State education officials said late Tuesday that the two days of classes held at Lake Forest High School while teachers have been on strike should not count as legal attendance days.
“At this point, we do not believe that the Lake Forest program meets the criteria for a legal school day,” said Mary Fergus, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Board of Education.
It wasn’t immediately clear whether school will be held Wednesday. Anne Whipple, spokeswoman for Lake Forest High School District 115, said late Tuesday that she had not been apprised of the state agency’s statement.
The teachers union and the district remained at the bargaining table after resuming talks at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Teachers in the affluent North Shore district walked out Sept. 12 after failing to reach a deal with the district over salaries and benefits. But district officials announced they would reopen school Monday without the teachers, using a combination of administrators, volunteers and substitutes to provide educational content.
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The programming received mixed reviews from students, though many students and parents said they appreciated efforts by the district to keep school open during the strike.
State education officials did not specify why they did not think Lake Forest met the criteria for having Monday and Tuesday count as legal attendance days.
The criteria include having at least 50 percent student attendance — a mark that was easily met both days, according to school officials. The school also must have certified teachers on hand. Another factor is the quality of the educational programming.
State Superintendent Chris Koch is expected to announce his official decision on Lake Forest on Wednesday, according to Roycealee Wood, the Lake County regional schools chief. She visited the school Monday and checked qualifications of teaching staff but declined to comment on the final decision.
About 1,400 students, out of the district’s enrollment of about 1,700, attended school Monday and Tuesday, passing by the teachers as they picketed out front.
Earlier, Wood said she sought guidance from the state agency in deciding whether the school days met the legal criteria because it could set a precedent.
She said she heard from several parents who were not pleased with their students’ educational experience this week.
“Mainly, they are unhappy with some of the things that went on,” she said. “It hasn’t been a great flood of calls, but some have had some concerns.”
Though the district’s effort has been impressive, she said, the parents’ concerns “are not unfounded.”
Chuck Gress, spokesman for the Lake Forest Education Association, called the state’s apparent decision to not count Monday and Tuesday as school days “sensible.”
“I am very pleased that Roycealee Wood and the superintendent’s office all the way down to Springfield have agreed that this is not an official day of attendance,” he said.
Some parents kept their students home anyway Tuesday, before the state’s decision on whether it counted as a school day.
“I don’t feel the students should be made to go in,” said Mark Morettini, whose daughter, a junior, texted him from school Monday with complaints about the educational program. “They are not doing anything except making a lot of people stressed out.”
Mia Morettini, 16, spent Tuesday afternoon at home talking to friends, trying to decide whether to return to school the next day.
“It was a very stressful environment to be in,” she said. “It wasn’t educational at all, and I didn’t really feel safe or supported.”
Some students described Tuesday as more organized. Others returned to the school Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil in support of teachers.
“We just want our teachers back,” said Kevin Doherty, who organized the vigil, which drew about 25 students. “It’s not about supporting either side. They are not just our teachers. They are friends and mentors.”
Lisa Black is a Tribune reporter; Susan Berger is a freelance reporter.