Third resignation comes after release of sex tape

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BY JOAN CARREON and CHRIS KELLER
The Times | Saturday, April 14, 2007 | (10 comment(s))

The fallout from a DVD recording that shows a Sandridge Elementary District 172 principal having sex with a teacher in his office continued Friday, one day after the recordings became widely publicized.

On Friday:

-- a third staff member resigned from Sandridge Elementary District 172, located near Lynwood;

-- the district announced plans to hire an interim principal to serve out the remainder of the school year;

-- a Cook County education official asked for hearings;

-- parents made plans for a meeting with school officials Monday morning.

All this with district voters heading to the polls on Tuesday.

Sandridge Elementary School teacher's aide Anjayla Reed resigned Friday after District 172 Superintendent Diane Dyer-Dawson contacted her about allegations that she appears on a portion of the recording. A woman, reported to be Reed, is seen hugging and touching the principal.

Reed did not give a reason for her resignation, which was effective immediately.

Sandridge Elementary School Principal Leroy Coleman and science teacher Janet Lofton immediately resigned Thursday after DVD recordings began circulating. The DVD shows the two having sex in Coleman’s school office, Cook County Sheriff's Police Department Deputy Chief John Palcu confirmed.

Coleman cited health issues and Lofton indicated family illness as the reason for their departures.

The district will hire an interim principal to serve out the remainder of the school year and begin the search for a new, full-time principal for the 2007-08 school year, District 172 Superintendent Diane Dyer-Dawson said Friday.

Her comments came as she spoke to The Times for the first time since copies of DVD recordings began circulating this week.

Dyer-Dawson said she was "totally shocked and devastated that someone would do this to the school and the profession."

Meanwhile, Suburban Cook County Regional Superintendent Robert Ingraffia said he wants to have hearings conducted within the next two weeks regarding the possible suspension of the teaching and administrator certificates of Coleman, Lofton and Reed.

Like parents, teachers and The Times, Ingraffia was sent copies of the sexually explicit DVD. He called the recording "absolutely disgusting" and "reprehensible."

Hearings should not interfere with any kind of criminal investigation, Ingraffia said. A hearing officer would determine whether the teaching and administrator certificates should be suspended for up to a year, Ingraffia said. Ingraffia could then recommend whether the Illinois State Board of Education should revoke the educators' certificates.

School Board President Cheryl Ward could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Said School Board Vice President Bettina Grivetti, "I’m very upset that this type of situation took place in our school. My heart goes out to the parents and students of the district."

Asked if there was a district policy regarding employee relationships in the workplace, District 172 School Board Attorney John Izzo said regardless of policy, it is totally unacceptable for anyone to engage in sexual activity on school grounds.

The principal's office did not have security cameras, and the source of the recordings has become an issue in itself.

"Somebody got access and planted a bug in a school office," Izzo said, adding whoever is responsible is trying to "manipulate the election."

"How did somebody get access to a confidential office space?" Izzo said.

Copies of the video, apparently taped in December and January, emerged just days before Tuesday's elections. Eight candidates are competing for four board slots.

The district is also checking to see whether any board members may have known about the allegations prior to the recordings surfacing.

In a news release issued Friday morning by District 172, the district said it appears former board member Steve Brewster and possibly another member of the board "have known about these allegations for some time and have chosen not to bring the matter to either the superintendent or the whole board."

Brewster -- who turned in his keys to the school and his security alarm code to the superintendent just prior to the start of the School Board's April 4 meeting -- told the Time on Friday he first learned of the allegations when he saw a story on the news Thursday night.

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backtobasics wrote on Nov 23, 2008 9:30 PM:

" Have we all lost our basic morals. A principal is a role model to children and he should be a good example for parents. Yes, this matters. He is held to a higher standard and he or she should not be doing this in a public place. This is a school and not his private property. He and she should be banned from any school immediately and never allowed back in . They are sexual predators and don't have the disciple to control themselves. Disgusting. "

Professor wrote on Apr 21, 2007 1:09 PM:

" Gee..give me a break...like he is the first boss ever to have an affair with his subordinates...suspension yes, loss of job sure but a loss of their certificates so they can NEVER work for a school system again..that's ludacris. NO students were involved like all the OTHER teacher tape scandals. You should worry more how the tape was made and who distributed it since it surfaced just days before the election. The REAL crime is the security of the principals office being breached. "

B. Boop wrote on Apr 20, 2007 2:25 PM:

" Stop the madness! They made a mistake. Have you ever done anything you would'nt want on camera? "

Opinionated wrote on Apr 15, 2007 6:14 PM:

" DUH!!! HELLO-O-O....doesn't anyone get that the principal, himself, strategically set up the camera to catch the trysts and keep them for his own amusement? This must have happened enough times. Look at the camera angle. It is a close-up of his chair/desk area. Had the camera simply been installed by someone else to spy, the whole office would be visible. Someone (maybe the wife or a secretary) must have found the DVD and in retribution decided to publically humiliate those involved. "

Rastus Jackson wrote on Apr 15, 2007 5:08 PM:

" I wanna see the entire tape! "

Get Real wrote on Apr 14, 2007 8:18 PM:

" Typical Parents of the New Generation.. Duh this issue is not important??? You FOOLS next week we will learn "the rest of the story" School Children Involved????? The same parents that complain every year that school supplies cost $25.00, but will camp out over night at a store to get a $600.00 x box??? "

Oldest wrote on Apr 14, 2007 10:21 AM:

" The principal, the teacher, and the teacher's aide should have their certificates revoked, PERMANENTLY by the state. "

Sara W. wrote on Apr 14, 2007 9:01 AM:

" Am I the only person, who thinks this matter is irrelevant? Who cares if 3 :) consenting adults had intercourse where they should not have. Is that not a ticket from an officer if caught.. and that is the end.. I mean the lord is lost in this situation, but lets be honest, Atleast it was not a student. Im sure his wife or the other 2 will give him enough hell. I say we leave them alone, it is not a news story, Stop wasting my news space.. "

Sara W. wrote on Apr 14, 2007 6:28 AM:

" You know this tape could have been alot worse.. I really do not care the a principal and 2teachers were getting it on.. Just like I did not care if Bill Clinton got his knob slobbed.. Lets refocus our attention on matters that are important.. "

Sue wrote on Apr 14, 2007 4:19 AM:

" Talk about a story getting to much attention! Office romances happen every where but luckily no one taped them. They weren't doing it in front of the kids. Although it is morally wrong to cheat on their spouses, this is a issue for divorce courts not the parents. "

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