U-46's fine arts coordinator leaving district

Elgin Area School District U-46's fine arts coordinator Alicia Kopec is leaving the district barely a week after classes started for the new school year.

In an email to her fine arts colleagues, Kopec said she was leaving to pursue another "career opportunity that I could not resist."

Kopec has been with the district for three years. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Her last day is Friday.

"It is something I was not seeking, since my work here had me grounded and committed," Kopec wrote to staff members. "In the upcoming weeks there will be some changes in the fine arts department, but that does not mean the work stops getting done. We have laid down some major groundwork in the last three years and have implemented new systems, established committees, built a cadre of teachers that provide (professional development), and so much more."

District spokeswoman Mary Fergus said Kopec is leaving for a job with another school district and that her position has been posted since Friday.