The "final chapter" from Wednesday's Southern Illinoisan...

Kohl resigns from ROE post: Superintendent leaves education position after 'a great deal of soul searching'

BY jim muir, the southern

Franklin-Williamson Regional Office of Education Superintendent Barry Kohl submitted his resignation Tuesday, effectively ending a once-bright political career that spanned nearly two decades as a public official and more than 35 years as an educator.

The one-page resignation, coming after a week of intense negotiations and equally intense speculation, immediately was accepted by the Williamson County Board. A similar letter will be presented to Franklin County officials tonight. The Franklin County Board will hold a special meeting at 6 p.m.

The resignation is effective May 31; however, Kohl will go on a paid leave of absence, beginning immediately.

In the letter, Kohl, 59, said his decision to resign came with "a great deal of soul searching and introspection and with a heavy heart." He went on to praise his staff and to point out that the ROE has secured millions of dollars in grant funding and has grown from 12 employees when he was first elected 16 years ago to 62 employees currently.

The resignation comes one week after news broke that the U.S. Department of Education had suspended Kohl from handling federally funded grant programs, a move that the Illinois State Board of Education said would take more than $700,000 annually from the dual-district that serves more than 14,000 students.

It also was reported at that time that as many as 25 employees would also lose their jobs at the regional office and several programs would be discontinued.

In his letter of resignation, Kohl said media reports that the "children and families could suffer due to the charges that are currently pending against me have brought me to this most difficult of decisions."

However, he also took exception with other media reports concerning layoffs at the regional office.

"While the media reports are incorrect as no employees will lose their jobs and no grant money will be withheld if I do not resign; the fact is, the control over this money will be removed from Franklin and Williamson counties if I remain the regional superintendent," Kohl said. "I have spent my life and career working on behalf of the children of Franklin and Williamson counties and I will in no way stand in the way of their educational pursuits for any reason even if that reason is false."

Kohl used his resignation letter to take a shot at the elected officials from both counties who have met in recent days looking for a way to oust him from his position.

"The political powers that be can threaten me into not running for re-election, they can threaten me into resigning, but they will never threaten me into admitting to crimes that I have not committed," Kohl said. "I must now turn my attention to my family and to impending trial, where I look forward to the opportunity to present my side of the case and proving my innocence to these charges."

After the Williamson County board meeting, a press conference was held, where Carbondale attorney John Huffman addressed the horde of media personnel that had gathered for the anticipated resignation.

Flanked by Franklin County Board Chairman Harry Stewart and Williamson County Board Chairman Robert Barnett, Huffman has served as the lone spokesperson throughout negotiations between officials from both counties. He stressed that the actions by the two boards has nothing to do with the charges pending against Kohl.

"I want to say that by having pursued his resignation and by having pursued a resolution of this problem we are not indicating whether or not that Barry Kohl is guilty or innocent of any crimes," Huffman said. "The sole and the only purpose, and the only authority that the counties had, was to deal with his continued tenure in that position. We were prepared to use a statutory position to try and remove him from office but prior to being able to implement that he resigned."

Huffman said the ISBE has been informed of the resignation and added that based on discussions with that agency the funds that have been frozen will be distributed immediately to the regional office.

Huffman also gave high marks to the elected officials from the two counties involved for their diligence in pursuing Kohl's resignation.

"I've had the opportunity to work with representatives from both counties and I have seen nothing other than a yeoman effort on their part to try and find a resolution to this problem," Huffman said. "I found them to be honorable, well-intentioned but yet very determined. It has been my pleasure to work with this group. We would like to think that this is behind us and now we can move into the future."

Huffman said officials from both counties had explored the idea of trying to remove Kohl more than a year ago but opted not to proceed ahead because of the high standard that must be proven to remove an elected official. Huffman said the announcement by USDE expedited the decision to go after Kohl's resignation or seek a legal remedy.

Huffman said because Williamson County is the larger county the appointment of an interim superintendent will rest with Barnett, who said he has no timeline for naming a replacement for Kohl.

Benton attorney John Drew said after the meeting that he would tender a letter of resignation to Franklin County State's Attorney Tom Dinn this morning. Drew said he believes Kohl "did the right thing" in submitting his resignation.

"Barry's decision to come forward is because he did not want to cause any difficulty for the students, teachers or the schools involved," Drew said. "His wife is in declining health and he has also had health problems so this is the best thing for all the parties involved. This will also allow him more time to work on his upcoming court case. The strain of all this has been very difficult and most people have never been through anything like this. Barry felt like if he remained a superintendent he would be nothing but a distraction and that in turn would hurt the kids."

Kohl is one of four employees of the regional office who were named in a 62-count indictment handed down by Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Also indicted were Kohl's wife, Janine, Mary Ann Adams and Suzanne Willmore.

The indictments allege that the Kohls submitted bogus travel vouchers and received reimbursement from the ROE for personal expenses and also that the couple committed perjury when testifying before the grand jury about the vouchers. The charges claim that the Kohls solicited Adams and Willmore to commit perjury to cover up the illegal activities.

The interim appointee to the regional superintendent will serve approximately 13 months, until July 2007. Matt Donkin of West Frankfort defeated Kohl in the Democratic primary in March and will square off against Republican Sue Hamilton of Carterville in the November general election to fill the four-year term that will run through July 2011.