‘We know that trust isn’t restored by a statement’: District 128 pledges reforms after teacher grooming accusations
Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 is pledging reforms following bitter public backlash over its handling of a now-retired teacher who was accused in a lawsuit of grooming a student who has Down syndrome.
The teacher, Parker Rohde, retired from his job in 2025. Police have never charged him for the grooming allegations made in the now-settled lawsuit. Rohde’s lawyer Sean Hennessy sent a statement defending Rohde’s professional career in response to requests for comment. Attempts to speak directly with Rohde were unsuccessful.
“Mr. Rohde’s last four 2-year summative evaluations were ‘Excellent,’ by district administration,” Hennessy said. “There have been comments taken out of context or misconstrued to help create a narrative that does not properly convey his professional conduct.”
The lawsuit, filed by a district parent, was dismissed late last month with “no objections,” according to court filings, and the district announced in an Aug. 24 letter to families and staff that it had reached a settlement agreement.
In that message from Superintendent Marc Schaffer, the district announced it could not comment on its terms or the underlying allegations.
“We recognize this has been a difficult chapter for our broader community,” he wrote. “While confidentiality prevents us from discussing specifics, that does not lessen our responsibility to respond thoughtfully and with care.”
Schaffer made pledges to “strengthen how concerns involving student safety are reported, escalated, and followed through,” including mandatory reporting training for every employee and the creation of a dedicated safety oversight position, the director of campus safety and security.
The district promised to report back to the community before the end of the calendar year on the implementation of those changes, how compliance is being monitored, and any potential additional steps taken.
“We know that trust isn’t restored by a statement,” Schaffer wrote. “Instead, it is rebuilt through consistent action over time. We’re committed to taking meaningful action, and to being transparent with you about our progress within the bounds of what the law allows us to share.”
Controversy and backlash
A District 128 scandal exploded into public view last year when a parent accused Libertyville High School special education teacher Parker Rohde in a lawsuit of grooming their child, who has Down syndrome.
During district meetings, parents blasted district officials for their handling of the Rohde situation following news of the lawsuit. Afterward, Assistant Superintendent Briant Kelly — who is responsible for human resources for the district and was heavily criticized by parents — was put on administrative leave, and the board has since moved to dismiss him.
In June, Dan Vosnos — a retired high school athletic director with two children, including a 7-year-old with Down syndrome — warned in an interview of a broader issue within the district.
“There’s a culture problem within 128 and within Libertyville High School; a culture of protecting educators, a culture of protecting coaches,” Vosnos said. “(District) 128 has failed to hold administrators accountable.”
A Freedom of Information Act request for Rohde’s disciplinary records did not have any responsive material, although the district said it was withholding some records older than four years, citing the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act, which mandates that employers delete records of disciplinary action over four years old unless ordered in a legal action or arbitration.
However, as noted in the settled lawsuit and verified with school documents obtained through FOIA requests, Rohde had a long list of alleged misconduct and aggressive behavior with staff and students over his multidecade career in the district, detailed in district emails, letters, and other documents.
More than a decade of school documents depict a school district employee who was “erratic” and “unprofessional,” as one May 2022 email from a district administrator described him. He was known for his aggressiveness that would sometimes make students “feel uncomfortable,” according to another school document dated Nov. 21, 2016, obtained through a FOIA request.
Rohde worked at the district for at decades before his retirement, starting at District 128 on July 28, 1997, according to district representative. Data from the Illinois State Board of Education’s Educator Licensure Information System said Rohde was originally issued his professional educator’s license in the Lake County region in 1993. That license has since expired.
He was able to retire last year with his benefits intact, school records show, despite Rohde’s behavior alleged in documents — including a no-contact order after attempting to meet with a district parent at their office; giving students extra credit in exchange for hugs; and once reportedly requesting the attendance of a “feminine administrator” who would add “the proper mixture of hormones and pheromones” to a meeting.
‘Educators protect educators’
Rohde retired on March 7, 2025. According to public records, Rohde expected to be fired at an upcoming board meeting and chose instead to retire.
Months later, on June 3, the parent of a child who had been one of Rohde’s former students filed a grievance with the district, accusing District 128 of withholding evidence of Rohde’s alleged misconduct from families and failing to take appropriate action.
On Sept. 26, 2025, Schaffer responded to the parent in a letter, obtained through a FOIA request, with the district’s decision regarding the grievance. After an internal investigation, the allegations were deemed “unsubstantiated,” he wrote.
However, in the same letter, the superintendent said the district found that some staff members failed to make mandated reports to the state Department of Children and Family Services after receiving a voicemail from Rohde in December of 2024, “regardless of whether there was corroborating evidence.”
Five district administrators were determined to have failed to make DCFS-mandated reports and given written reprimands. But the response was insufficient, according to Vosnos, who is an advocate for children with Down syndrome.
“A note in an educator’s file?” Vosnos said. “It doesn’t really carry much weight at the end of the day.
“It just goes to show you that educators protect educators,” he said. “Sadly, they don’t protect the students.”
The subsequent January 2026 lawsuit, referencing many of the same issues as the grievance, indicated that the unidentified child is diagnosed with Down syndrome. It lambasted Rohde’s record both in the district and the community, criticizing the school district’s handling of an employee with numerous recorded incidents of misbehavior.
It alleged that the district and school knew — or should have known — that Rohde was a “danger to students,” but “failed to take any action to remove Rohde, warn or protect students.”
In an earlier response to questions about Rohde and the internal investigation, the district said that while it recognizes “the seriousness of the matters” and understands “the public interest in them,” there are limits on what the district can discuss publicly.
“Those limitations should not be interpreted as a lack of concern or attention to the issues raised,” the statement said.