As residents continue to speak out about recent hirings and oustings within Orland Elementary District 135, the school board discussed Monday boosting internal hires for administrative positions and hiring an additional assistant principal for at least one school.
“Unfortunately, I believe the consensus lately is that people show up and nothing ever gets done, like their voices aren’t being heard,” board member Ray Morandi told meeting attendees. “I know we sit here with straight faces, but I can assure you that all of your voices are being heard. And that’s a consensus I think you’ll see change in.”
Board member Patti Thanos said the community is begging for a change in operation.
“One can assume if the culture of this district is unhealthy, it will lead to a loss of trust and respect and ultimately negatively impact student performance,” Thanos said.
Other board members also expressed empathy for community members who spoke during recent public comment periods, many expressing concerns about district administrators creating a toxic workplace and criticizing the recent hiring of Tremaine Harris as assistant principal of the Century Junior High.
In response, the seven-person board that includes three members voted in this year discussed ways to better scrutinize the district’s hiring picks before approving them and to vet the social media accounts of candidates.
Comments at the board’s most recent special meeting July 28 took aim at a social media post Harris made that some said raised questions about his qualification as an administrator.
When Harris was hired last month, the district’s posting of the assistant principal position also said it required a minimum of five years of “successful teaching experience,” a target Harris fell short of, speakers said.
“The hiring of administrators and staff isn’t just about filling positions,” said Diane Forystek, who said she was an eighth grade teacher at Century for 26 years before retiring in 2022.
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“As an educator, I am left to wonder, if they could not take the time to vet administrators who would have daily contact with the children of 135, who will lead our children and shape our district, if this task was not worth their time, what is?” Forystek said.
She also bemoaned the loss of former administrators at the school, Brian Horn and Heather Conrad, who she said “always put children first.” Many speakers said the two administrators were forced out earlier this year.
Horn, Century’s principal in 2012, was among nine finalists in 2021 for the Award of Excellence in Leadership from Golden Apple, a statewide education nonprofit. In 2019, he was named Middle School Principal of the Year for the south Cook County region by the Illinois Principals Association.
Conrad was named assistant principal at Century in 2019, after holding other administrative roles in the district. She and the district that year settled a sexual discrimination lawsuit in which she alleged she was passed over for a principal position in District 135 in part because she rebuffed advances by the district’s then superintendent.
Board member Alan Kastengren suggested hiring another assistant principal to join Harris in supporting teachers and students at Century, which is the District 135 school with the largest enrollment and most staff. He said junior high staff, in a recent survey, requested more administrative support.
“Especially to handle student discipline, that came up over and over again,” Kastengren said.
While most of the board indicated support for the proposal, some residents said there also was a need for extra assistant principals at Center School and Park School, for pre-kindergarten through second grade students.
The board held off on taking action, with several members saying they needed more time to look at budgeting for positions at Century and other schools. They said they would discuss the issue again at committee meetings.
The board also discussed ways to involve themselves in district hiring decisions, though members varied on how hands on they board members should be. Ideas included rotating responsibility among board members to review final candidates for leadership positions or sitting in on final interviews.
While Thanos suggested board oversight of hiring should be temporary, board President Nicole Browner said for some neighboring districts “this is part of their practice, just normal practice” that District 135 should adopt.
Kastengren agreed with Browner.
“This is probably a long-term shift in how we’re doing things,” he said.
“I don’t think we should make it negative,” Browner said. “I think this should be something that we do and that we teach new board members as they get elected … So everybody’s transparent and informed.”
The next Orland District 135 Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 at High Point School, 14825 West Ave., Orland Park.