Despite a public clamor this week, Wheaton Unit School District 200 has not lifted the mystery surrounding its top administrator.
District 200 officials met in private Monday night to address an employee matter, and although they did not reveal any details, it did not stop some observers from speculating that the issue at hand is the removal of Superintendent Richard Drury.
The District 200 school board took no action at the meeting, which was announced Saturday afternoon — just a few hours before the state’s 48-hour deadline for giving notice. The meeting agenda, faxed to several area newspapers and posted on the district office’s front door, included a closed-door discussion of “employment of an employee.”
The board met in open session for about 10 minutes before going into a 75-minute closed meeting. At the onset School Board President Andy Johnson said the board would not make any decisions that night, and instead it would hold another meeting Wednesday.
“Same agenda, same setting as you see now,” Johnson told the audience of about a dozen.
Many at the meeting, with little else to go on, concluded that Drury’s impending termination was the topic at hand. Drury has been on vacation since Sept. 21, district officials said, and he was not back at work this week.
Those who spoke at the meeting said they had a hard time understanding why Drury’s job would be at risk after his contract was extended this summer.
“If the thing was renewed in July, then what justifies this action?” said Mark Kmiecik, a district parent and a candidate for Wheaton City Council this spring. “I would like to know what’s going on.”
Mark Stern, a longtime critic of the school board, encouraged officials not to remove the superintendent mid-year. It would leave a “leadership vacuum,” he said.
“I see no cause for his termination,” Stern said. “I would encourage the board to carefully consider this decision.”
Drury came on as superintendent in 2007 from a school district in Wisconsin.
Earlier this year, the district faced a $14 million dollar budget deficit that was attributed to the failing economy. In March, the school board cut spending by $7.4 million heading into the 2009-10 year, and Drury set a goal of balancing the budget within four years.
More recently, Drury faced criticism from some parents after the school district pushed back by one day the airing of President Obama’s back-to-school speech Sept. 8. Drury said the delay was because of logistical reasons, but some parents publicly questioned whether it was related to the nationwide conservative backlash against the speech.
Those at Monday’s meeting brought up both issues as possible reasons for a dismissal, but the mostly stone-faced and tight-lipped board members did not divulge the truth of the matter.
Stern, who in May won an open records lawsuit against the district in state supreme court, said he was dismayed that this week’s meeting was announced at nearly the 11th hour and scheduled to coincide with a consequential City Council meeting. He accused the school board of acting “under the cover of darkness.”
“It’s obviously not an issue that came up over the weekend,” he said.
After the closed-door discussion ended, Johnson, the board president, again said that the district followed protocol. It is state law that determines personnel talks be private.
“The process was followed absolutely to the letter of the law,” Johnson said. “It’s a closed-session meeting.”
Drury’s Contract
District 200 Superintendent Richard Drury’s contract lays out how his termination would pan out:
- “Discharge for cause”: The school board can dismiss Drury for just cause, neglect of duty or breach of contract. He has the right to meet with the board in private to discuss its grievances. Mike Kiser, a Downers Grove-based education lawyer, said school boards often have considerable leeway in citing cause for removing an administrator. In most cases, the cause for termination is not publicized unless there is a lawsuit, which rarely happens. For one thing, Kiser said, legal action would make it harder for a superintendent to find another job. Drury’s contract specifically states failing to meet his contract goals is not grounds for just cause.
- “Unilateral termination”: The board can also terminate Drury’s contract without cause. It would have to give him 30 days notice before doing so, and Drury would receive a compensation package that includes one year’s salary, $200,000. He would have been entitled to one year of medical insurance as well, but he waived coverage from District 200.
- Other contract items: Drury’s contract states that if he goes on vacation longer than five days, he has to notify the board two weeks in advance. School board President Andy Johnson said they had prior notice before Drury went on vacation Sept. 21. He gets 25 vacation days per year, five of which can carry over up to 40 days.
