Hinsdale D86 Changes Story On Official's Notes

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale High School District 86 last week changed its story on the existence of notes that a board member took while listening to a recording of a September 2023 closed board meeting.

In April, member Asma Akhras told the board that she had listened to the recording at the district office and took five pages of notes.

However, the district's policy bars board members from taking recording or note-taking devices into the room where closed-session recordings are heard.

What happened in the meeting is the subject of a dispute between former board member Debbie Levinthal and some current board members.

Last month, the Levinthal family's lawyer filed a public records request for the notes, but the district responded that no such records exist.

If the notes existed, the district could have legally declined to release them, citing exceptions to the open records law, such as preliminary drafts and attorney-client privilege, among others.

It turns out the notes do exist, just as Akhras said publicly in April.

In an affidavit that Akhras signed Thursday, Akhras acknowledged she took notes. She said she told the district's public records officer that she made the notes in a private journal for "my own personal use."

"The sole purpose of these notes was to refresh my recollection of the statements made," Akhras said.

In her April public statement, Akhras was responding to the Levinthal family's lawyer's allegation that Akhras joined in the harassment of Levinthal during the September 2023 closed session. Levinthal resigned after the meeting.

The affidavit was part of the district's response to a complaint that the Levinthal attorney filed with the attorney general over Akhras' notes.

In a statement over the weekend, Levinthal's husband, Daniel Levinthal, asked the school board to hold Akhras accountable for what he said was a violation of the policy on note-taking while listening to closed-session recordings.

"This board circles the wagons, is less than forthcoming and in my opinion lies by commission or omission," he said.

Last month, the district produced the acknowledgement for Akhras' listening to the recording. She was supervised by Deb Kedrowski, the administrative chief of staff. It lasted about an hour in the early evening of April 22.

The district did not mention the note-taking rule in its response to the attorney general.

In an email Monday, Akhras said she had no comment.

In March, the district settled with the Levinthal family for up to $80,000 in response to an allegation of a breach of student privacy.