Watchdog Questions Elmhurst D205 Secrecy On Complaint

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 is keeping secret a union complaint on behalf of York High School teacher Kelly DeLoriea.

But a government watchdog said the denial of the record may conflict with state law.

Last month, Patch requested any complaint filed by the Elmhurst Teachers Council this year related to DeLoriea's disciplinary situation involving social media posts.

Last week, the district denied the request. It cited an exception under the state's open records law that exempts documents relating to the adjudication of an employee grievance and disciplinary case.

However, watchdog Edgar Pal said this week the district appears to be misusing the exemption.

"That exemption only covers records directly relating to the adjudication process, not to the initial complaints or grievances that were filed before the adjudication began," Pal said in an email. "The District appears to have the complaint or union grievance in its possession, and (the Freedom of Information Act) requires that it be released to the public."

He pointed to Illinois appeals court decisions in the last decade that he said back up his contention.

In 2014, the Ottawa-based 3rd District Appeals Court found that a complaint or grievance is part of an investigatory process that is separate from a disciplinary adjudication.

"Even if a substantiated complaint or grievance results in disciplinary proceedings being instituted, the complaint or grievance does not fall within the ... exemption because the disciplinary proceedings 'are a different matter entirely,'" the court ruled.

Pal closely watches area public bodies for open records and open meetings violations.

Over the last few years, Pal's complaints have prompted the Elmhurst school board to release recordings of closed sessions where the board shut the doors in apparent violation of the open meetings law.

In one case of a violation, a closed-session discussion involved an administrative reorganization. In the other, board members spoke about their anger with Elmhurst city officials.

In the DeLoriea situation, the denial of the grievance is the second time that the district engaged in secrecy that may violate the open records law.

Under state law, the confidentiality of employee disciplinary matters does not apply to the "final outcome" of cases.

Last month, though, the district decided against releasing the facts of its case against DeLoriea.

This went against not only its own practice, but those of other school districts.

In response to a Patch request in 2022, the district provided the facts of its case against a Bryan Middle School substitute teacher. She was accused of requiring students to do physical exercises if they failed to wear their masks properly.

Patch asked the district about why it applied a different disclosure standard in the two cases. It did not reply.

Three weeks ago, the board reprimanded DeLoriea.