'Eriksen Will Be Paid Nothing By District:' D124 School Board

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- The Evergreen Park ESD 124 Board of Education withdrew their recent job offer made to Dr. Matthew Eriksen after he was hired to become the new principal of Central Middle School. Eriksen was to have started his new role on July 1, but D124 board members were forced to reconsider after allegations of professional misconduct emerged from his former school district in Highland Park.

The D124 school board issued a statement the day after meeting saying that the contract with Eriksen has been terminated and the district holds no financial obligation to him. "Eriksen will be paid nothing by the Distirct.

After meeting for three hours in closed session Thursday evening, the board voted to rescind the offer made to Eriksen, with board member Robert Kelly abstaining. D124 teachers and parents blasted the board and administration during public comments for not doing a more thorough job of vetting Eriksen, who had been placed on leave as a middle school principal at North Shore Dist. 112 amid accusations of sexual harassment, intimidation and bullying.

JoAnne Reilly, a 25-year teacher in Dist. 124, who said she was speaking out in fear of “retribution” and would have had Eriksen for a boss at Central Middle School, told the board there were red flags from the beginning.

“I, and everyone else in this field, understands that when someone is released from a contract or put on leave by a district and administration, there is something going on. We may not know the problem, but we know something has led to that,” Reilly said. “If there is a candidate directed by the school board to go on a leave of absence, why was he in the pool of candidates to begin with when there are so many other candidates out there not on leave or have red flags?”

Reilly said that it has been several years since a D124 teacher has been promoted to an administrative position as was done in the past. The district’s best teachers have since moved on to administrative positions in other districts because they were passed over.

“Our district invests a great deal of money in the continuing education of our teachers and has high expectations for quality instructors. Why are we not benefiting from that investment as a community,” Reilly continued. “Utilize the talents from within. When hiring from within, there is a 100-percent certainty there is no leave of absence and no red flags.”

Before taking a vote, D124 board president Kimberly Leonard told the packed meeting room that community members should not misinterpret the board’s silence.

“Legal obligations often make it a challenge for the district to act as swiftly as some people may have preferred,” Leonard said. “We are thankful for the community and how they have stood together in unity while we took steps to resolve the situation … Please do not interpret our silence at this time as not hearing your concerns.”

An audience member called out “coward” when Kelly abstained from voting.

After the meeting, Leonard and D124 Superintendent Robert Machak would not answer questions about lessons learned for future vetting, stating they were going to “put Dr. Eriksen behind us.”

“The district is not going to focus on Dr. Eriksen or today’s process,” Machak said. “My role now moving forward is to find the best principal for Central Middle School. I’ve lost a month because of this process.”

This story has been updated with new information.