Lyons School District 103 terminated a teacher charged with attempted murder. The teacher, however, was not axed because of the felony charge leveled against him, but because he misrepresented himself when presenting his qualifications to the district, according to representatives of the near west suburban school system.

A Lyons School District 103 teacher charged with attempted murder has been terminated.

However, the teacher, Andres Rodriguez, was not axed because of the felony charge leveled against him, but because he misrepresented himself when presenting his qualifications to the district, according to representatives of the near west suburban school system.

“He was terminated over false information,” interim Superintendent Patrick Patt said after the Dec. 17 School Board meeting where Rodriguez was terminated after a 90-minute executive session. “He misrepresented himself.”

Patt noted that the district’s application for employment asks if the applicant has ever been terminated from previous employment. Rodriguez, who had been teaching at George Washington Middle School since August, had answered “no” on his application, Patt said.

Rodriguez, in fact, was terminated from Cicero School District 99 in June after 10 months on staff there, when the attempted murder charges came to light, according to District 103 officials. Those charges against Rodriguez are still pending.

The teacher is charged with shooting a man seven times after a July 2017 traffic dispute in Tinley Park.

Rodriguez had taught in Joliet School District 86 for 10 years until his arrest.

The Joliet school district had placed Rodriguez on paid leave after his 2017 arrest. He resigned from Joliet District 86 upon joining the Cicero district in August 2017.

It was a unanimous vote at the District 103 meeting to terminate Rodriquez.

District 103 School Board member Joanne Schaeffer was not angered about Rodriguez’s misrepresentation and, in fact, hoped the Tinley Park teacher was cleared of the charges facing him.

She said she hoped Rodriguez, who had been a sixth-grade English teacher at Washington, could return to teaching if he is not found guilty, noting that he is extremely popular with students.

“I wish him well. I hope he is triumphant,” Schaeffer said. “I hope this young man can move on with his life and return to teaching. I think he is a great educator.”

Asked if she was happy the incident, which brought an angry mob to an October board meeting, was behind the district, Schaeffer said that she was.

“How were we to know?” Schaeffer asked about Rodriguez gaining the position in District 103 through false pretenses.

Rodriguez, who had been on paid leave in District 103 from October until his Dec. 17 termination, is scheduled to appear in court on the attempted murder charges Jan. 17.

kbeese@chronicleillinois.com