Settlement in the works? Bartlett High School principal placed on leave may not face public hearing

A Bartlett High School principal accused of improperly changing grades may not face a public hearing before the school board if both sides can come to a settlement.

Attorney Steven Glink, who is representing Bartlett High School Principal Michael Demovsky, said Friday the hearing, originally scheduled for April 22, has been moved to 5 p.m. April 29 to give both sides time to work toward a resolution. Glink declined further comment.

Demovsky was placed on paid administrative leave on March 15 amid a probe into his “administrative practices,” district officials said.

Earlier this month, Glink said Demovsky was being investigated for improperly changing student grades, a charge Glink said was untrue.

“We completely deny that,” he said of the accusation.

Elgin Area School District U-46 officials have said little about the investigation or Demovsky’s leave.

Demovsky requested a private hearing regarding the disciplinary actions, which was held April 8. Neither Demovsky nor his attorney attended that meeting, but Glink sent a letter stating their case.

Glink requested the public hearing, as allowed by law, after board members upheld a previous decision against Demovsky.

At the April 8 meeting, board members approved a resolution of nonrenewal for Demovsky’s contract as principal. They also reaffirmed an earlier decision reclassifying Demovsky from principal to classroom teacher, with a corresponding decrease in pay, for the 2024-25 school year.

“Things like this, we don’t take lightly,” school board member Dawn Martin said before voting for both resolutions. “Whenever we’re discussing personnel matters, there’s a lot of discussions, a lot of reviewing of facts and … just making sure we’re thinking about everyone before we make these decisions.”

In a letter dated March 22, Glink said the board’s notice of reclassification was disappointing and that it was “filled with false conclusions and a serious misstatement of facts.”

According to the district’s policy, an administrator is not allowed to change grades without notifying the teacher. Reasons for changing a grade include miscalculated test scores, a technical error in assigning a grade or score, a teacher allowing the student to do extra work that could affect a grade, using an inappropriate grading system to determine a score, or an inappropriate grade based on appropriate grading system.

If an administrator, such as a principal, does change a grade, they also must sign the changed record, according to the policy.