Elmhurst D205 Official To Stay As Consultant

ELMHURST, IL – The official who took charge of Elmhurst School District 205's troubled finance office is poised to stay as a consultant.

Mohsin Dada, who was appointed as interim assistant superintendent of finance in February, will remain after Monday as a consultant.

On Monday, the school board is set to vote on an agreement that would pay Dada $200 an hour up to a total of $40,000.

On Tuesday, Joe Blomquist, a finance official in Lake Zurich District 95, is set to become District 205's assistant superintendent of finance.

According to a District 205 memo, Dada's role will be to "support a strong transition of leadership."

Under the agreement, Dada's "coaching" services include budgeting, insurance, long-range building planning, cost-cutting analysis and procurement.

In 2020, Dada retired as the chief financial officer for Hinsdale School District 181.

In January, Chris Whelton, then assistant superintendent of finance for District 205, struck an agreement to resign a month later. At the time, the district said Whelton's office's practices were under investigation.

Whelton supervised facilities director Todd Schmidt, who was arrested in November on charges that he stole tens of thousands of dollars from his mother.

In December, Patch reported that Schmidt used his credit card for nearly $50,000 in personal expenses such as booze, cigars, airfare, restaurant meals, groceries, and payments to sororities and country clubs.

He reimbursed the district every month with checks, essentially receiving unofficial loans on the taxpayers' dime.

Schmidt also oversaw $168 million in building projects that were approved as part of a 2018 property tax hike referendum.

District 205 is one of only a handful of districts statewide with the state's worst financial rating. Most of the other low-ranking ones are far less wealthy than Elmhurst.

The district has said the rating resulted from an accounting change. Officials said they expect an improved designation later this year.