Chicago Schools ousts 13 over misconduct at Marine Leadership Academy

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Public Schools said Friday it has removed 12 employees and a volunteer from an academy affiliated with a U.S. Marine Corps JROTC program who have been accused in a sexual misconduct investigation.

The investigation alleges that several of those accused had inappropriate relationships with students at the Marine Leadership Academy while others are accused of covering up the sexual misconduct.

The district's inspector general substantiated allegations against the 13 individuals dating back more than two years, district officials said.

CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said he learned of the investigation only late last month and that other central office officials did not previously know the widespread nature of the allegations.

The former principal of the school, Erin Galfer, was one of the employees determined to have failed to report misconduct and has since been fired, Martinez said.

There was a “culture of behavior and distrust that occurred at Marine Leadership Academy that is not tolerated by our district," Martinez said.

Martinez did not disclose the exact number of student victims, saying only that it was fewer than a dozen.