Country Club Hills school superintendent suspended indefinitely

COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (WGN) – The superintendent of School District 160 in Country Club Hills has been suspended indefinitely without pay.

The school board made the decision to suspend Supt. Duane Meighan indefinitely without pay at Wednesday evening’s meeting. Dr. Denise Julius has been appointed interim superintendent, while another interim is set to be approved at a later date.

Julius was last listed as the Asst. Supt. of Specialized Services in South Holland School District 150. She was not initially who the board planned to appoint. They had another name on the agenda tonight, but changed it right at the beginning of the meeting.

Parents of children who attend the three schools in District 160 had threatened to stop enrolling their children if Meighan wasn’t fired or forced to resign.

“Our children are being taught core classes by substitute gym teachers,” parent Sequoia Williams said. “I can accept failure, but I cannot accept not trying.”

WGN Investigates revealed in the past two and a half years the district spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on hotels, food – including high end steakhouses – and transportation.

Now, the state board of education is auditing the last two fiscal years.

Parents said their child(ren) were losing extra curriculars, transportation and added their fears around safety were growing.

Meighan has received much of the blame, though the school board only would say the reasons for his suspension were discussed in closed session.

Williams, however, took time to show gratitude for the actions led by new Board President Sharon Mack.

“Being ignored for so long has caused real harm, but trust can be rebuilt and I do believe you are working towards that,” Williams said. “We really want to thank you for stepping in for our kids and fixing this.”

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