Residents of Orland Elementary District 135 are accusing district officials of ignoring their own minimum requirements for hiring administrative staff and for pushing out two longtime administrators.
The recent hiring of a new assistant principal at the district’s Century Junior High sparked criticism from parents and a former student about what they described as a questionable decision, and they said the new hire lacks adequate background for the job.
The comments came at a special school board meeting Monday, where board members, after public remarks, huddled for hours in a closed-door session to discuss what the agenda listed as “personnel matters of specific employees” before adjourning without comment.
Residents said Tremaine Harris, hired this month as assistant principal at Century, 10801 W. 159th St., lacks the necessary teaching background and has virtually no administrative experience.
In posting for the position, the district said it required a minimum of five years of “successful teaching experience,” a target that Harris fell short of, speakers said. There were also critical comments aimed at a social media post Harris had made that speakers said raised questions about his qualification as an administrator.
Harris could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Comments were also aimed at board members for what they termed were the forced ousters of two administrators at Century — Brian Horn and Heather Conrad.
Horn was longtime principal at Century but was pushed out earlier this year, residents said.
Named Century’s principal in 2012, Horn, in 2021, was among nine finalists for the Award of Excellence in Leadership from Golden Apple, a statewide education nonprofit.
In 2019, Horn was named Middle School Principal of the Year for the south Cook County region by the Illinois Principals Association.
Yasser Samad, who said he was a former student at Century, praised Horn.
“Much of who I am was formed at Century Junior High under the esteemed and great leadership of Dr. Horn and his incredible team,” he told the board, according to video of public comments.
“They listened, they inspired,” Samad said of Horn and Conrad. “They made students feel seen.”
Conrad was named assistant principal at Century in 2019, after holding other administrative roles in the district.
She and the district that year settled a sexual discrimination lawsuit in which Conrad alleged she was passed over for a principal position in District 135 in part because she rebuffed advances by the district’s then superintendent.
Some commenters said both Horn and Conrad should be reinstated to their prior jobs at Century. Jeana Naujokas is the current principal.
“Brian and Heather should never have lost their positions,” Matt McCannon, who said he is the parent of two Century students, told the board.
This spring, the district board approved reclassifying her as a teacher, according to board documents.
At its July 14 meeting, the school board approved hiring Tremaine Harris as assistant principal at Century at an annual salary of $90,000, according to board documents.
The OPen(CQ OPen) Record posted videos of comments, including those of Samad and McCannon, saying the district had heavily edited the district’s own video recording of the meeting.
A public comment session lasted nearly an hour, and was heavily edited to delete negative comments about the board and district, according to OPen Record, a local online outlet focused on issues in Orland Park.
A message left with a district spokeswoman seeking comment about the accusations of the district flouting its minimum hiring standards and Harris’s educational history was not immediately returned.
Michelle Collins, who said she is the parent of an incoming sixth grader at Century as well as another child who graduated from the school, alleged Harris would not qualify for the position under the strategic plan approved by the board last year.
“We wanted the very best in our talent,” for teachers and administrators, she told the board. “We wanted to hire the best of the best.”
Maryann Strnad, another district resident, said “we need a more thorough vetting process of applicants for faculty and administrative positions,” according to the OPen Record video from Monday’s meeting.
Jeff Pence, another district resident, cited the district’s long-range strategic plan about hiring the best teachers and administrators possible.
“We are not the testing and proving ground for candidates who may or may not fit top-tier talent,” he said.
Residents, including McCannon, criticized the district for a lack of transparency in hiring, and for fostering poor relationships with the district community.
“The current level of distrust held by community members along with staff is at an all-time high,” McCannon said.
In July 2019, the District 135 Board, along with approving the settlement of the discrimination lawsuit Conrad had filed in March 2018, also approved her appointment as assistant principal of Century.
Conrad had, before the settlement was approved, been a teacher in the district but previously served as an assistant principal at three of the district’s schools.
The district denied Conrad’s gender was a factor in being passed over for the job as principal of Orland Junior High in November 2016 and had denied her allegations that then-Supt. DJ Skogsberg made advances toward her.
An employee in District 135 since 2001, Conrad was an assistant principal at Jerling Junior High along with Meadow Ridge and High Point schools before applying for the principal’s position at Orland Junior High.
mnolan@southtownstar.com
