THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE STORY BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Danville District 118 Superintendent Dr. Alicia Geddes (middle) during an October Danville District 118 School Board meeting.
Drop in a question of your very own BY CLICKING HERE or by emailing 25-year Vermilion County reporter Jennifer Bailey at jbailey@news-gazette.com.DANVILLE — An item on the Danville School District 118 board’s agenda for Wednesday’s meeting has two school board members asking for “a public discussion of the superintendent’s status.”
The board meets at 6:30 p.m. at the David L. Fields Administrative Service Center, 110 E. Williams St.
School board members Darlene Halloran and Kim Corley requested the agenda item.
“I along with other board members are getting many, many questions from the public and we don’t have answers,” Halloran said.
They know there was a request to look at security of the school district’s administration building and they’d like a report on that. The board members also want to know Alicia Geddis’ work status and a timeline.
At a school board meeting last month, Geddis briefly talked about threats made to the school district and that threats had been toward her, too.
She said there is an active investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding the threats.
Danville Police Chief Chris Yates said the police department’s investigation was “very thorough” regarding threats Geddis believes were to her safety. Yates also reached out to the FBI in Champaign to look at the DPD’s work and see about any cross references and have an external party involved to provide their perspective regarding all persons involved.
According to an Oct. 7 memo from Yates to police command that The News-Gazette received through a Freedom of Information Act request on the investigation, Geddis told Yates she was leaving her Danville residence until the matter is resolved and the FBI concludes its investigation. The FBI stated they didn’t advise Geddis to leave her residence; it was her own choice, according to Yates.
An Oct. 22 memo from Yates to police command stated Geddis was going to request the police officer working the school board meeting to follow her home after the meeting. Yates also said the FBI advised they’d not received any information that would indicate Geddis is in danger, but they were continuing to look into her complaint. The FBI was to let the DPD know if there were any changes.
In a police memo dated Oct. 23, it stated the Danville Police Department completed its investigation of the police report and disorderly conduct complaint that Geddis had filed regarding a former student.
Danville Deputy Chief Terry McCord in the memo said, “there was no reasonable suspicion to believe that (the former student) had been following, stalking, harassing, or in the same area as Dr. Geddis.”
School board members also learned what the police determined, about the Danville Police Department investigation being closed, and about the FBI further research.
“We just want some answers,” Halloran said.
School board members say since the beginning of all this, at the end of September, first part of October, and going on two months now, they’ve been told Geddis has been working at home.
Board members say there is little to no accountability for that.
They had asked Geddis not to attend a special board meeting on Nov. 6 to talk about the police report and Geddis’ absence from her administration building office.
Geddis on Monday would not say if and how long she’s been out of the office or where she’s been.
The News-Gazette hasn’t received a response yet on another FOIA request for information on any hotel stay, the absence of Geddis.
At the Oct. 23 regular school board meeting, Geddis spoke to rumors about her being on leave. She said she’s not been absent and answers all phone calls and emails.
Geddis has been superintendent since 2015. Her current contract runs to 2026.
The FBI could not be reached for comment on the case.
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