Evergreen Park School District 124 on Thursday rescinded its offer of employment to a middle school principal whose past workplace conduct came under scrutiny shortly after his hiring was announced last month.
The elementary school district’s board voted 6-0, with one abstention, to rescind its May 16 job offer to Matthew Eriksen and terminate its employment contract with him.
The decision, which came after a three-hour executive session, was met with applause from the audience of parents and district staff.
“I think it’s great that they went back and did what was right for the school and the staff,” said parent Laura McRae, who has publicly criticized the board for its vetting of Eriksen.
After the meeting, Superintendent Robert Machak declined to comment on the process that led to Eriksen’s hiring, but said he suggested that the board review its hiring procedures amid criticism by district staff that internal candidates are often skipped over for administrative openings.
“My role now moving forward is to work on finding the best principal I can for Central Middle School, so that the students, staff and parents can get the next year off to a good start,” Machak said. “I’ve lost a month in that search because of this process and I need to focus on what’s ahead of us rather than what’s behind us.
“There are going to be a lot of opportunities in the coming weeks and months to talk about the process and some of the recommendations from the parents tonight, but tonight is not that night.”
Eriksen did not respond to a request for comment on the board’s decision to rescind his contract.
Concerns about the new principal came to light two days after his official hire by the board last month when an email, purportedly written by a staff member at his current district and sent to board members and the media, expressed concern over his hiring in Evergreen Park and made troubling allegations about workplace conditions experienced by school staff under his watch in North Shore School District 112.
A spokesman for District 112 in Highland Park, where Eriksen has served as an administrator for the past 11 years, declined comment on the allegations made in the anonymous email and said Eriksen had not been subject to any discipline during his time with the district.
Records show the District 112 board of education placed Eriksen on paid administrative leave in early January and entered into a separation agreement with him later that month.
The separation document, in which District 112 agreed not to disparage Eriksen and to provide prospective employers with a letter of reference, states that he voluntarily chose to resign from the district “after careful consideration, of his own volition and after consultation with legal counsel.”
While on leave, Eriksen has been directed not to contact any district employees or others doing business with the district; to steer clear of district property; and to avoid attending any school meetings, events or functions unless approved by the superintendent, according to a letter from district counsel released to the Daily Southtown under the Freedom of Information Act.
The Evergreen Park school board has not disclosed what, if anything, it knew about Eriksen’s background when it hired him last month.
A statement released the day after it approved his contract said he was selected, “from an impressive candidate pool with dozens of qualified candidates” and subjected to “a thorough interview process,” that included the superintendent, principals and directors, staff, board members and parents.
The board convened a special meeting to reconsider Eriksen’s employment shortly after the allegations against him surfaced last month, but took no action at that meeting.
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Afterward, the district released a statement saying it would permit Eriksen a chance to formally address the board in closed session at a subsequent meeting before making a decision on his future.
Board members did not discuss their decision to rescind Eriksen’s job offer Thursday, saying only that it was made in the best interest of the children and families they serve.
“Legal obligations often make it challenging for the district to act as swiftly as some may prefer,” a statement the board released Thursday night says, “and we are thankful that our community has stood together in unity while we took the steps to resolve this situation.”
The district said in a statement Friday that it had no financial obligation to Eriksen, who was set to start working July 1, and would incur no cost by terminating his contract prematurely.