Some Lake Forest and Lake Bluff families send their children to Community High School District 128 — and the district they're part of is in the middle of a leadership crisis.

Jean Sophie, a retired Lake Bluff Elementary School District 65 superintendent, was sworn in Monday, June 22, to the D128 school board, filling a vacancy left by the mid-term resignation of former board president Jim Batson. Sophie's appointment comes as the district faces mounting public criticism tied to a grooming lawsuit against a former Libertyville High School teacher.

A lawsuit filed in March accused Parker Rohde of grooming a 15-year-old girl with Down syndrome beginning in fall 2024, alleging he conditioned grades on the student's compliance with demands for hugs and expressions of affection. The complaint alleges the district failed to report Rohde to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services or law enforcement, despite administrators being mandatory reporters under state law.

The backlash was swift. Associate Superintendent Briant Kelly was placed on administrative leave in early May. Batson, who won a four-year term in 2023, departed weeks later without public explanation. The district has not issued a public statement in response to the lawsuit or the leadership changes.

Dan Vosnos, a retired high school athletic director and vice president of development at the National Down Syndrome Society, has spoken at multiple D128 board meetings criticizing the district's response, saying Rohde was allowed to retire rather than being reported to authorities.

"Once I heard the story, I couldn't believe it," Vosnos told the board, according to the Chicago Tribune. "I know how school districts operate. I also know that kids like my son, those with disabilities, are the most vulnerable kids in a school district."

No criminal charges have been filed against Rohde; the allegations exist only in the civil lawsuit.

Sophie, who also led Westchester School District 92½, told the Tribune she plans to run for a full term when the seat goes to voters in April 2027. D128 serves about 3,200 students across Libertyville High School and Vernon Hills High School.