A tenured Libertyville Elementary District 70 teacher facing charges related to possession of child sexual abuse materials was fired Tuesday by the school board.
Acting on the recommendation of Superintendent Rebecca Jenkins, the board voted unanimously to dismiss Marshall Sheffer, an 18-year veteran of the district who taught at Highland Middle School.
Shaffer has 17 days to request a hearing through the Illinois State Board of Education. He is suspended without pay until that time passes or a hearing is held and concluded.
If the dismissal stands, he’ll forfeit his pension, although he would be entitled to a refund of what he has contributed, according to District 70.
“We take matters involving employee conduct and student safety extremely seriously, and tonight’s agenda reflects the seriousness of that,” school board President Jennifer Khan said before the vote.
The expected board action came less than two weeks after Sheffer, 44, surrendered to authorities. He is charged with eight counts of child pornography and remains in jail while the case is pending.
Authorities allege Sheffer used artificial intelligence to create sexually explicit images of current and former students dating back to 2018 or 2019.
“On behalf of our entire board, I want to acknowledge that the past few weeks have been deeply difficult for many members of our school community, especially those students and families who may be personally affected,” Khan said.
“As members of the community and for many of us as parents ourselves, we are so shocked and distressed at the nature of the charges filed against a district employee and the unconscionable breach of trust,” she added.
Jenkins thanked “the brave students who came forward.” She said board policies have been under review and invited feedback from parents, staff, and community members.
Administrative procedures involving staff use of personal technology during the school day, AI, and student photo/video permissions also are under review, “and where improvements are warranted, we will make them,” Jenkins added.
During public comment, Marnie Navarro, a lawyer and parent of an incoming Highland eighth grader, praised Jenkins for acting immediately and making required reports to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, law enforcement, and the Illinois State Board of Education, and opening a formal internal investigation.
Jenkins also demonstrated transparency and prompt communication by sending updates, setting up a portal for parent and community input for improvements, including staff policies, and promptly calling a board meeting to terminate Sheffer, Navarro said.
“This is how it’s done,” said Navarro, who, with several others, has been a frequent critic of the board and administration at Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 for how alleged allegations of sexual grooming and other complaints brought by students have been handled.
In District 70, what was described by police as a “highly sensitive, complex, and lengthy investigation” began after Highland students reported to school staff that they believed Sheffer was video recording students.
Authorities said numerous images of students that had been altered using artificial intelligence to create explicit images were found on Sheffer’s phone. Other electronic devices were also seized.
According to a bill of particulars included in the resolution to fire Shaffer, he aimed his personal device at the bodies of female students on June 3 during an end-of-the-year classroom activity.
The bill said that based on information presented at his detention hearing, Sheffer possessed pictures of students taken at school from April through June 2026, and the images were later altered using AI to make the students appear nude.
Sheffer had pictures of students dating to 2018 or 2019 that were altered with AI to make them appear nude, based on information at the detention hearing, according to the bill of particulars.
