Des Plaines District 62 superintendent remains on paid leave for undisclosed reasons
Des Plaines Elementary District 62 Superintendent Floyd Williams will remain on paid leave for undisclosed reasons after the school board Wednesday again decided not to act on his job status.
School board members spent two hours deliberating Williams' employment behind closed doors only to emerge without a decision. Williams, hired less than a year and a half ago, has been absent from the district since mid-October. In a statement, the school board described the absence as a “mutually-agreed-upon paid leave.”
“The board and Dr. Williams are currently discussing the status of his employment with the district,” according to the statement.
In response Tuesday to a public records request for communications about complaints against Williams, the district said such a document exists. But the district did not release the document, citing state law exempting a “predecisional record, in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated and the records have not been publicly disclosed by the head of the public body.”
After the meeting, school board President Stephanie Duckmann refused to comment on whether Williams is under investigation regarding complaints made against him.
Williams was working remotely since Oct. 17, according to the district. He went on paid leave Oct. 31, one day after the school board first met regarding Williams' employment.
Associate Superintendent Paul Hertel is leading the day-to-day operations of the school district.
“He, along with our other administrators, teachers and staff continue to work hard every day to ensure that the students of District 62 have a highly productive school year,” the board said in a statement.
Williams' sudden absence from the district came just days after the school board considered giving him a raise. The amount of the proposed salary hike has not been disclosed because the board did not take action at the meeting.
Williams had a rocky start when he joined the district in July 2016. Weeks after he started the job, the Daily Herald reported on misconduct allegations he faced before resigning as an assistant superintendent from a school district in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The complaints included allegations from his former boss that he had nude images on his work computer and took photos of a staff member that made her feel uncomfortable. Williams also was accused of making inappropriate comments to his assistant and directed her to perform personal tasks for him and his family, documents obtained through a request under Wisconsin's Open Records Law state.
The school board was aware of the allegations but still hired him. He's in the second year of a three-year contract with a $198,000 annual salary.
The next board meeting is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Forest Elementary School, 1375 Fifth Ave.