May 26--Three months after her appointment to the Lincoln-Way High School District 210 board, Kathleen Casey has resigned for "personal reasons," according to the district.
Casey is the fourth board member to resign from the embattled school board in 2016, following Arvid Johnson, Christopher McFadden and Kevin Molloy. Casey is a New Lenox resident who previously served as Palos Heights School District 118's superintendent.
Casey resigned in an email to Superintendent Scott Tingley and President Dee Molinare late Tuesday night. She could not immediately be reached for comment.
"I am officially resigning my Board of Education position effective immediately due to personal reasons," Casey wrote. "I wish the LW210 District nothing but the best."
In a statement, Molinare said, "we are thankful for (Casey's) participation on the board."
Casey's resignation comes amid significant legal and financial challenges for the cash-strapped school district, which landed on the state's financial watch list in 2015 after years of deficit spending.
In response, the school board voted to shutter Lincoln-Way North, even though it is less than a decade old, at the end of this school year. A community group is suing to prevent North's closure.
On Monday, the Daily Southtown reported that a federal grand jury subpoenaed nearly a dozen categories of records from Lincoln-Way, including information about the former superintendent's compensation as well as records related to the spending of bond money and student activity funds.
Anyone interested in applying for the position can go to the district's website and download an application. The deadline to apply is 4 p.m. June 1.
gpratt@tribpub.com
