Rumors swirl over Dist. 200 superintendent

Rumors of Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 Superintendent Richard Drury's removal continue after a hastily called special meeting resulted in no action taken.

But school board President Andy Johnson maintains Drury is merely on vacation and that he gave sufficient notice before starting it.

The agenda for Monday's meeting included a closed session to discuss "employment of an employee" and an item that called for action to be taken on that. But the action item was removed before the start of the meeting.

Johnson announced a second special meeting, to be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the School Service Center, 130 W. Park Ave., to discuss personnel issues. He said action would probably be taken then on the board's closed session discussion.

Rumors began swirling around Drury last month after he delivered the superintendent's report at the board's Sept. 9 meeting and then did not attend the Sept. 23 meeting.

Board Secretary Barbara Intihar said after a 75-minute closed session that Drury had come into work Sept. 21 and that he began his vacation the next day.

A provision in Drury's contract states he must give two weeks' notice before starting a vacation that will last longer than five days. Intihar said Drury did so.

In July, Drury was given a contract extension that would have kept him in District 200 until 2012. But his absence at the Sept. 23 meeting just three months later raised eyebrows.

Wheaton resident Mark Kmiecik, who ran for city council earlier this year, told the board he was concerned about the timing of Drury's possible removal.

"This is terrible," he said. "I would like to know what's going on. It's going to disrupt the schools and how they operate."

Under the superintendent's contract, if he were terminated, the district would have to pay him $200,000 and extend his benefits for one year.

Wheaton resident Mark Stern, whose dispute with the district regarding the openness of the previous superintendent's contract ended up in the Illinois Supreme Court, said the timing of the special meetings concerned him.

"We don't necessarily have the right to know everything that's happening," he said after the meeting. "But my concern is for the process."

Stern said the notice was placed on the district's Web site Monday, just hours before the meeting.

Johnson, however, reiterated after closed session what he had said during the public meeting: that it was done properly.

"The process followed the letter of the law," he said.

Rumors: Another closed session to come Wednesday