Conant teacher resigns after allegation of inappropriate relationships

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board member accepted the resignation of a female Conant High School teacher Thursday night amid an investigation into an anonymous allegation that she had inappropriate relationships with students between 16 and 21 years ago.

The district's own investigation into the claim has ended, officials said, but other parties including Hoffman Estates police, the Department of Children and Family Services, the state superintendent and the Regional Office of Education have been contacted to conduct their own investigations.

"An allegation was made through the school's anonymous tip-line that a teacher at Conant High School engaged in inappropriate relationships with students in 1997, and possibly within a span of a few years following 1997," school officials said in a statement sent to parents Thursday evening. "We take any claim seriously and we immediately began an investigation with the assistance of multiple administrators.

"The investigation occurred swiftly and included multiple sources," the statement continues. "The individual resigned from the staff at Conant High School."

The district said that based on the allegation, any concerning behavior by the teacher was confined to a period between 1997 and 2002.

Hoffman Estates police Sgt. Mark Mueller confirmed the department began an investigation this week but said it is still in the process of determining jurisdiction.

DCFS officials said they are generally prohibited from disclosing information about such cases unless certain criteria are met, one of which is the filing of criminal charges. At present, however, confidentiality laws prevent the department from making any statement about the Conant teacher's case, they said.