Ex-U-46 principal sues district over job loss

A former principal of Wayne Elementary School in Wayne is suing Elgin Area School District U-46 over the loss of her job.

Karen Beck of West Chicago filed the suit Thursday in Kane County Circuit Court. She was hired as a principal in 2010 on a one-year contract that was renewed each year.

In February 2013, she underwent an annual performance assessment with a district evaluator. According to the suit, Beck said the evaluator told her she would receive a poor evaluation and that the district likely would not renew her contract.

Beck charges that the evaluation was invalid because the evaluator did not have the required credentials to conduct the evaluation. He had not completed enough of the state-required training modules on how to evaluate principals, the suit says.

Because of that, the district failed to conduct a proper evaluation by the state-set legal deadline, and her contract should have been renewed for another year, Beck contends.

School administrators could not be reached for comment Friday, as the district office was closed.

In the suit, Beck also contends that U-46 has designated her as "released" with AppliTrack, a recruiting and hiring business used by school districts. That designation has prevented her from obtaining another job, according to the suit.

Beck is seeking at least a year's worth of pay and a year's worth of contributions to the Teachers' Retirement System pension plan from the district, plus interest. She is also seeking unspecified lost future wages and TRS contributions.

Before working in U-46, Beck worked for Elmhurst Unit District 205 as a principal at Jackson Elementary, according to a 2010 news release from the Elgin district.