Lincoln-Way District 210 board member resigns

NEW LENOX – A Lincoln-Way High School District 210 board member has resigned.

Superintendent Scott Tingley said Christopher McFadden emailed the district his resignation letter Thursday, thanking Lincoln-Way for its support and giving best wishes.

“We thank him for his time. It’s certainly a difficult time to serve as a board member at this time at Lincoln-Way, but we thank him for his effort,” Tingley said Friday.

Tingley said the board will need to seat another member within 45 days, in compliance with state law. Lincoln-Way will have to notify the Will County Regional Office of Education of the vacancy within the next five days.

Tingley said he anticipates the district posting notice of the vacancy this week. Potential candidates for the seat will be interviewed and selected by the board.

Board President Kevin Molloy said board members could fill the seat either by appointing an individual or interviewing multiple candidates and then making an appointment. He said he prefers the latter.

He said the board and administration appreciates McFadden’s contributions to Lincoln-Way.

“Over those nine months, it was very trying, and he did the best job he could under those circumstances,” Molloy said.

Molloy said McFadden didn’t tell him about his resignation, and the last time he spoke to McFadden outside closed session meetings was Oct. 1. He said they didn’t talk much outside of board business.

Calls to McFadden were not returned Friday afternoon.

McFadden recently was named in a lawsuit against the board filed in Will County court by Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite, a watchdog group that formed in August.

The lawsuit seeks a preliminary court order and a final ruling barring District 210 officials from closing any high school.

McFadden was one of five board members who supported the August decision to close North high school because of financial troubles.

Stephen Eberhardt, LWATU’s attorney, said McFadden’s resignation shouldn’t have any effect on the lawsuit.

“Being a board member that made the decision, he’s still going to be a defendant. Resigning at this point doesn’t take anything away from what he did on Aug. 13,” Eberhardt said.

Next Wednesday, Eberhardt said he plans to ask a judge for a hearing date on the preliminary court order to halt the school closing.

Todd Velky, LWATU treasurer, said McFadden’s resignation “validates the injunction and complaint.” Velky also stated in a news release from the group the resignation was treated as validation in part because McFadden is a federal attorney and knowledgeable about legal matters.

McFadden was elected to the Lincoln-Way board last April. He previously served on the Frankfort School District 157-C school board and was its president from 2013 to 2015.

Last year, he applied for a position on the Joliet Junior College Board of Trustees.

In September, McFadden criticized District 210 auditors in a memo to the board and suggested legal action against them if district attorneys found grounds for it.