After serving for two years, a controversial principal resigned from Rich South High School in Richton Park.
District 227 Interim Superintendent Greg Wright said Michael McGrone turned in his resignation to officials on June 15, and called McGrone’s decision “unexpected.” His last day on the job was June 30.
Wright didn’t comment on why McGrone resigned. In April 2016, McGrone was suspended for three days for an undisclosed reason.
At a recent district board of education meeting, McGrone said he resigned because his administrators pay was low compared to other officials at south suburban schools. He also complained about his lack of input in the recent hiring of a Rich South administrator.
At the school board meeting, Rich South parents, alumni, and members of the community told district officials that they were not happy that McGrone was leaving the school.
“I feel that if McGrone is not the principal, it would be tremendously tragic for the student body going into this next school year,” said Lynsie Antoine, a parent.
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In his tenure, Antoine said McGrone implemented mentoring programs for students effected by traumatic experiences and “Turn Up Fridays,” a weekly afterschool event featuring a DJ and bouncy houses to encourage student attendance.
Along with bringing change through efforts aimed at enhancing student life, Antoine said the former principal was also able to unify faculty and staff.
Rich South’s need for stability was reiterated by other parents. Prior to McGrone, data collected by the Illinois Board of Education said Rich South has been under the leadership of three different principals in the past six years.
“What he does for our children in his leadership, you can’t buy it. He’s priceless for what he’s done for our kids,” community member Yolands Williams said. “So, to lose that because we’ve never had it, would be tragic.”
There also were fewer incidents at the school reported to Richton Park Police Department while McGrone was principal, supporters said. In years before McGrone’s administration from Aug. 1, 2013 to June 1, 2015, Richton Park police data showed Rich South had 348 incidents involving police, they said. Under McGrone, there were only 204 incidents reported from Aug. 1, 2015 to June 28, 2017.
“I did everything that I could to turn that school around with the support of the entire staff,” McGrone said. “I can honestly say, I did not cheat this district, I gave it everything that I had and more.”
But McGrone’s approach also was met with criticism. McGrone’s promotion of prayer was considered unconventional, while some students also felt that his “use of race rhetoric” targeted white students.
While every speaker at the meeting spoke highly of McGrone, Wright said he has heard positive and negative response in regards to the former principal’s leaving.
“We’ve had a few people that have responded from both sides of the aisle, some saying that they wanted him to go and some saying that they didn’t want him to,” Wright said. “But it was a resignation, and it’s being treated as such.”
School officials had not yet named a replacement for McGrone.