Here's What Ex-LTHS Board Member Said

LA GRANGE, IL – For months, former Lyons Township High School board member Julie Swinehart said nothing publicly about her future as a board member, despite questions after she took a job on the East Coast.

On June 1, a day after graduation, Swinehart submitted her resignation letter to board member Tim Albores, who serves as the secretary. Patch obtained the document through a public records request.

She said she was resigning immediately "due to an upcoming move out of the Lyons Township High School district for my family and me due to the needs of my job."

"After living in LTHS District 204 for more than 40 of my 47 years, and engaging with LT most recently as a parent of three students, as a classroom volunteer and as a board member, I write this letter with a heavy heart," Swinehart said.

Swinehart described herself as "incredibly proud" of the board's accomplishments over her two years as a board member.

"We worked through some challenging times emerging from the global pandemic, while focusing on student needs across the spectrum," she said.

The board appeared to have known that Swinehart was leaving.

When the board took its group picture last month, it did so without Swinehart, who was connected to the meeting remotely. In doing so, members may have recognized that Swinehart would be gone in less than a month anyway.

If Swinehart had left in time for the April election deadlines, the voters could have chosen her replacement. Now, the board has that power.

Swinehart's term lasted through April 2025.

In the months leading up to Swinehart's resignation, Patch wrote a number of stories about the questions of her future on the board. Among the reported developments was when she put her house up for sale.

Swinehart's defenders accused Patch of poor journalism, saying it should have waited until she made a formal announcement.

Last July, Swinehart was hired as the chief financial officer for the Boston-based Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox.