Hinsdale D86 Part-Timers Getting Paid Full Time?

HINSDALE, IL – A Hinsdale High School District 86 committee plans to review this week whether the district's information on teachers' assignments provides a complete picture.

This is an apparent response to Burr Ridge watchdog Alan Hruby's questions about data that he said indicates that part-time teachers are being paid as if they were full-time.

The school board's human resources committee is set to take up the matter at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at the district's central office, 5500 S. Grant St.

Two weeks ago, Hruby emailed the board with a message titled, "Money for Nothing." He said his analysis showed that 29 teachers are being given full-time salaries under the union contract, but only have part-time teaching schedules.

"If I made mistakes, I want them to be discovered, and I will cooperate in detecting them," Hruby said.

Board members Jeff Waters and Liz Mitha responded that the pay for the teachers in question covers other responsibilities.

"Your report is comprehensive but lacking other publicly available information, which illustrates the additional (full-time-equivalent) responsibilities of teachers outside of the classroom," Waters told Hruby. "The information is easily accessible."

In response to Waters' email, Hruby said, "Thank you, Jeff, for fact-checking me. I would rather be wrong than see tax dollars being diverted into unearned compensation."

Mitha said the teachers have roles outside a typical classroom, including serving as assistant department chairs, interventionists and self-contained special education teachers.

Such duties, she said, may not show up on a master teaching schedule.

"We will continue to investigate so all of our staff are thoughtfully utilized to maximize their positive impact on students," Mitha said.

In an email to the board over the weekend, Hruby said he cross-checked the payroll report against the full-time-equivalent, or FTE, staffing levels.

"It looks to me that no matter how you edit, supplement, or otherwise correct my entries ... we will still end up with 10 FTEs beyond the staffing levels that the Board authorized," Hruby said. "So, show me where I am wrong."