Former Lincoln Park High School principal and assistant principal removed from CPS "do not hire" list
Months after an inspector general's report found allegations against them were mishandled, a former principal and assistant principal at Lincoln Park High School have been removed from the Chicago Public Schools' "do not hire" list.
Former principal John Thuet and assistant principal Michelle Brumfield were fired in 2020, accused of mishandling claims of sexual misconduct.
In December 2024, the Office of Inspector General for Chicago Public Schools determined the case against them was mishandled, and improperly conducted "off-the-books.
The pair later petitioned to be removed from the district's "do not hire" list. CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez granted their request this week, making them eligible to work for the school district again.
"Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has always been and remains committed to protecting students and employees as part of our mission to provide an equitable, inclusive, and safe learning and work environment. The process to remove a Do Not Hire (DNH) designation allows for CPS to balance these protections with the most updated and relevant information at hand. The District continues to work toward building and maintaining an environment that promotes positive and safe school communities," CPS said in a statement.
In January and February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic shifted schools to remote learning for more than a year, Lincoln Park High School was embroiled in a headline-grabbing scandal that lasted weeks.
It started with a complaint about an unauthorized boys' varsity basketball team overnight trip to Detroit in December 2019.
After the trip, Thuet sent a letter to parents saying the "overnight trip over winter break… was not a school-sponsored event. An investigation followed, and Thuet and Brumfield were removed from their positions.
The basketball coach and dean of the school were also reassigned, and as the school put it, "the remainder of the varsity boys' basketball season has been suspended until further notice."
More complaints followed, including claims of sexual misconduct within the athletics department and retaliation by other students.
Thuet and Brumfield have maintained from the beginning that they reported all of the claims of sexual misconduct and other wrongdoing to the CPS Office of Student Protections as required by the district.
After the pair were fired, angry parents complained that CPS was not forthcoming with facts about the allegations against them. Meantime, , calling for Thuet and Brumfield to be reinstated and taking issue with the cancellation of the basketball season.
Protests against Thuet and Brumfield's termination took over the halls of Lincoln Park High School and CPS board meetings.
It took four years for the CPS inspector general to investigate and publish a report that was overwhelmingly critical of the Office of Student Protections and CPS.
It noted an incredible conflict of interest, saying part of the Office of Student Protections' investigation into the matter started because of allegations made by a student whose mother actually ran that very office.
The Inspector General called the investigation "off-the-books," which "seems to have affected the terminations of Thuet and Brumfield—each of whom were supposedly fired because of misconduct."
Thuet and Brumfield have said they still don't know why they were fired in the first place. It's unclear if they'll seek to work for CPS again.
The video above is from an earlier report.
