Intimidation Blamed For Hinsdale D86 Resignation

HINSDALE, IL – A former Hinsdale High School District 86 school board member said Monday that she resigned in 2023 to protect her family from the board's harassment and intimidation.

"To be very clear, I did not resign my board seat because I wasn’t elected board president, and I did not resign in a fit of petulance as others have suggested," former member Debbie Levinthal said in an email to Patch. "My resignation was directly attributable to the board president and other board members who, through either their active participation or complicit silence, allowed for the mistreatment to occur."

On Sunday, her husband, Dan Levinthal, emailed the four new board members elected April 1 – Bobby Fischer, Baron Leacock, Liz Mitha and Mary Satchwell – who form a new majority.

Levinthal urged the four against re-electing Catherine Greenspon to her third year as president. The board's organizational meeting is May 5.

In his email, Levinthal attached documents that may shed light on the ouster of Tammy Prentiss as superintendent two years ago.

He alleged the district never finished an investigation into an allegation that private information about his son was released in violation of state and federal privacy laws.

Dan Levinthal released a Sept. 26, 2023, "confidential" letter from the board's then-attorney, Joseph Perkoski, to the co-superintendents at the time.

Perkoski said Dan Levinthal wrote a letter of "parent concern" that included an allegation that Prentiss made "defamatory" statements and disclosed information about the Levinthals' student to Greenspon.

He asked the co-superintendents to have relevant staff search the database for Levinthal-related communications in case litigation occurs.

In August 2024, the Levinthals' attorney, Deborah Weiss, wrote Superintendent Michael Lach, who took the helm a month earlier.

Weiss' letter said Greenspon shared the content of a conversation that she had with Prentiss during a closed board meeting. Greenspon alleged Prentiss revealed information that violated the privacy of the Levinthals' son, Weiss said.

Shortly afterward, Prentiss was put on leave.

At no point did the district formally notify the Levinthals, outside closed board meetings, about the breach of privacy, Weiss said.

Debbie Levinthal repeatedly requested that an investigation into the breach be completed, but she was denied, Weiss said.

Levinthal asked the lawyers how a settlement with Prentiss would affect her parental rights. They signaled she would waive her parental rights on the breach of privacy, Weiss said.

When Levinthal pushed back on the advice, she was told, "(A)s with many matters, Board members must balance their roles as citizens, community members and parents with their roles as Board members."

In June 2023, when the board struck a severance deal with Prentiss, Levinthal renewed her request for a full investigation, but the board again denied her, Weiss said.

Levinthal was told that the agreement had a chilling effect on her parental rights because of a non-disparagement clause. That clause barred either side from speaking negatively of the other.

"Essentially, the school board was told and so understood that they could not so much as utter the name of the former (superintendent) in any capacity, as this would violate the non-disparagement clause," Weiss wrote.

After concluding that the struggle behind closed doors was an exercise in futility, Levinthal then presented her husband with an overview of the situation, including the privacy rights that had been sacrificed, Weiss said.

"(T)he school board used the violation of (the Levinthals' son's) privacy as leverage to address their employee problem, but at the expense of (his) privacy interest in his private medical and educational records and his and his Parents' educational rights," Weiss said.

After Dan Levinthal's "parent concern" letter, the board voted on Sept. 18, 2023, to hire Perkoski's firm, Chicago-based Robbins Schwartz, to investigate.

When the board closed the doors, Weiss said, Debbie Levinthal was "forced" to leave because the lawyer could not provide legal advice with her present due to a "conflict of interest."

Before Levinthal left, member Asma Akhras joined in the harassment and attacks on Levinthal, asserting she needed to be "disciplined" and subjected to "professional punishment" for exercising her parental rights, Weiss said. Akhras was said to have wanted a discussion on Levinthal's punishment before Levinthal left the room.

Levinthal resigned from her position after the meeting.

After her resignation, Robbins Schwartz sent a letter "reminding" her of her obligations as a former member on matters of secrecy. Such a letter to a board member was unprecedented, Weiss said. (Board member Kay Gallo, a Levinthal ally who resigned a month later, also received one.)

In her letter, Weiss alleged the litigation hold on all documents related to the Levinthals and their children involved staff lacking a legitimate educational interest. Those employees, Weiss said, accessed the Levinthals' son's individualized educational plan and potentially other private school records.

Weiss also contended the district refused to provide the Levinthals with access to the materials collected under Robbins Schwartz's litigation hold request. Weiss referred to that as a further violation.

Former member Gallo also criticized Greenspon about the same situation in an email a few weeks after Levinthal resigned.

Greenspon, Akhras, Prentiss and the district's spokesman did not return messages for comment Monday.