District 86 Board Urged to Fight Manleys' Lawsuit

Letter written and submitted by Dale E. and Margaret H. Kleber

Dear Editor:

We were troubled to read that Board Member Claudia Manley and her husband have decided to prolong their frivolous lawsuit against District 86 by transferring their discredited case to federal court. (Why Claudia’s husband is a party to the lawsuit is not entirely clear.)

The Manleys’ latest, desperate move comes after an Illinois court rejected their request to block the District’s investigation of a grievance filed by a Hinsdale South student against Ms. Manley. The court ruled Manley acted “without authority” and “outside of the law” in attempting to squelch a student who was campaigning for Manley’s political opponents while on school property.

An independent investigator found that Manley’s attempt to restrict the student’s political activity was “mean-spirited and rude” and a violation of the District’s written civility policy. A solid Board majority (4-2) voted to affirm the investigator’s report. (One of the two dissenting votes was cast by Manley who failed to recuse herself, ignoring the blatant conflict of interest.)

Despite repeated findings against them, the Manleys persist in their ego-driven quest for a different opinion in federal court, forcing District 86 to incur significant legal fees ($50,000 to date) to defend against the couple’s far-fetched claims. Sadly Ms. Manley’s bullying tactics are aimed not only at students, but also at D86 taxpayers, whose interests she purports to champion.

The D86 Board should resist any temptation to avoid additional legal costs by settling the Manleys’ silly case (as it did in the past when another Board member brought an equally frivolous case). Sending a strong message that District 86 will vigorously defend against, and not be intimidated by, inane lawsuits would be a wise investment.

The Manleys’ original lawsuit alleged the District’s investigation of Ms. Manley’s conduct would cause “immediate and irreparable harm to the [Manleys’] reputations, mental health and personal well-being.” One thing that is clear about this sad little case is that any damage done to the Manleys’ personal reputations has been entirely self-inflicted.

Dale E. and Margaret H. Kleber
Hinsdale, Illinois