Regional superintendent declines to remove another Freeburg school board member
The St. Clair County Regional Office of Education has for the second time in three months declined a Freeburg school board’s request to remove one of its elected members from office.
A majority of Freeburg Community Consolidated School District 70 board members had voted in November to ask Regional Superintendent Lori Costello to remove member David Stein, accusing him of “erratic” and “aggressive” behavior and threats of violence against district officials.
Earlier this week, Costello sent an email to board President Michelle Foppe and Mark Janssen, who is now serving as interim superintendent, notifying them that she wouldn’t be taking action against Stein.
“Statute defines the standard for removal of a school board member as ‘(willful) failure to perform his official duties,’” Costello wrote.
“After reviewing both your initial and updated email requests for consideration of the removal of School Board Member Mr. David Stein and conferring with St. Clair County State’s Attorney’s Office, the documentation provided does not support the statutory standard.”
In August, the board had requested that member Jayson Baker be removed from office due to unspecified “interactions with staff members.” Costello declined to take action on the same grounds.
In Stein’s case, district officials also had obtained an emergency workplace protection restraining order from a St. Clair County Circuit Court judge in November, prohibiting him from entering the school. Since that time, he’s been attending board meetings remotely.
The district’s petition alleged that Stein had screamed and used profanity at board meetings and, in a phone call with Janssen, threatened to run over officials with his vehicle. Stein denied the allegations.
A hearing Wednesday ended without a decision by Associate Judge Stacy Campbell on whether to keep the restraining order in place. Another hearing is scheduled for Feb. 20.
Stein declined comment on the court case but addressed Costello’s decision not to remove him from office.
“This has been nothing but an attempt to slander and discredit me for the sake of (district officials) covering their tracks on hiring a felon at the school,” he said. “This whole thing started out with me saying, ‘We have a felon working at the school. Why are we not doing anything about it?’”
Stein had argued that district administrators needed to do better background checks on potential employees after he learned that someone with a felony conviction had been hired to work in the cafeteria.
Foppe didn’t respond to a request for comment on Costello’s decision not to remove Stein.
Janssen formerly served as the district’s financial officer, working alongside Superintendent Melanie Brink. She resigned last month after being hired as superintendent for Belle Valley School District 119 in Belleville. That job will begin next fall.
The Freeburg board held a special meeting Jan. 6 to accept Brink’s resignation, making it effective “immediately” instead of asking her to stay through the end of the school year.
At that meeting, Janssen told board members the district’s four remaining administrators would divide Brink’s duties for the rest of the school year and that he wouldn’t be applying for the superintendent’s job because it would require too much time given his family obligations.
Stein then took to social media, maintaining that the district could lose its accreditation without a superintendent in charge. The board held another special meeting on Tuesday, appointing Janssen as interim.
“There is not anything in statute that says how long a district has to replace a superintendent when there is a vacancy like this,” Costello said Wednesday. “They just have to do the best they can” until they find a replacement with a superintendent’s certification.
Costello noted that Janssen already had such a certification.
District 70 includes Freeburg Elementary School and Freeburg Primary Center. In the past two years, it has faced challenges and controversies, including staff resignations, board infighting, lawsuits and other court filings, a police investigation and heated debates among local residents.
On Thursday, Janssen reiterated his belief that now isn’t the right time for him to become superintendent on a permanent basis, noting he keeps busy with two children in school. He plans to lead the district until his interim appointment ends June 30.
“I’m all in on this,” Janssen said. “The staff is all in on this. We have good people. We have a good team. We’re going to keep moving forward with all the good things we’re doing here for our kids.”
The board has voted to pay the Illinois Association of School Boards to conduct a search for a new superintendent.
Six of the seven Freeburg board members, including Stein, voted Aug. 26, 2024, to censure Baker and ask for his removal from office. In a letter to Costello, Foppe stated that the request was based on his “interactions with staff members.” She didn’t give details.
Costello notified Foppe on Oct. 16 that she wouldn’t be taking action against Baker because the board’s complaints against him didn’t meet the statuary standard for removal.
On Nov. 25, five board members voted to censure Stein and ask Costello to remove him from office. Stein was absent from that meeting. Baker abstained. Costello notified Foppe on Monday of her decision not to take action.
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to state that the district has asked the Illinois Association of School Boards, not the Regional Office of Education, to conduct a search for a new superintendent.
This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 12:39 PM.
