Proviso Township High Schools District 209 officials announced on Nov. 18 that they made a series of “temporary leadership changes” in the district, including appointing an interim principal at Proviso West to replace the school’s current principal.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, D200 Communications Director Cynthia Moreno said that on Friday, Nov. 15, “decisions “impacting Proviso East, Proviso West, and PMSA were executed in the best interest of the School District. The decision is in conformity with Board Policy 5:240 and Section 1 of the Employment Contracts for Administrators.”
Moreno said that the district has appointed Proviso East Assistant Principal Fred Aguirre as interim principal at Proviso West, replacing Principal Nia Abdullah. They’ve also appointed Brandon Gale, Proviso Math and Science Academy’s lead security manager, as interim security manager at West, replacing Proviso West Security Manager Levertis Robinson.
Moreno also responded to widely circulated rumors that Abdullah had been escorted out of the building on Friday and possibly terminated — claims that, so far, Village Free Press has not independently verified.
“The rumors are invalid as the employee was not escorted out or fired,” Moreno explained in an email, adding that “the dignity and privacy of all employees is a priority to me.”
Moreno also explained that both East and PMSA “must adjust to the temporary changes in personnel.”
So far, the district hasn’t said whether or not they’ll assign personnel to step in for Aguirre and Gale while they’re both at West. In a follow-up email sent on Monday evening, Moreno said that it’s too early “to determine those details.”
“The Board of Education is aware for the development and they will function as a judicial body at the appropriate time,” Moreno said.
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