Why Hinsdale Central Teacher Damaged Property: District

HINSDALE, IL – Those who intentionally damage public property may face criminal charges.

But at Hinsdale Central High School, that apparently did not happen in a case last year.

Last month, Patch reported Hinsdale High School District 86 reprimanded Central science teacher Eric Jensen last October. The district alleged he intentionally damaged school signs.

With a new public records request, Patch received more details about the allegations.

According to Jensen's Oct. 28 reprimand, the district's security director, Kevin Simpson, alerted school officials that "Staff Entrance Only" signs were damaged four times in a week. The signs were there to stop parents and residents from cutting through the staff lot.

Video showed Jensen was the driver who repeatedly damaged the signs, the district said. Three of the signs needed to be replaced, costing a total of $600, according to the memo.

"During my investigation, you admitted to hitting the signs on multiple occasions," Assistant Principal Ryan Maita said to Jensen in the memo. "You were apologetic and offered to reimburse the district for the damage you caused."

Maita said Jensen told him that the signs were placed in a manner that makes it difficult to turn into the lot when traveling north on Grant Street. Jensen said he hit the signs to make it known that they should be moved a few feet, Maita said.

Jensen failed to pick up the signs or report that he hit them, according to the memo.

"In the future, it is expected that you will use better judgment and drive in a safe and respectful manner while on school grounds," Maita said.

In an April 22 reprimand, Jensen was accused of making inappropriate jokes and comments to students. Much of the memo is blacked out, presumably to protect students' privacy.

In one case, the district said Jensen made "demeaning" comments about the appearance of students; the specifics were redacted.

In another instance, the memo said that when Jensen walked past a student massaging the shoulders of another, the teacher said, "When is it my turn?" He then followed up by saying, "Just kidding, it's not teacher touching time."

In the reprimand, Cheryl Moore, assistant superintendent of human resources, said Jensen was to communicate in a professional manner.

"At best, the statements and actions could be viewed as sarcastic and demeaning to students and at worst, they could be perceived as harassment and/or boundary issues," Moore said in the reprimand.

She said Jensen at first said the statements were acceptable, saying he was trying to use humor to connect with students.

But when pushed, Jensen said he could now see the statements were inappropriate, Moore said.

Jensen signed both reprimands.

On June 2, the school board voted unanimously to give Jensen a "notice of remedial warning" after what it said was another violation of its policies. That was after Jensen wrote "shmo" in a student's yearbook.

The Urban Dictionary states "schmo" means "dumb person." Jensen told Patch last month that the student caught up with him while he was in a hurry. He said he meant "shmo" as in "Joe Schmo."

At the time, Jensen declined to comment on his previous issues with the administration.

"If I sneeze wrong next year, then I'm out," he said.

Patch left a message for comment with Jensen on Tuesday.