Hinsdale D86 To Get New Board Majority In Tuesday's Election

HINSDALE, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 board's majority is changing again.

After Tuesday's election, three of the seven members of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board are set to remain.

They are board President Catherine Greenspon and Asma Akhras. Jeff Waters is running unopposed for a two-year board seat. No one will have served longer than four years.

Six candidates are vying for four four-year seats on the board. They are Warren Ali, Andrew Catton, Bobby Fischer, Baron Leacock, Liz Mitha and Mary Satchwell. None are incumbents.

After the last election, the board suspended Superintendent Tammy Prentiss during a closed-door meeting. In so doing, members broke the Open Meetings Act, as the attorney general pointed out in response to Patch's complaint.

The year after her ouster, instability reigned – a series of five interim superintendents, controversies in a pair of basketball programs, skyrocketing legal bills, high-profile communication snafus and a wave of administrative departures.

During that time, the board rejected teachers' proposed social studies changes, drawing the union's condemnation.

The second year after Prentiss' ouster, the situation stabilized, at least by District 86 standards. Superintendent Michael Lach took the reins in July.

Five of the six candidates live in the wealthier Central attendance zone. Just Mitha hails from the South area. If she wins, she will join one other board member from that zone, Asma Akhras.

All six candidates oppose an attendance boundary change between Central and South. Some South residents support redrawing the line because South has half the students, meaning the school's course offerings are less.

During a recent forum, all six candidates promised they would disclose to the public any closed-door discussion that violated the state's Open Meetings Act.

At the same event, they were asked about the board's consideration of a nondisclosure agreement for members.

Satchwell, Leacock and Mitha said they would not sign such an agreement. Leacock said he was an attorney, so there were qualifications to his answer. The others said they would sign it.

In its questionnaire, Patch asked candidates whether the district was teaching critical race theory, Marxism or other ideologies.

Catton focused on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

"In regards to ideologies being taught in the classroom, that is certainly a concern as evidenced by having a Director of Instructional Equity on staff," he said. "DEI is defined by this theoretical basis in CRT, so it’s incumbent upon the district to ensure there is not subject matter creep that degrades the quality of education. Currently, there is no metric or policy in place to govern this, but one should be developed."

Satchwell and Mitha said they were not aware of critical race theory, Marxism or other ideologies being taught in District 86. Leacock said he was unaware of any critical race theory at present in District 86.

In response, Fischer said, "Our district's role is to prepare students for success in higher education and life by teaching them how to think critically, not what to think. This means students should understand various historical and contemporary perspectives while developing their own informed views."

Ali did not answer the question.