The union representing Unit 5 teachers opposes the school board's decision to punish a special education teacher who left Parkside Elementary last month.
Kathryn Monti submitted her resignation to the Unit 5 school board to take a new teaching job elsewhere. The school board rejected the resignation, saying Monti resigned mid-year with insufficient notice, and referred the case to the state superintendent for a possible license suspension of up to one year.
A request to Unit 5 for the date of Monti's resignation was not immediately returned. Monti has already left the district.
“We don't believe it's in the district’s, the students’ or the staff's best interest,” said Julie Hagler, president of the Unit Five Education Association [UFEA].
“The reality of the situation in the State of Illinois right now is that there is a tremendous shortage of special education teachers, and by pulling us or recommending that the state superintendent pull the certificate of a teacher, we're limiting the available pool of people out there to serve the students,” Hagler said.
Typically, teachers are required to give 30 days notice when leaving a position in Illinois public schools. In the past, school districts would be able to replace teachers quickly and would accept less than 30 days notice.
A special education teacher shortage has changed strategies for some school districts.
In 2022, four Unit 5 teacher resignations were met with the same approach. Two teachers stayed with Unit 5; the other two still moved on. Before August 2023, only tenured teachers could be subject to license suspension if they resigned without proper notice, but in an effort to further combat the teacher shortage, rules were changed to also apply to non-tenured staff.
Parkside retention and pay trend below average
Hagler said the move shows that the school district found it unlikely they would find a replacement for the rest of the school year. In instances where teachers left and the district could find a replacement, the district did not reject a resignation.
A person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak on behalf of Unit 5 said a Parkside teacher hired for the current school year left a month after school began, but the district did not pursue license suspension.
Parkside Elementary's 75.9% teacher retention is an outlier for Unit 5, which has an overall retention rate of 88.2%. In 2025, average teacher salary at Parkside was about $58,000 per year; that's about $20,000 below the statewide average.
While the state superintendent can suspend licenses for up to a year, Hagler said most licenses are not suspended that long because of the ongoing shortage.
"It's an action that is within school code for the district to take. But it doesn't benefit the district, and it doesn't benefit anyone in the State of Illinois to do that," she said.
Hagler also said license suspension does not necessarily keep teachers from working.
“A district could choose to pay a teacher as a sub while their license is suspended, and then when their license is reinstated, they can convert their category over,” said Hagler. “It doesn't impact the teacher’s pay or their status with that district.”
Monti has the right to attend a hearing and plead her case for why her license should not be suspended, or to limit how long the suspension lasts.
Monti also declined an alternate role or school to continue work under her contract with Unit 5. But Hagler said no additional support was offered when Monti initially expressed concerns about her job, nor when her building administrator was made aware she was looking elsewhere for a new job. The offer from the human resources department was not given until after she found the job in the new school district. A person who works at Parkside but is not authorized to speak publicly told WGLT they do not believe there is much upward movement that Unit 5 could have offered to a learning behavior specialist.
“She's making, I believe, more money and has better working conditions. And so that choice was in her best interest,” said Hagler.
Hagler also said there has been at least one instance where a teacher was interested in moving from their school district to a new role at Unit 5. Unit 5 was unable to offer a position because the district was not willing to let that teacher go.
