York Teacher Still Faces Discipline

ELMHURST, IL – The Elmhurst School District 205 board is set to vote Tuesday on a public reprimand for a York High School teacher.

The board had planned to take action related to York teacher Kelly DeLoriea at its regular meeting a couple of weeks ago.

But board President Athena Arvanitis removed the item from the agenda, later saying the board needed more time to discuss it.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the board plans to hold a special meeting about DeLoriea's situation.

According to the agenda, the board will start with public comments, then hold a closed session about issues with specific personnel, likely DeLoriea.

Finally, members plan to emerge to vote on approving a resolution of a "notice to remedy," which is school jargon for a reprimand.

The board's agenda does not include DeLoriea's name, but public comments among her supporters at the last meeting indicated the issue involved her.

Another item on Tuesday's agenda says the board will vote on a "withdrawal of disciplinary action." It is unclear whether this item is connected to the reprimand; it was removed at the same time from the agenda two weeks ago.

Officials have not said what got DeLoriea into hot water. Over the last couple of years, she and her American Studies colleague, Lindsey DiTomasso, have been accused by parents of teaching liberally biased lessons. But the board has given no indication that this is the reason for the possible disciplinary action.

During the last meeting, DeLoriea's supporters suggested the board was poised to infringe on DeLoriea's free speech rights.

In an email to Patch on Sunday night, former school board candidate Tom Chavez, who has been publicly critical of DeLoriea over the last couple of years, said he was not sure whether he would attend Monday's meeting. He said his week is particularly busy.

The agenda for Tuesday's meeting was released at 5 p.m., exactly 48 hours beforehand, the minimum required under state law. It was an indication the board did not want to give the public any more notice than legally required.