Hinsdale D-86 Ends Mask Mandate

DARIEN, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 board unanimously voted to end its mask mandate, which had drawn heated opposition from many in the community.

The board took the action after an hour-long closed session. The board president said members spoke with the district's lawyer, which can be done behind closed doors under state law.

Last week, the board voted 5-2 to continue the mask mandate, even though a downstate judge suspended the governor’s executive order on the mask requirement for schools. An appeals court upheld that decision Thursday.

A few dozen residents showed up for the meeting, far fewer than the nearly 200 who attended a week earlier. The smaller audience may be the result of the Friday night timing.

As with last week, many of the members held signs such as “Fire Tammy Prentiss,” referring to the superintendent.

Before public comments, board President Terri Walker warned she would bang the gavel as soon as each speaker’s two minutes was up – and she did. Some exceeded their limits, and Walker raised her voice, saying their time was up. Audience members objected when she did so for a student.

Residents say they are upset with the superintendent’s continuation of the mask mandate before the board vote. And they take her to task for an anti-racism consultant who called Hinsdale a “dangerous place,” saying Prentiss helped draft the letter.

In her comments Friday, Kay Gallo, a former school board president, called for the superintendent’s removal, citing the letter from the consultant, among other things.

“If the board does not do so, she will continue to exhibit her contempt for the community,” said Gallo, who started an online petition for Prentiss' ouster.

Resident Stephanie Dillard urged the board to end the mask requirement.

“It is time for the kids to get back to learning,” she said. “Stop pushing your agenda and your politics on our children.”

Hinsdale South student Ethan Pan said he and other students opposed to the mandate met in the gym the other day. Other students, he said, yelled and cursed at them. The school did nothing, he said, but an employee made sure they wore masks.

While the district calls for diversity, equity and inclusion, Pan said, "this is not what I have experienced when I expressed my opinion on the mask mandate."