Parents sue Arlington Heights school district, former nurse over misappropriated meds
Arlington Heights Elementary District 25, a former school nurse and other district officials face a lawsuit filed Thursday by the parents of nine students they say were intentionally given the wrong medication at school.
The suit, filed in Cook County court, alleges former Westgate Elementary School nurse Tory E. Eitz disrupted the child’s “health, education and sense of trust and security.”
They also claim Westgate Principal Ann Buch and District 25 Superintendent Brian Kaye — then the assistant superintendent — had sufficient notice and ability to stop Eitz, “and actively chose not to.”
In a letter sent Thursday to District 25 families and staff members, school board President Greg Scapillato and Kaye said officials contacted Arlington Heights police and the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in April 2024 when they became aware of the concerns.
“We were deeply disappointed and shocked by this significant breach of trust by a licensed health care professional,” the letter reads. “We sincerely regret the pain and disruption this incident has caused to the families impacted and our school community.”
The letter also restates that new medication management protocols have been implemented this school year.
Eitz was fired in May 2024 and charged criminally four months later with official misconduct, forgery and endangering the life or health of a child. She is scheduled to appear in court May 5 at the Cook County courthouse in Rolling Meadows.
Authorities allege she altered school documents to conceal her actions. In one case, records show Eitz administering medication to a student on a day when attendance records show the student was absent.
Parents who saw their children’s academic scores plummet and their behavior turn erratic feel betrayed by the former nurse who they had known for years, said attorney Michael E. Holden of the Romanucci & Blandin law firm.
He also criticized district officials’ “reckless behavior,” adding that the students missed educational opportunities and in some cases had their dosages increased because the perception that the current dose wasn’t working.
Employed at the school from 2021 through May 2024, Eitz’s duties included dispensing students’ medication — mostly for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and associated conditions — during the school day.
“(She) abused and manipulated the relationships with parents who entrusted their children to her care, telling parents medicine was missing, fell down the sink, dropped on the floor or for some reason was miscounted and that she needed more, often asking to meet parents in the parking lot of the school to provide the medication directly to her,” Holden said.
According to Holden, when a concerned parent notified Kaye of concerns about Eitz, the school leader admitted to having prior notice of similar issues.
“Eitz should have been reported and terminated at the time of the first parent report,” he said, adding that the lack of action “is both stunning and deeply disappointing.”
The plaintiffs’ attorneys say the evidence indicates Eitz stole medication from students and replaced it with nonprescription medication such as aspirin.
“In one case, a young student tested positive for fentanyl as details of this scam became clear,” Holden said.
While Eitz’s behavior is abhorrent, the behavior of district leadership is “just as awful,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Michael Cerasa.
“All parties named in this lawsuit share responsibility for this tragic occurrence and we seek to hold them accountable,” Cerasa said.