By Andrea Arens
Rumors swirled all weekend and several social media posts alleged a Manteno High School Principal had participated in unbecoming conduct at the Kankakee State Park.
On Tuesday, June 20, Manteno CUSD #5 issued a statement that Manteno High School Principal, Roger Schnitzler, age 55, retired effective immediately.
Then the news dropped.
Schnitzler, an educator in the district for 30 years and principal at Manteno High School for the past 10 years, was arrested for disorderly conduct and aggravated assault.
Jayette Bolinski, director of communications for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said in a statement that on Thursday, June 15, “Illinois Conservation Police conducted an undercover detail at Kankakee State Park in response to ongoing reports of people engaging in lewd activities on park grounds. During the detail, an individual identified as Roger R. Schnitzler, 55, of Manteno, was arrested for disorderly conduct and aggravated assault. He was released from police custodial at the park. All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
This is not the first time Conservation Police have conducted an undercover detail in Kankakee State Park. Several other stings over the years have netted a gamut of arrests. The Kankakee State Park is listed as a location on a sex cruising website.
By allowing Schnitzler to resign, he will be allowed to keep his state-funded pension. Govsalaries.com reported Schnitzler’s annual salary in 2022 as $129,481. In Illinois, the teachers retirement system pension is calculated by taking the average of the four highest salary rates within the past 10 years and take 75 percent of the average as the annual annuity.
Manteno CUSD #5 Superintendent Lisa Harrod issued a statement that Doug Wenzel was named principal, and they “know he will do amazing things for students and staff.”