Dist. 124 Braces For Van Dyke Verdict

EVERGREEN PARK, IL -- Evergreen Park Elementary School Dist. 124 is taking measures to bolster school safety in preparation for a verdict in the Jason Van Dyke murder trial. Closing arguments in the trial took place Thursday and the jury is in deliberation. There’s no telling when a verdict will be announced.

Supt. Robert Machak posted a message on the D124 website, informing parents that it would okay to keep their youngsters home from school if they felt the conditions after the verdict warranted.

Machak said the school district has maintained an ongoing dialogue with the Evergreen Park Police Department regarding the verdict for the past several weeks. While it is not anticipated that any demonstrations or protests will take place near the district’s five grammar schools, “there is potential for them to take place throughout our community and in the city of Chicago.”

The district will implement the following measures based upon the severity of any unrest in the verdict aftermath, including increasing security/police presence at each school and expanding before- and after-school extended day hours to support families having difficulty getting to and from work. Schools may also be on soft lockdown as well as cancellation of after school activities. In a worst case scenario, school will be canceled. (SUBSCRIBE: Get Real-Time Alerts and a Daily Newsletter for Evergreen Park)

All of these measures, Machak said, are being planned “out of an abundance of caution.” The district is coordination contingencies with the Village of Oak Lawn, Saint Xavier University, and Evergreen Park, Brother Rice and Mother McAuley high schools. The district will also fully support any decision parents make regarding keeping children at home. Student absences related to any civil arrest will not be counted on the student’s attendance record.

“While it may be that the district is planning these contingencies out of an abundance of caution for our students, parents, and staff, I feel that doing anything less would be irresponsible and disrespectful. Our children will be looking to us to reassure them and to model a calm, responsible response to this potentially volatile situation. We will not let them down.”