For Immediate Release
August 13, 2003
State Superintendent of Education Starts Process of
Revoking Two North Greene Educators' Licenses
ASKS LOCAL SCHOOL BOARD IF IT HAS TAKEN DISCIPLINARY
ACTION OF ITS OWN
The Illinois State Superintendent of Education has taken
the first steps in a process that could lead to the revocation
of the certificates of two persons involved in allegedly
compromising state test procedures last April at North
Greene County High School in White Hall.
In a letter sent to the Pauline Scott, North Greene Unit
District 3 board president, Robert E. Schiller, the state
superintendent, cited the conduct of two employees prior
to and during the administration of the Prairie State
Achievement Examination at North Greene High School as
representing a breach of ethics and professional conduct.
An ISBE investigation following the report of the incident
indicated the two people were involved in opening, copying
and distributing parts of the test before it was given
– a clear violation of the rules.
Schiller’s letter tells President Scott that the
Illinois State Board of Education had anticipated that
the district would take appropriate disciplinary action
against the employees, but has yet to receive notification
of any such action. He asks that he be advised by August
18 of any action taken.
“The PSAE was compromised by the actions of your
employees. There is a cost to the Illinois State Board
of Education to have conducted the investigation and to
replace the test items,” Schiller told the board
president. “I am discussing with the State Board
that the North Greene Unit District #3 be assessed a sum
of money as a consequence of the actions of their employees.”
The two individuals were identified as Mark L. Keller,
principal of North Greene High School, who holds an administrator’s
certificate, and Cary J. Knox, who holds a teacher’s
certificate. In letters sent to them, Schiller cited Section
21-23 of the School Code regarding unprofessional conduct
in asking for voluntary surrender of their certificates.
A surrendered certificate is treated as a revoked certificate.
Certificate holders have ten days in which to surrender
their certificate voluntarily or they will be issued a
notice for a hearing of suspension or revocation. Certificate
holders may choose to surrender their certificate to avoid
the hearing process, which is conducted by the State Teacher
Certification Board.
If the individuals choose not to surrender their certificates,
they can continue to work under those certificates while
awaiting the completion of the hearing process.
“As educators we set the example for our students
as to what constitutes acceptable behavior,” said
Schiller. “Violation of testing rules cannot be overlooked.
It is a serious breach of ethics and we must protect the
integrity of the state’s assessment and accountability
program.”
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