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Former JROTC instructor asks Aurora East USD 131 board to reinstate him after dismissal
Summary
A former Aurora East USD 131 JROTC instructor told the board he was wrongfully dismissed and asked to be reinstated after a state unemployment determination sided with him.
A former employee who identified himself during public comment asked the Aurora East USD 131 Board of Education to reinstate him, saying his December dismissal was unjust and that a state unemployment determination supported his claim.
The commenter said he had been an employee of District 131 and not a shared resource with the U.S. Navy, and said the Navy “train[s] and certify[s] instructors, and they audit units. They do not make recommendations on hiring or retention.” He said the program contract included in his meeting packet was dated 2014 and that other JROTC instructors at East Aurora High School have individual or union contracts while he did not.
The speaker said he brought the matter to the attention of district leadership in November 2024 and provided suggested contract language; he said he was promised a contract by July 2024 but that one was never completed. He told the board he had sought clarification about why he was treated differently and asked whether his gender, race, age or disability status played a part.
He said he had appealed to the Illinois unemployment authority after being dismissed and read the agency’s determination into the record, quoting in part: “the claimant was discharged because he borrowed his school access badge to a student to retrieve a flag they forgot for a parade” and that the agency found the discharge was “not deliberate or willful.” He said the state decision was “in my favor.”
The commenter asked the school board to vote to reinstate him so he could return to campus for the remaining four months of the school year. He named several people in the audience who he said supported him, including Ginger Ingram and Jerry Paulson, and said he had spoken with Jan Jason Rampa, his area manager at Great Lakes, who “verbalized support” for his efforts.
The board did not take action during public comment; the speaker’s time expired after he asked for one final sentence and closed by stressing the importance of “a consistent, trusted, and supportive adult present on campus.”
