Schools

Former D-15 Assistant Principal Alleges Wrongful Termination

A former Community Consolidated School District 15 assistant principal alleges she was fired for reporting the misconduct of a co-worker.

A former Community Consolidated School District 15 assistant principal is claiming she was fired for reporting that her boss was an alcoholic who was sexually harassing women.

Elizabeth Wong alleges that District 15 officials violated the Illinois Whistleblower Act when she was fired. Wong is seeking at least $500,000 in damages. Wong declined comment citing the pending litigation when contacted.

District 15 Superintendent Scott Thompson said he could not comment on pending litigation. Thompson did say that when complaints are filed, the school district follows a grievance process and thoroughly investigates complaints.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The lawsuit states that while Wong worked as assistant principal of Carl Sandburg Junior High School she became aware the principal, Edward Nelson, was an alcoholic. Wong states in the lawsuit that she reported to district officials in February 2010 that Nelson's condition was interfering with his ability to do his job.

"Nelson’s impairment reached the point that Plaintiff was required to perform many of his duties as Principal of Carl Sandburg school because Nelson was incapable of doing so," the lawsuit states.

Find out what's happening in Palatinewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Wong also told school officials that Nelson sexually harassed other women and had begun to sexually harass her.

The lawsuit states Wong's concerns were not acted upon and she was transferred to another school — against her objections — in March 2010. The lawsuit also states Wong was asked to report any further misconduct by Nelson.

The lawsuit states school officials attempted to intimidate Wong and in July 2010 her salary was cut by $2,000.

Thompson became superintendent of District 15 in July 2010. The lawsuit states Thompson falsely accused Wong of failing to take action to protect the
students from the danger to them caused by Nelson’s misconduct.

The lawsuit states Wong's termination stemmed from a survey of teaching conditions conducted by the teacher's union. Wong asserts that the results of the survey were "compromised or falsified," and contacted the president of the union by e-mail.

She was removed from her position March 18: "The reason given to Plaintiff for this precipitate action was that she had communicated the results of that survey to three individuals, including the President of the Union who had been in charge of conducting that survey."

Nelson retired from school District 15 in June 2011. He now is an assistant principal in a school district in DuPage County. When contacted by Palatine Patch, Nelson declined comment.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here