make comments for me,” said Herz, a social studies teacher at Forest Trail Middle School.
School officials have been equally mum, referring all questions to attorney Anthony Scariano. He said Supt. Joyce Carmine recommended the resignation because Herz was “guilty of unprofessional conduct.”
Delisa Fears’ daughter had Herz as a social studies teacher and complained to her mother about racially insensitive comments he allegedly made to the class. Herz is white.
“I know people feel like that, but to come out and say it” is particularly painful, the girl’s mother said.
Fears tried to talk to board members about the matter during an open session Monday night. She did not publicly name Herz, nor did she state the nature of her complaint. Ford did not allow her to finish, telling her the board would comment after its closed session.
The closed-door meeting took only 15 minutes, and when the board emerged, members did not offer any information as to what Herz had been accused of saying, remaining as vague as they have for the last few weeks.
Fears said Scariano questioned her daughter and other children as part of the school’s investigation into the matter.
Scariano said earlier this month that Herz was removed from the classroom during the investigation.
Nearly 90 percent of the school’s 800 students are African-American.
———-