Eclipse Viewing Confusion At Hinsdale South

DARIEN, IL – A Hinsdale High School District 86 board member apologized Thursday for incorrect information in a social media post about viewing of the eclipse Monday at Hinsdale South High School.

Before the eclipse, board member Jeff Waters relayed information about how Hinsdale Central and South would handle it.

In the part about South, he said the entire student body would be invited to watch the solar eclipse from the football field. He added, "You're invited to join us if you would like to view the eclipse with our students."

In a text message to Patch, Waters said, "I cut and paste something that was shared with me from one of the interim superintendents, and yes, by my failure to modify that and or qualify that, it easily could have been misconstrued by the general public. Completely on me."

He apologized to South's principal, Patrick Hardy, at Thursday's board meeting.

Hardy said he did not expect a public apology. But he said the message resulted in confusion and that the school had to turn away members of the public. He thanked the school's security team for professionally handling the situation.

Waters posted his message on the "D86 Strong" Facebook page, which has 2,800 members.

Waters brought up the issue at the meeting.