Villa Park D45 Picks Leader Without Alerting Public

VILLA PARK, IL – The leadership of Villa Park School District 45 changed overnight Monday, with the school board giving no notice to the public.

As of Tuesday morning, Brian Graber, assistant superintendent of human resources, was listed as superintendent of the 3,100-student district.

Over the weekend, Tony Palmisano was still listed as the superintendent. According to board minutes, he has not attended a meeting since last October.

In a public statement Tuesday morning – hours after Patch's story appeared – the district acknowledged the board and Palmisano entered an agreement that will conclude his employment with the district 36 days into the 2025-26 budget year. That would likely be sometime in August. or September 2025.

Palmisano is transitioning into the role of assistant superintendent, according to the statement.

"The Board and Dr. Palmisano will partner with one another in his remaining time as a District employee to ensure a smooth leadership transition," the statement said.

According to the district's website, Palmisano makes $234,000 a year.

The school board, which met Monday night, apparently decided on a new superintendent. Through a posted meeting agenda, the board is supposed to alert the public about the votes it plans to take. That is a requirement of the state's Open Meetings Act.

But nothing in the agenda indicates the board planned to vote on changing superintendents.

The board did include two items on its agenda that may be connected to the decision to change leadership. They were "Approve First Amendment to Employment Contract for an Administrator" and "Approve Amended Employment and Retirement Contract for an Administrator." No names were listed.

In an email to Patch on Tuesday, the district's spokesman, Tom Jackson, said the board complied with the open meetings law.

"The District believes that sufficient notice was provided in accordance with the Open Meetings Act and the motions carried on both action items," he said.

In January 2023, the district announced that Palmisano, who started as a teacher with the district in 1992, planned to step down at the end of the 2024-25 school year, with an official retirement date of Oct. 1, 2025.

According to a district news release at the time, the board gave Graber a four-year contract, with the understanding that he would start as superintendent on July 1, 2025.

"The approved amendments move up the timetable for a planned and previously approved transition," Jackson said in Tuesday's email.

District 45 is not alone in its lack of notice to the public.

In May 2023, the board for Hinsdale High School District 86 decided behind closed doors to suspend the superintendent and select an interim replacement.

A week and a half later, the board ratified in public its earlier secret votes.

Patch filed a complaint with the attorney general's office. The agency decided to investigate, with no resolution yet.

District 45 includes all or parts of Villa Park, Lombard and Oakbrook Terrace.