LAKE FOREST, IL — A teacher at Deer Path Middle School engaged in sexual grooming with a middle school student at a prior job and lied about, according to Lake Forest school officials.
The Lake Forest School District 67 board on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution regarding the suspension and dismissal of tenured math teacher Paul Brock on the recommendation of Superintendent Matt Montgomery.
Montgomery said the resolution calls for the board to authorize and direct to Brock the written notice of three charges against him.
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“Charge one: for engaging, while at another school district, in a personal and sexually grooming relationship with a middle school student,” Montgomery said.
“Charge two: for misrepresenting his employment history in the course of the application process with District 67,” Montgomery continued.
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“And charge three: for misrepresenting his relationship with the student in the prior school district,” he said, “and not being forthright in the course of the District 67 investigation of his relationship with the student.”
Brock, 42, of Highland Park, has worked for Lake Forest schools for more than a dozen years. Montgomery did not specify when or where the inappropriate relationship he described took place.
In a message to the school community on Wednesday, the superintendent said the board’s action demonstrates how seriously administrators take their commitment to student safety.
“As you might imagine, this is not something we take lightly. We have offered Mr. Brock all due process as outlined by the School Code and honored all legal and contractual obligations,” Montgomery said. “Following investigation, it became clear that all three charges were fully supported by evidence.”
Lake Forest Patch asked Montgomery to specify when and where Brock’s alleged misconduct occurred and when and how the district learned about it. Patch also left a message for Brock requesting comment regarding the situation. Any information received will be added here.
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