D135 Board Member on Walsh’s Demotion: ‘It Should’ve Never Happened’

While lengthy teacher contract negotiations served as the original reason for starting CARE135, members of the new parents group also wanted to know about Melanie Walsh’s demotion.

On March 19, members of the organization that lists “increase transparency between all parties” as a goal on its website sat down with school district administrators and staff, as well as Board Member Lynne Donegan, to get more insight into recent district actions. Among them was the demotion of Walsh, a paraprofessional who was promoted to student services secretary, but was later sent back to her former position about three months later.

While Donegan said that she wouldn’t be able to talk about some aspects of the case because of pending litigation, she said she believed “it should’ve never happened in the first place.”

“It could’ve been avoided if things were done differently from the very beginning,” Donegan said, when asked why Walsh was demoted. “You throw in certain board members, and certain administrators and a superintendent, and a contract that isn’t signed, sprinkle in politics, whip it together and you have perfect storm.”

Donegan further said her vote against demoting her didn’t matter because more votes were in favor of the move than against.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers filed a grievance on behalf of Walsh, as well as an unfair labor practices claim after the demotion. Walsh was allowed to reapply for the position, though she was not rehired.

 “The hiring practices were different,” said IFT Field Services Manager Deneen Pajeau, who also attended the CARE135 meeting. Walsh went through four interviews for the position, in a process that differed from , Pajeau said in December 2011. 

READ ON for more stories regarding Melanie Walsh’s employment and challenges to the board’s decision.

With two legal claims in play, the question on CARE135 Founder Nabeha Zegar’s mind, as well as on other attendees’ minds, is how much would the Walsh litigation cost in total?

Interim Superintendent Dennis Soustek said the district had yet to be billed for the representation, so any estimate now “wouldn’t be clear.”

“We budget $100,000 a year toward legal fees,” Soustek said. “When we have been in negotiations, we might go to that limit. Others years we don’t.”

Estimates in 2011 for full legal costs related to Walsh’s case were as high as $100,000.

Arbitration has begun for the grievance, though the unfair labor practice claim has yet to go to hearing, Pajeau said. The hope is for a result with the grievance by June, she said.

Editor's note: CARE135 Founder Nabeha Zegar is a Patch contributor.

Return later in the week for discussion on administrator salaries and other points. 

Like what you see? Sign up for our daily email newsletter.

Like us on Facebook for a slightly different take.