Nothing Quiet About D86 Board Race: 2023 Election

HINSDALE, IL – School board elections in many places are typically quiet.

That's not the case in Hinsdale High School District 86.

Five candidates are running for three seats on the seven-member school board. The three incumbents, Erik Held, Kathleen Hirsman and Cynthia Hanson, decided against running again.

Three of the candidates, Kay Gallo, Catherine Greenspon and Andrew Catton, are outspoken critics of Superintendent Tammy Prentiss, who was promoted in 2019.

Like the other three, candidate Asma Akhras criticized the way Prentiss handled a high-profile incident involving an anti-racist consultant. Still another, Deborah Willoughby, praised the superintendent in a Patch questionnaire.

In early 2021, residents became upset that Prentiss publicly read a letter from a prospective anti-racist consultant, who called Hinsdale "dangerous" while announcing her withdrawal from consideration.

As a result, Gallo, a former District 86 board president, launched an online petition for Prentiss' ouster, collecting 2,300 signatures.

In February, though, the firing of Prentiss was largely removed as an issue. In a controversial decision, the board majority voted to extend Prentiss' contract by a month, to July 31, 2024, with her then retiring.

The agreement also barred the board from firing Prentiss for the incident involving the consultant.

Starting in May, Prentiss is expected to face a board with as many as six critics. Incumbent Terri Walker would be the exception. Now, Prentiss enjoys a 4-3 majority.

Perhaps the most conservative candidate is Catton. He drew attention in 2021 when he started commenting to the board that he believed critical race theory was influencing the district's operations.

Critical race theory is a decades-old legal and academic framework that looks at and critiques how race and racism shaped the U.S. laws and institutions that remain in place today.

The phrase has become a catchall for various claims about racism and race relations in the United States, having nothing to do with the theory itself.

At the time, Catton never provided any evidence the actual theory was being taught in the classroom. In a recent Patch questionnaire, he said the district did not teach theory.

At the same time, he said the district should be on guard against the theory's migration into the classroom.

In a Facebook post last year, Catton shared an item calling for families to remove their students from public schools. And he posted a story titled, "Assume Public Schools Sexually Abuse Your Kids Til Proven Otherwise." His Facebook page is no longer publicly accessible.

Catton shared a video from writer Alex Newman called "Public School Exit."

Parents, Newman said, should treat a public school building as if it were on fire. Rather than start a petition or run for school board, parents should rush into the schools and save their children and those of others, he said.

Newman said students are being taught about things like abortion, "gender confusion," homosexuality and "fornication." He referred to public school teachers as "the enemy."

Last week, a volunteer for Akhras' campaign admitted to creating a website in December using Catton's name. The volunteer made it appear as if it were Catton's site, displaying the candidate's comments on critical race theory and the post about the Newman video, among other things.

The volunteer, Reid McCollum, admitted to the trickery. He admitted to lying to Akhras at first that he did not create the website.

Akhras said she asked McCollum to step away from the campaign.

One of the bigger issues in District 86 is the inequity in course offerings between Hinsdale South and its wealthier counterpart, Hinsdale Central.

Because Central is nearly twice the size in enrollment, it has a greater course selection than South. Some South residents suggest a boundary change to equalize enrollments.

But such a move is considered politically untouchable. Central residents near the boundary fear their property values would plunge if the line moved north.

Now, only one of the board's seven members, Hanson, is from the South area. In the election, the only South candidate is Akhras.

If Akhras loses, all board members would be from the Central area. While Hanson expresses openness to a boundary change, Akhras rules it out.

"Boundary changes do not offer a long-term solution to fluctuations in student attendance and cause disruptions to many families," Akhras said in an email to Patch.

Here are the questionnaires from the candidates:

• Asma Akhras
• Andrew Catton
• Kay Gallo
• Catherine Greenspon
• Deborah Willoughby