Lake Forest school board votes for independent audit in principal sexting case

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Lake Forest school board votes for independent audit in principal sexting case


By Sue Ter Maat
Tribune reporter
9:16 PM CST, November 29, 2011

The board of Lake Forest School District 67 voted unanimously tonight for an independent review of how a previous board handled a middle school principal who had pleaded guilty to phone harassment of a 22-year-old school intern.

The board hired Chicago-based attorney Ronald S. Safer, who will go over court records for a public report that will be handed to a school board subcommittee by mid-January, said John Julian, the board’s vice president.

“We want to give every indication that this is above board,” Julian said about the hiring of Safer. “We are trying to address all of the concerns of the community.”

Deer Path Middle School Principal John Steinert, 40, resigned earlier this month after the Tribune revealed that he had pleaded guilty in 2009 to a misdemeanor harassment charge for using his work cellphone to send a lewd photograph and texts to a 22-year-old college intern he met through his job.

Since the details emerged, many parents have expressed anger at how Lake Forest School District 67 handled the incident, and some parents have called for the resignation of Superintendent Harry Griffith and school board members.

Julian and three current board members who were not on the board at the time of the principal's reprimand will form the subcommittee. Julian added that he didn't know how much the district would pay Safer for his services.

This group will decide whether there was any wrongdoing by former board members, based on Safer's report. They are also tasked with determining whether the board's policies were followed and whether the board needs to change those policies, Julian said.

The board had considered forming two community task forces that would have reviewed the matter, but the board decided to go in this direction before forming any task forces, board President Julia Wold said.

Before the board's votes, residents offered a mixed bag of comments, with some asking for the board to resign and others praising the superintendent and board.

Four residents asked the community to give those who were involved the benefit of the doubt.

“I have known him (Griffith) for over a decade,” said Scott Phelps, a Lake Forest resident and parent. “He has always had the best intentions for the district. I admire him. I am a big fan of Dr. Griffith.”

But four other residents were not so charitable during a community forum earlier in the day. Bob Ely told the board that they had “embarrassed the community and the district,” so badly that the only honorable move was to leave immediately.

None of the board members or Griffith indicated that they would step down.

In previous meetings, Griffith had said he will not resign before his scheduled retirement next summer. The district is currently looking for his replacement in a nationwide search.

Griffith has said that the district conducted its own investigation and disciplined Steinert at the time but only saw a version of the police report in which the lurid nature of the texts was blacked out. Griffith confirmed the district did not interview the intern during theinternal investigaion, and Steinert, who only told district officials that he’d been flirting, had his salary temporarily frozen but was given a bonus within a year.

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http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-lake-forest-school-board-votes-for-independent-audit-in-principal-sexting-case-20111129,0,4133595.story