Burbank SD 111 board denies two teacher resignations and rejects Stage 3 grievance

The Burbank School District No. 111 Board of Education voted on July 23 to deny two reported resignations and to reject a Stage 3 union grievance after reconvening from closed session.

Board President Marissa Swistowicz presided over the meeting and the board moved into closed session at 6:27 p.m. The board reconvened at 9:21 p.m., and then approved motions to deny the resignations of Melissa Alonso, a 6th grade ELA teacher, and Kasey Hayes, an art teacher at Tobin School. The motion to deny those resignations passed on a roll call with Ayes: Agnieszka Dabrowski, John Schuetz, Jeniz Greene, Marissa Swistowicz, Jessica Thomas and Thomas Jansen; Gregory Komperda was absent.

The board also voted to deny a Stage 3 grievance brought by the teachers' union. That vote was split: Ayes — Swistowicz, Thomas and Jansen; Nays — Dabrowski, Greene; Abstain — Schuetz; Absent — Komperda. The board took no further public action beyond announcing the roll-call results.

During public comment earlier in the meeting, teacher Kasey Hayes asked the board to hold Recommendation No. 10 and accept her resignation, and appealed for board support for teachers, saying, “I want to continue to grow in my career and not be held back by policy, politics, and paperwork,” according to her remarks to the board.

The motions approving the denials and the grievance disposition were made immediately after closed session and were recorded in open session with roll-call tallies. The board adjourned at 9:23 p.m.

What happens next: The board record shows the formal roll-call outcomes; the transcript does not include further public explanation of the board’s reasons for denying the resignations or of the rationale underlying the grievance decision.