A public hearing on Michael Demovsky’s reclassification from principal of Bartlett High School to teacher in the wake of a grade changing investigation will be held Monday, April 29, a District U-46 spokeswoman said.
“The meeting is a public hearing, which gives the subject the opportunity to provide public comment to the (school) board on the subject of the reclassification,” Karla Jiménez said.
Steven Glink, Demovsky’s attorney, said he has been working on his client’s behalf to resolve the issue via a settlement agreement. If a deal can’t be reached by Monday, the hearing will take place, he said.
“If the hearing happens, the board will get the opportunity to listen to what voters have to say,” he said.
Demovsky’s March removal from the position he held for 16 years stems from charges that he wrongly changes grades assigned by students’ teachers, Glink has said. Demovsky has countered through his attorney that he was following the district’s credit recovery procedures, which allows a student improve their grade if they do additional work to earn it.
Any principal or assistant principal who has been reclassified has the right to ask for a public hearing before the board under state statute, Jiménez said. Initially, the hearing had been scheduled for this past Monday as part of the regular school board meeting.
No time has been set for the hearing but it will take place in the the boardroom at the U-46 Educational Services Center, 355 E. Chicago St. in Elgin, Jiménez said. The hearing also will be available to be viewed on the U-46 YouTube channel.
The situation was made public when Demovsky was placed on leave in March pending an investigation into “administrative practices.” He was officially discharged from his job and reclassified as a teacher at the April 8 school board meeting.
Board members have declined to discuss the situation, citing personnel rules designed to keep employee information confidential.
At the April 8 meeting, board member Dawn Martin, a Bartlett resident, responded to pushback from residents and students wanting to know more about the situation and voicing support for Demovsky.
“It’s not about hiding things from our community or not being transparent,” she said.
Demovsky’s base salary for the current school year is $154,690, according to information on the U-46 website. If he returns to teaching, his salary will be reduced and commensurate with what the position pays.
Melanie Meidel, a retired U-46 high school principal and assistant superintendent, is serving as interim principal for the remainder of the school year.
Prior to being named principal at Bartlett, Demovsky was principal of Kenyon Woods Middle School in South Elgin, assistant principal at Streamwood High School and a teacher at Bartlett High School. In 2017, he was a top 10 finalist for the Golden Apple Foundation’s Stanley C. Golder Achievement Leadership Award.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
