Parents address Quincy School Board about Denman debacle

QUINCY — Two parents of children within the Quincy Public School District (QPS) spoke to the Board of Education at its monthly meeting Wednesday night about their concerns regarding the actions of two P.E. teachers at Denman Elementary that were described by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) as “wildly inappropriate, but not criminal.”

The DCFS report, which was conducted in November 2024 and closed in January 2025, stated that Kimberly Kirby and Jennifer Oitker had taped the mouths of students shut, issued birthday spankings and allowed students to spank them in return. 

Laura Shaw opened her statement with gratitude for QPS teachers and staff members and acknowledged the difficulty of the work they do before moving on to her thoughts on the matter.

“It’s weird,” Shaw said. “This was a complete violation of appropriate boundaries from adults who are supposed to be safe people. It absolutely doesn’t matter how the teachers meant it.”

Both teachers admitted to such conduct occurring but “in a playful manner,” adding that it had taken place on a fairly regular basis for years; Kirby told investigators that children often request to have tape put over their mouths “as a joke.” 

Oitker told investigators that the birthday spankings are typically given with a pool noodle. When asked if anything else was ever used, she responded with, “I’m not going to speak on that.”

Kirby told investigators that she gives birthday spankings “only if the children request it” and that when she does, she uses pool noodles or her shoes; she denied ever using her hand. However, a student reported that he received 11 spankings from Kirby with her hand on his 10th birthday — despite refraining from telling Kirby it was his birthday, as he didn’t want to be spanked. (The student reported that a fellow classmate informed Kirby of his birthday.)

When asked what their reactions were to students spanking them, Kirby stated “that the children are told to stop hitting.” Oitker said that she and Kirby “will sometimes ‘whack’ them back on the shoulder or butt with their hands.”

Shaw said that minimizing the concerns of students and parents regarding the situation could prevent children from coming forward about other potential instances of “inappropriate” touching or abuse in the future.

“I don’t think this is what Quincy Public Schools stand for… In my opinion, these two teachers are a liability to QPS for their lack of common sense and poor ethics,” she said before asking the board for an update on where the situation stands.

“We will be following up with all families that have come forward and give them a summary of our findings,” said Shelley Arns, president of the Board of Education.

The DCFS report stated that the agency was “working in tandem with school administration and law enforcement to ensure that all of the information is being gathered to ensure the safety of the students moving forward and that these behaviors stop” in November, but another parent who spoke at the meeting, Brooke Wells, said her 6-year-old daughter told her “through tears” just last month that “she had her mouth taped shut during P.E. class by school staff” around Easter time.

“(My daughter) told me that one adult held her arm while another placed tape over her mouth. That is physical restraint,” Wells said. “This was not a game, this was not a misunderstanding… My daughter clearly told me what happened. She named the adults involved. She did not make this up, and she did not do this to herself.

“She said they made it fun. That’s not fun, that’s grooming. That’s a tactic to confuse a child into staying silent, and it worked; (my daughter) didn’t tell anyone at the time because she thought she wasn’t allowed to… When she did speak up, (my daughter) was pushed to go through an interview, and I was told they didn’t want secondhand accounts. My daughter is six. She did the best she could to tell the truth and provide every bit of information she could.

“Oddly, she was asked repeatedly why the staff taped her mouth shut. That is a question better suited for the individuals who did it, not their 6-year-old victim… (My daughter) is terrified of returning to school with these teachers… The harm was not caused by her, it was caused by staff who were entrusted with her safety.”

Per district policy and legal obligations, the district is unable to comment on individual personnel matters. However, according to the most recent personnel addendum dated May 21, 2025 — several months after the DCFS report and roughly a week before an article on the matter was published by Muddy River News — neither teacher had been listed as having been disciplined or as having submitted resignations. Personnel addendums over the last several months reflected the same.

In other business, board member Rachael Petty provided an update from the discipline committee, sharing that in-school suspensions (ISS) have increased at some schools. 

Increased numbers don’t necessarily indicate that more problematic behavior is occurring in all instances; progressive disciplinary efforts, such as the addition of ISS supervisors, have contributed to higher rates. 

Out-of-school suspensions (OSS) decreased across the board for K-5 schools with the exception of Rooney Elementary, which was “attributed to major incidents or multiple-day suspensions.” OSS rates have steadily increased at Quincy Junior High School since the 2020-2021 school year, but have remained at a much lower and steady rate at Quincy Senior High.

Roughly 20 percent of students in the district fall into the “at-risk” or “critical” behavioral categories. 

Petty expressed concern for the lack of an Alternative Learning Opportunities Program (ALOP) in Adams County. ALOPs were established by the Illinois State Board of Education for students in grades four through 12 “at risk of academic failure” to provide support, reduce dropout rates and to improve attendance, academic outcomes and behavior. 

The disciplinary committee believes that such a program would be beneficial to the area, and Petty encouraged the board to advocate for the establishment of one to the Regional Office of Education. While the district has the ability to apply for its own ALOP without going through the regional office, superintendent Todd Pettit explained that capacity issues would make it difficult to run the program in Adams County alone. The regional office that oversees QPS includes six counties in total that could benefit from such a program.

Changes to the cost of meals were unanimously approved by the board, increasing the cost of school lunch by 10 cents for the 2025-2026 school year.  The cost now rests at $3.05 for grades K-5, $3.30 for grades 6-12 and $3.80 for adults. Breakfast prices for full pay students also increased from $1.50 to $1.75.

Milk prices also increased for the first time in over ten years from 35 cents to 50 cents.

The board unanimously approved the implementation of updated report cards for second, third and fifth grades. New kindergarten report cards were implemented in the 2023-2024 school year, and new cards for first and fourth graders were launched this past school year.

“These report cards are more standard-based reporting so you can see how your students are progressing according to the standards for their grade level and achievement, not just A-B-C-D like we’re used to seeing,” Arns said.

Also unanimously approved was the latest district improvement plan. Priorities for the 2025-2026 school year outlined in the plan include:

• The continuation of trauma-informed restorative practice training and professional development for teachers and staff
• Making necessary plans and preparations in anticipation of a budget deficit, likely to hit the district by the end of the 2027-2028 fiscal year
• Continuing the work of a task force to establish new boundaries for the district’s K-5 schools in time for the 2026-2027 school year 

Additionally, the board:

• approved a fuel bid from Niemann Foods for the 2025-2026 fiscal year
• approved amended 2024-2025 budgets for the Quincy School District, West Central Region, Quincy Area Vocational Technical Center and the Special Education Association
• approved updated school handbooks for the upcoming school year
• approved a wage schedule for admin and non-union employees from July 1, 2025 to June 20, 2027
• and approved updated PRESS policies in accordance with state requirements.

The meeting concluded with the board heading into executive session to discuss matters pertaining to the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees of the school district, collective bargaining, student disciplinary cases, pending litigation and attorney/client privilege.