D-205 Leader Criticized For Deleted Tweets

ELMHURST, IL — Three people submitting public comments to the Elmhurst School District 205 board last week took the superintendent to task for tweets he deleted in an exchange with one of the district's most recognized teachers. Neither Superintendent Dave Moyer nor the board responded to the comments.

Last Monday, a number of written comments were read during the public comment portion of the meeting, including those critical of Moyer.

Late last month, an Elmhurst Patch story detailed Moyer's deleted tweets in an exchange about wearing masks. He was responding to a tweet by Jennifer Leban, a 2020 Illinois Teacher of the Year finalist.

In her written comments to the board, Sarah Garcia, a teacher in another school district, said most had seen how Moyer had treated an "esteemed" teacher and several parents on Twitter.

"I don't think I need to go into why his behavior is problematic, but in case I do, he told an employee to go against (state) health regulations during COVID-19," Garcia said. "I understand everyone makes mistakes, but a real leader owns those mistakes, instead of trying to sweep them under the rug.

"What is this board planning to do in terms of discipline? If a teacher had done this, they would have been heavily reprimanded or most likely fired immediately," Garcia said. "I think at the very least that Dr. Moyer should issue a public apology to the teacher and the parents involved in the tweets."

Garcia noted that Moyer has blocked parents from his Twitter account, even though it is tied to the school district's website. Patch reported about Moyer's practice of blocking people from his account and has filed a public records request to see the list of those blocked.

Eileen Espinosa, a local resident who once served on a school council in Chicago, said she has "extended grace" to Moyer during the pandemic, but could no longer remain silent.

"His utter lack of leadership is overwhelming and you're ignoring it is no longer acceptable," Espinosa said to the board in her comments. "Dr. Moyer's inability to send communications that help the community to come together in the spring and throughout the summer and into the school year are a repeated reminder that he does not lead our district. He continues to air his grievances and personal opinions on social media."

Espinosa pointed out Moyer's exchange with Leban and the parents, saying he was sarcastic and inappropriately invoked the opinion's of the district's lawyers.

"A true leader of a district would stand with the teachers," Espinosa said. "If a real problem exists, he should have a one-on-one discussion with that teacher or reach out to the principal to find out how the problem can be solved. Dr. Moyer didn't do either. Instead, he engaged in a petty argument via social media. He deleted his tweets. If they had been appropriate, there would have been no need to delete them. This is intentionally divisive on the part of Dr. Moyer."

Another person who submitted written comments — identified only as Daniel D. — labeled Moyer's comments as "snarky" and "uninformed."

After the public comments, which were about a number of issues, school board President Kara Caforio said the board would not respond "at this time" to the feedback. "We do address the issues later on," she said. No one mentioned the deleted tweets through the rest of the meeting.

When asked for comment about his deleted tweets late last month, Moyer did not directly answer. In an email, he said his public messages should be interpreted as seeking "a balance between safety for all and creating the healthiest learning environment for students. It is time for all of us to move beyond the negativity and keep the focus where it belongs."