Over the last several years, Central District 301 has devolved from a sought-after, high-performing district to one plagued by significant failures under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Esther Mongan. This includes holding the lowest teacher retention rate in Kane County, micromanagement of teachers pursuing advanced degrees which would only benefit our students and district, declining student performance, relentless attempts to push forward a referendum for an unnecessary $225 million high school, and the squandering of over $9 million in taxpayer funds on architectural services and land for a school that voters have rejected three times while refusing to hire sorely needed Special Education and ELL teachers. These issues point to a breakdown in priorities, leadership, and governance.

Civil Rights Violations: A Betrayal of Students and Teachers

While our focus has always been transparency and accountability, our movement started over district families struggling to get their students what they need in Special Education. Central 301's administration has demonstrated a disturbing pattern of violating the civil rights of students and teachers, failing to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):

Neglect of Special Education Needs: The district routinely denies requests for additional teachers to support its special education programs, leaving students without the resources and individualized support they need to succeed. This puts higher workloads and caseloads on our teachers inhibiting their ability to support every student.  Our paraprofessionals—a critical part of Special Ed support- make less per hour than part-time workers at Home Depot.

Discrimination Against Students: A junior at Central High School, who holds a valid state-issued placard, was unjustly denied access to accessible parking spaces despite medical recommendations. Instead of accommodating this student's federally protected rights, the district chose to waste thousands of taxpayer dollars on legal representation fighting this student and his family, harassing the student with threats of consequences for parking in a handicap parking spot he has the right to access under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  Though this matter was eventually resolved in the student's favor, the family spent 105 stress-filled days fighting the District on this issue. Adding to the injury: this student’s own teacher—a 24-year veteran of our district-- has had to wage an almost decade-long fight to protect their civil rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act against our Superintendent.

Violation of Teachers' Rights: Educators have alleged that their ADA accommodations are ignored or outright denied, creating a hostile and discriminatory working environment. This has further contributed to Central 301’s staggering teacher attrition rate.  

A Culture of Alleged Retaliation and Fear

Parents, teachers, and employees allege widespread unfair treatment, intimidation, and retribution against those who speak out about the district's failings. Teachers and parents advocating for improvements allege they are the subject of punitive actions instead of constructive dialogue. We’ve lost countless veteran teachers and now have many untenured teachers too afraid to risk their job if they speak out against our Superintendent.

Accountability Stops with the Superintendent

Dr. Mongan is the third-highest paid superintendent in Kane County (in total compensation), yet during her tenure, the district has been marked by:

Mismanagement of Funds: Millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent without voter approval, with no tangible benefit to students or teachers.

Declining Performance: Teacher retention and student achievement are in freefall.

Systemic Discrimination: ADA violations affecting both students and staff point to an ongoing culture of non-compliance with federal law.

Lack of Transparency: From closed meetings to intentional removal or obscuring of data, our community continues to have to chase down information to validate and confirm statistics and details, including the discovery that our district reported ZERO resignations for FY2024 to the Illinois State Board of Education, possibly resulting in an inaccurate calculation of our latest poor Teacher Retention rate.

Demand for Change

The civil rights violations, financial mismanagement, and retaliatory practices occurring under Dr. Mongan’s leadership have left the community no choice but to demand action. The Central 301 Board of Education, which has the authority to remove the superintendent, must act immediately.

The community calls for the Board to terminate Dr. Esther Mongan’s employment and bring in a superintendent who prioritizes transparency, equity, compassion and success for all students and staff. We further call for the immediate resignation of Board of Education member and President Jeff Gorman. This district deserves leadership that upholds the law, fosters an inclusive and compassionate environment, and steers Central 301 back to its rightful place as a high-performing, respected institution.

Our students, teachers, and taxpayers deserve better. The time for change is now. Kane County residents, please sign this petition for the dismissal of Dr. Esther Mongan as Superintendent of Central School District 301 and the resignation of Jeff Gorman from the Board of Education.