Elmhurst D205 Official Leaves In Wake Of Controversy

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205's top finance official is leaving under the terms of a resignation agreement.

Since 2011, Chris Whelton, who made more than $200,000 a year, has been the assistant superintendent of finance.

In a five-minute meeting Thursday, the board voted unanimously for the agreement. Member Jim Collins was absent.

This comes after the school district discovered one of Whelton's subordinates, Facilities Director Todd Schmidt, spent $46,000 on his district credit card for personal expenses such as booze, cigars, restaurants and groceries.

Schmidt resigned Dec. 9, a couple of weeks after he was arrested in Rockford on allegations that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his mother.

At its meeting, the board did not touch on the credit card issue, which it said last month that it was investigating.

Before the vote, board President Athena Arvanitis said Schmidt would resign March 1, but get his health insurance through June.

He will also provide "transitional services availability" through April 30, she said.

Additionally, he would also get a "final compensation payment" in May. But Arvanitis did not reveal the amount. Patch filed a public records request for the agreement Monday.

Arvanitis said Whelton had already signed the agreement.

In recent weeks, the board has met behind closed doors for hours about personnel matters, likely about Whelton.

"We are thankful for his many contributions to the district's ability to consistently meet its educational and operational objectives," Arvanitis said. "We wish him well in his future endeavors."

Board member Courtenae Trautmann said she did not want the day to pass without showing her appreciation for Whelton's work.

She said he came to the district at a time when it was laying off staff and its buildings were falling apart.

But since Whelton's arrival, she said, the district did a "complete 180."

"We are regularly, independently audited and rated as performing highly," Trautmann said.

She said she has worked with Whelton as a PTA leader, a member of the 2018 referendum committee member and for the last six years, a school board member.

"In my opinion, Mr. Whelton's decision-making has always kept in mind what's best for our students and what's best for our taxpayer dollars," Trautmann said. "Most impactful to prove this point, the community trusted us and our finances so much that they overwhelmingly voted for our $168 million referendum."

She continued, "It was because of Mr. Whelton's stewardship of our tax dollars during the referendum when we promised taxpayers that the referendum costs for a $500,000 home would be more than $150 per household, it only ended up costing $4."

Schmidt, the facilities director, was the official who oversaw the $168 million in projects.

The district has not revealed who authorized Schmidt's credit card spending. Schmidt paid back the money with a check every month, with the district essentially giving him short-term loans.

In response to Patch's public records request this week, the district said it had no documentation showing who approved Schmidt's credit card bills.

Whelton attended Tuesday's regular board meeting and presented several issues, including bus contracts.