The Joliet Public Schools District 86 Board of School Inspectors voted unanimously to fire custodian Jeremy Ledesma, but parents expressed anger with the district’s communication around the issue.

The vote to terminate Ledesma’s contract following his arrest for possession of child sex abuse materials was added to the regularly scheduled Jan. 14 board meeting, resulting in an emergency change of venue for the meeting to accommodate a large number of parents who wished to attend.

About 50 people were present at the start of the meeting.

Upon opening the meeting, the board members immediately went into closed session to discuss the matter. The board then, after returning, voted unanimously to terminate the contract with no further discussion.

Immediately after voting, Board President Jesse Smith said “we recognize the anger, concern and loss of trust this situation has caused, and we acknowledge that our communication did not meet the standards our community deserves. We are committed to improving our notification process, so families hear directly from the district and ensure that this does not happen again.”

Smith then suggested the board hold a public comment session to allow parents to speak on the issue.

However, Inspector R. Emil Stanfield objected, forcing a vote on the proposal. The board voted 4-3 to not allow the comment session to proceed until the end of the meeting. Inspectors Stanfield, Matthew Pritz, Naurice Moffett and Delia Ulloa-Jimenez voted against immediate comments.

About 30 parents waited nearly two hours while the board interviewed four firms to assist in its superintendent search before they were allowed to speak. Superintendent Dr. Theresa Rouse is retiring at the end of June 2027.

One parent who originally signed up to speak had already left by the time public comments began.

“I first want to say at the beginning of the meeting when parent comments were voted on, it’s super disheartening to hear you guys were not open to that,” said Eisenhower Academy parent Gabrielle Robles, who called the recent revelation about Ledesma “shocking, heartbreaking and deeply unsettling.”

She said the news of the matter “has had a real emotional impact on us.”

Grievances raised during the public comment included the lack of communication with parents and building staff at Eisenhower Academy about the investigation, despite the district suspending Ledesma on Oct. 3.

District 86 parent and Eisenhower Academy staff member Vanessa Perez said that she had no knowledge of the situation until reading the report of Ledesma’s arrest in local media after he was arrested. She said the Eisenhower staff were “blindsided.”

“[Superintendent] Dr. [Theresa] Rouse stated that the district did not become aware of the charges or the nature of them until Jan. 9, 2026,” Perez said. “That is proved false as the Will County Sheriff’s Office released a timeline of events to The Herald-News on Jan. 13, and it is noted that on Oct. 3, 2025, the district administration was advised of the investigation as well as the nature of it.”

Perez said the administration was “knowingly withholding information from staff and parents” and called for Rouse’s resignation.

Parents also expressed frustration that when a statement was issued from the district, it was made by the school principal, not by Rouse or the board.

The content of the statement from principal Nicole Bottigliero, which asked the community to “refrain from speculation or discussion of this matter with students, families, or one another, and that any questions or concerns be directed to the administration,” also came under fire from parents.

“She’s [Rouse] known something ‘extremely serious’ was happening since at least October 2025, yet she kept quiet,” Parent Amy Wendell-Blish said. “She didn’t even send out the first message, but instead, let Ms. Bottigliero take the fall for her.”

“District 86 has a clear duty and moral obligation to protect its students,” Parent Natalia Arias said. “Instead of protecting student safety and community trust, the administration chose to protect its image.”

Rouse said she had signed off on the statement.

Wendell-Blish, whose comments were cut off for time, provided a copy of her prepared statement to Shaw Local News Network.

“The lack of accountability regarding these documented safety issues is a significant concern for the parents of Eisenhower Academy,” she said.

Rouse and District 86 Director for Communications and Development Sandy Zalewski said the district did not comment because “it was an active police investigation.”

That was echoed in Smith’s official statement, which noted “the District is cooperating fully with law enforcement; however, information shared may be restricted because this is an active police investigation.”

When asked why, when a statement was issued, it came only from Bottigliero, not the district, Zalewski answered, “We were gathering the facts” and refused to comment further.