The Freeport School District is grappling with deepening turmoil as teachers, parents and former members of the Board of Education raise alarms about administrative instability, poor communication and a growing lack of public trust.
The discontent follows a series of abrupt leadership changes over the past year — beginning with the retirement of longtime Superintendent Kishore Kuncham; the hiring and subsequent administrative reassignment of his successor; Fia Davis, and a sweeping restructuring of the district administration.
Parents and teachers say they have been given few answers and have little confidence in how the district is being run. For educators, the impact is being felt inside the classroom. Patricia Langan, president of the Freeport Teachers Association, said that issues have gone unaddressed for years, and have worsened under the current administration.
“I’ve been a teacher at Freeport for 32 years, and it’s had its ups and downs, but I do think there has been a lot of problems for the past decade that have been unchecked and undealt with and essentially covered up,” Langan said. “But those problems have just gotten worse and worse as time has gone on.”
She described a district in which communication has eroded, and trust between administrators and teachers has nearly collapsed. Safety concerns, she said, have been minimized, leaving staff uneasy and students feeling vulnerable. And teachers, according to Langan, are afraid to speak up.
“If you speak up, there’s retaliation, there’s write-ups, there’s false accusations that come at you,” she said.
Some educators have begun voicing their frustrations publicly, she added, because working conditions have become so difficult that the district risks losing quality teachers and administrators.
Langan also said she has personally faced disciplinary actions and false accusations, while the union has been shut out of the hiring process, which once included all key stakeholders.
Staffing shortages and overcrowded classrooms, she said, are hurting students. “We have a lack of staffing,” she said. “We have children not receiving services. We have classes that are overcrowded. The high school started this year without schedules. The teachers’ assignments were not contractually based.”
Despite the challenges, Langan emphasized her commitment to the students. “I’m concerned for the children of Freeport — that’s my always, my primary concern,” she said. “The educators of Freeport are dedicated to the children of Freeport, and that’s why we are starting to stand up.”
Former Board of Education trustees Shuron Jackson and Maria Jordan-Awalom, who both served until earlier this year, when both chose not to run for reelection, said that many of the same problems exist at the leadership level, indicating a breakdown in process, transparency and accountability.
The current school board’s approach to public meetings, Jackson said, has alienated residents. “I think telling the public ‘this is our meeting’ is really showing that you almost forgot who put you there, right?” she said. “So it’s like the elected has forgotten about the electors, and really that community embodiment that you want to see.”
Both Jackson and Jordan-Awalom pointed to the board’s recent administrative restructuring — in which assistant superintendent roles were replaced by “executive director” titles — as an example of decisions made hastily and without proper discussion.
The affected positions, Jackson said, had already been budgeted for, and the move appeared rushed. Jordan-Awalom said many board actions now seem to blur the line between governance and management.
“The day-to-day of a district is not a board responsibility; that comes down to the superintendent,” she said.
“Those are superintendent decisions, superintendent recommendations to the board, but it’s not the board who should be making these decisions.” Both former trustees said the district’s decision-making has financial and legal consequences.
“The only thing we can say, I think that’s fair, is all of this is extremely costly,” Jackson said. “Costly, you know, like its decisions have consequences.” Jordan-Awalom said the board itself was deeply divided. “At the close of our term we held positions contrary to the majority which was obvious in the last few months,” she said over text message. “The board began operating as a majority block rather than reaching the consensus of 5 on decisions that are consequential to our community.”
She added that her public questions about overspending and special-education costs “were never addressed.”
The comments from teachers and former trustees echo what many Freeport parents have voiced at recent board meetings: confusion over major decisions, frustration with unanswered questions and anxiety about the district’s direction. Several meetings have been scheduled with little notice — sometimes only hours in advance — and abruptly adjourned before community concerns could be addressed. Key positions remain vacant, and the board’s internal divisions have spilled into public view.
The district, in its official statements, has described its restructuring as a modernization effort intended to improve efficiency and reduce duplication of responsibilities. But for many, the changes have instead deepened uncertainty.
Langan said that teachers remain devoted to the students, but are increasingly demoralized. Jackson and Jordan-Awalom said that the school board’s credibility depends on restoring open communication and following proper procedures.
Across the community, parents say they simply want stability, honesty, and trust that decisions are made with their children foremost in mind.
The common thread among educators, former trustees and families is a plea for transparency and accountability in a district struggling to regain its footing.
