THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
Ex-Principal: Comments 'Completely Untrue'
By RICHARD MAYER
JOURNAL REPORTER
Former Euclid Elementary School Principal Maria Martinez denies making any comments that were inappropriate or threatening to Supt. Dr. Dane Delli.
Martinez also said she resigned from her position effective June 30, because the "school district's environment is hostile from top to bottom," adding she wasn't "comfortable with the direction the district is going."
"I was called in to the administration building and was told by Dr. Delli that I had made a comment that was inappropriate in the workplace," said Martinez. "I was not given the opportunity to defend myself, and then was told to leave the district immediately."
Martinez was "relieved of her duties" at the end of the day on Wednesday, Mar. 20 after she allegedly threatened to kill the school secretary and Delli earlier in the day, according to information obtained by the Journal. Martinez said she was told to leave on Mar. 19.
Martinez said a second-year teacher-aide told Delli that Martinez allegedly made comments threatening his life, which she says is "completely untrue." She also mentioned that Delli said he had several affidavits pertaining to Martinez's alleged comments, but she was never given the opportunity to see those documents.
"The last time I talked to this teacher-aide was in the middle of February and it was a pleasant conversation, so this whole thing literally came out of the blue," said Martinez.
According to a filed report, Mt. Prospect police responded to the district's administration building on Kensington Road at 5 p.m. on Mar. 19 in regards to a "disturbance call" relating to Martinez.
Delli said in Wednesday's Journal & Topics Newspapers that when he was informed about what had allegedly happened, he immediately conferred with school board members to determine what action to take. He said the board agreed to remove Martinez immediately. On the same day, Mitch Dubinsky was named interim principal for the remainder of the year.
Delli reiterated in the same article that this was a situation that did not involve or jeopardize chil!dren at the school at any time.
Delli said Martinez was given an opportunity to retrieve her personal items from her office, but she didn't take advantage of that opportunity. However, Martinez emphatically stated that she was never given that opportunity and asked if she could retrieve her belongings.
"He (Delli) told me I was not allowed back in the school and my things would be brought to me," commented Martinez.
Martinez was in her fourth year at Euclid and was expected to leave her position effective June 30. The school board officially approved her resignation on Feb. 6 of this year. Martinez remains under contract through June 30 and will continue to be paid her base salary of approximately $102,000.
Delli said earlier this week he is "unaware" if Martinez was leaving to take another position somewhere else.