Bensenville Village Board President Frank DeSimone is calling on the superintendent of Fenton High School to resign amid an investigation into the handling of sexual assault allegations against a now-fired staff member at the school.
Students and parents of Fenton High School packed a school board meeting on Wednesday night, demanding the superintendent and the school board to resign or be fired following the revelations made this week.
According to the Daily Herald, the worker was a science and math teacher, then joined the school's administrative team. The worker was put on administrative leave when the allegations resurfaced in the fall, and was just fired by the board on Monday.
According to documents obtained by NBC Chicago, the allegations of misconduct date back to 2015. The documents show that a student, who was underage at the time, alleges that a staff member had committed an act of criminal sexual abuse.
DeSimone issued a statement Thursday calling for the resignation of District 100 Superintendent James Ontengco.
“I can tell you I stand with our students, families and all sexual assault victims when I say that the allegations are disgusting and unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “A school should be – amongst all else – safe for children. In order for our community to begin to heal, I am calling for Fenton District 100’s superintendent to step down.”
The president said "inaction" put students of the district at risk, and accountability is needed in the present moment.
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“Inaction put students at risk, and inaction continues to cause harm to the people of this community I hold dear,” he said.
When asked by reporters on Thursday whether he would step down, the superintendent did not offer comment on the case.
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"No comment,” Ontengco said.
Board President Cary Lewis also resisted calls for resignation, answering "absolutely not" to questions regarding his future.
“To the superintendent, your complicity with a terminated administrator is absolutely repulsive. You are a joke of a man," Fenton High School graduate, Xochitl Quinones said.
The comments of those speaking hit home for some Board members.
“I’m a parent here," board member Sylvia Hayde said. "I’m a parent here too. I have a child here and I want to get to the bottom of everything just like everybody else does.”
“I share their anger," President Lewis said. "I share their frustration. I share all of that.”
Many of the parents and students who attended Wednesday's meeting plan to continue to attend school board meetings until the superintendent and board members resign or are fired.
