Lewd Audio During Remote Learning Leads To Teacher's Resignation

LAKE FOREST, IL — A teacher and coach at Lake Forest High School resigned last month amid an investigation into possible lewd conduct during remote learning, Patch has learned.

Mike McKay, 46, of Kenosha, had taught applied technology, formerly known as shop, and been a member of the coaching staff of the LFHS Scouts football team for the past four years.

Earlier this year, a cell phone video was shared on social media with the caption, "God damn mr McKay" that depicted an apparent a hot-mic moment following of one of McKay's e-learning classes.

"Michael McKay is presenting," said the status bar on what appears to be the Google Meets video-teleconferencing software platform. McKay's username indicates it is broadcasting, and the approximately 10-second recording contains suggestive audio of rhythmic rustling and soft feminine moaning.

The incident led multiple students and parents to suspect that McKay had been engaging in sexually inappropriate behavior during work hours, sources tell Patch.

McKay, now listed as a volunteer football coach at Carthage College in Kenosha, has not responded to a request for comment.

Lake Forest Community High School District 115 Superintendent Mike Simeck, who is leaving to join Deerfield School District 109 at the end of the month, and Board President David Lane, who is not seeking re-election, have not responded to requests for comment.

In response to a public records request, district officials acknowledged McKay had been the subject of an investigation involving sexually inappropriate content or contact but have sought to keep secret all the details of the allegations.

While the district is legally forbidden from releasing information that could identify a student, District 115 administrators have voluntarily opted to claim exemptions under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to withhold all records of the investigation into McKay's conduct.

Though he was placed on administrative leave, McKay resigned before any discipline was imposed — although some of the withheld documents include disciplinary recommendations between administrators and board members.

Since he quit before the investigation was complete, administrators asserted that the disciplinary records "are not the final outcome of the matter." In response to the records request, district officials also noted one of the records had been prepared by an attorney as part of the investigation and may be privileged.

"Further, I withheld the documents because they include information that is highly personal, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy," Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Hermes told Patch in response to the FOIA request. "The disclosure of this information would be objectionable to a reasonable person."

McKay submitted his resignation on Friday, Feb. 5, effective at the end of school the following Monday.

His resignation was accepted at the same Feb. 8 meeting where district officials received a review of the district's policies, practices and training related to inappropriate sexual conduct by staff — a report by an outside attorney commissioned in response to allegations of sexual misconduct against a former drama teacher and the removal of his name from a school theater and alumni "walk of fame."

In his letter of resignation, McKay said he was resigning with a heavy heart.

"After much thought and careful consideration I feel I must make a rare professional decision that is in my own personal best interest rather than that of the students I serve," McKay said. "I feel this is in the best interest of my personal mental health and future goals."

Last month's resignation was not the first time McKay has left a teaching job in the middle of a school year. In the 2015-16 school year, he departed a position as a full-time technology education teacher and head football coach with six months left on his contract.

McKay had created a tech education department and football program at Indian Trail High School from scratch and earned a base annual salary of $74,000, according to his job application at LFHS. According to a Kenosha News report from the time, McKay said he left because found the combined demands of teaching and coaching at Indian Trail to be "overtaxing."

In November 2016, he was hired by Lake Forest High School District 115 to be a part-time applied technology teacher, starting in January 2017, for a base salary of $99,819. That summer, he started working as an $32-an-hour assistant coach in the football program, reporting to former Assistant Athletic Director Chris Morehead. By the 2018-19 school year, McKay's teaching contract called for a base salary of approximately $107,600.

The report from attorney Rebecca Leitman Veidlinger, presented during the board meeting at which McKay's resignation was accepted, laid out a number of recommendations for improvements to district policies regarding sexual misconduct by staff.

An online survey conducted for the report found about 33 percent of students and 39 percent of employees felt district officials were more interested in protecting the school's reputation than in protecting its students. It found employees were more concerned than students about the chance of retaliation for reporting misconduct, and only 61 percent of students reported they would confide in a school official to report inappropriate conduct.

But the report also concluded the district had good policies in place.

"The District has taken a number of steps to prevent incidents of educator sexual misconduct, educate its community about sexual misconduct, and improve its response to reports of sexual misconduct," it said. "This has included revisions to its policies and procedures to clearly designate prohibited conduct; training for employees to better understand appropriate boundaries in all contexts, including in-person and digital; and clarifying its procedures for responding to complaints."

John Bollman, a victims advocate and 1987 LFHS graduate who in recent years has encouraged administrators to acknowledge sexual abuse by former employees, described the report as a "complete and utter fabrication that has been proven to be false based on their action. It is a report designed to defend against future litigation."

Bollman, whose decision to disclose his experience of educator sexual abuse led to the 2017 conviction of former Lake Bluff School District 65 middle school teacher Charles Ritz, said the way the district allowed McKay to depart, with the details of the investigation into allegations of misconduct kept quiet, was reminiscent of the handling of former drama teacher Dave Miller, who continued to work with children after he was fired and banned from the Lake Forest High School campus.

He described the McKay incident as a test Lake Forest High School officials had failed.

"It's all laid out: Just follow the duties as a mandated reporter — not complicated. This should be no different than a fire drill. They knew exactly what to do," Bollman told Patch. "The idea is, they're not law enforcement. It's not their job to decide if or if not a crime occurred. That's why that step is there."