Island Lake preschool teachers sought support after director's arrest

After the director of a village-owned preschool in Island Lake was charged last month in what authorities have called a ghost payroll scheme, teachers asked village leaders to publicly address the future of the school, a Daily Herald review of village records indicates.

"Parents are concerned about the status of our preschool in light of recent news reports," the Creative Playtime teachers wrote in a letter e-mailed to the mayor and village board. "The teaching staff feels that a public statement from the village board would be extremely helpful."

No such statement to the community was made, however. Instead, Mayor Debbie Herrmann chose to quietly send letters to parents of kids in the program.

The teachers' request came to light this week when the Daily Herald obtained copies of e-mails sent between Herrmann and village trustees concerning Creative Playtime and the arrests of its director, Sharon Hyde, and her husband, former Island Lake mayor Tom Hyde. The newspaper had requested the e-mails, which legally are considered public records under the Freedom of Information Act.

Sharon Hyde is accused of collecting more than $110,000 in pay for hours she did not work as director of the preschool, which operates at village hall. She is charged with theft of government property, official misconduct and making false entries.

Thomas Hyde, whose tenure as mayor ended in May, is accused of voting as mayor and previously as a trustee to pay his wife for the unworked hours. He is charged with official misconduct and having a prohibitive interest in contracts.

Despite the charges, Sharon Hyde has remained director of Creative Playtime and continues to be paid a $25,740 annual salary.

The Hydes have ignored repeated interview requests. Their attorney has insisted neither did anything illegal.

The records reviewed by the Daily Herald revealed Herrmann and several Island Lake trustees discussed the future of Creative Playtime in e-mails following the Hydes' arrests in mid-June.

On June 16, a few days after the charges were publicized, Creative Playtime teachers Barb Popovich, Jan Oswald, Nancy Dopita, Lori Tanzillo and Amy Grimm sent an e-mail to village officials requesting a public show of support for the school staff.

"We are reaching out to the board to get a message to the community that these recent allegations do not include the teachers and that we are presently taking enrollment and are committed to continue to offer a quality preschool for our village," the letter read.

In a June 17 e-mail to Herrmann, Trustee Laurie Rabattini supported the teachers' request.

"I think people are wondering and maybe as a village, we want to say the charges have no bearing on the village or CP and there are no plans to close it," Rabattini wrote. "I'm sure the rumors are flying off the wall and the sooner we put a lid on it, the better."

Trustee Don Saville also e-mailed Herrmann on June 17 and suggested she craft a news release stating Creative Playtime would reopen after summer break "with a better and bolder curriculum."

Although directed to Herrmann, Rabattini and Saville carbon-copied their e-mails to all of the village board members and to Scott Puma, one of the village's attorneys.

Herrmann eventually opted to handle the concerns privately.

"After much thought, I have decided against a press release," Herrmann wrote in an e-mail to Rabattini on June 18. "I believe in this case a personal letter would be more appropriate."

The one-paragraph letter, a copy of which Herrmann supplied to the Daily Herald last week, called the charges against Hyde "unfortunate" and sought to distance the village from the criminal case.

"I want to assure you that the village was not involved in bringing forth this investigation," Herrmann wrote in the June 19 missive.

Hyde also sent a letter to Creative Playtime parents on June 19. The upbeat letter talked about parent orientation, visitation days and other activities. It did not address her arrest or the criminal case.

In a telephone interview last week, Rabattini said she thinks Herrmann should have released a statement to the public, not just to Creative Playtime parents, to assure everyone the preschool will continue operating.

"People fear Creative Playtime will be eliminated, and that's not the desire of anyone on the board," Rabattini said.

In a separate telephone interview, Herrmann said she did not publicly address the future of Creative Playtime because the school has been operating smoothly without such remarks.

Herrmann, who maintains Sharon Hyde was falsely accused, said the arrest and school operations are not related.

"The program is intact," Herrmann said. "People are coming in and registering through the summer just as they always have."

Trustee Don Verciglio backed Herrmann's decision not to issue a news release, a move he said would've drawn attention to the arrests.

"There was no reason to put anything in the paper because there is nothing to say," Verciglio said in a telephone interview. "As far as I'm concerned, everything is normal."