Burr Ridge District Faces Civil Rights Inquiry Into Harassment Allegations

BURR RIDGE, IL – The federal government is opening a civil rights investigation into Burr Ridge-based Pleasantdale School District 107's handling of sexual harassment complaints.

This week, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights responded to a resident's request for an inquiry.

In a letter to the resident, Sandra Roesti, a team leader in the agency, said the complaint was that the district discriminated against female students and staff based on sex by failing to adequately respond to reports of sexual harassment.

Roesti said the investigation does not mean that her office has made a final determination on the merits of the case.

District resident Laura Kitaeff, who filed the complaint, said the sexual harassment was not directed at her personally, but at students and staff.

"My concern is the District’s deliberate indifference to repeated reports of sexual harassment and its ongoing failure to respond appropriately," Kitaeff said in the complaint. "Our children and their teachers should not be subjected to this environment, and the District is essentially betting that this individual will not sexually harass or intimidate anyone else."

Patch left a message for comment Wednesday with Superintendent Dave Palzet.

Last year, District 107 heard a complaint that an employee sexually harassed another.

But the district's lawyer said the complaint did not reach "formal" status. Some residents questioned the use of that distinction.

Last month, state Rep. Nicole La Ha, a Homer Glen Republican whose district includes Burr Ridge, introduced a bill that would bar school districts from requiring that a harassment report be made in a specific manner to be considered "formal" or "official" for the purpose of starting an investigation.

The teacher who is suspected of harassment was also accused of sexually abusing a student seven years ago.

The allegation against the teacher was brought up again last year. Willow Springs police said they investigated and cleared the teacher in the matter.

The controversy has split the Pleasantdale community, with dueling online petitions for and against the teacher.