Hinsdale D-86: 'Majority Rule' Vs. 'Mutual Respect'

DARIEN, IL – The minority on the Hinsdale High School District 86 board is often prevented from bringing up their concerns during meetings.

This has been a frustration for months for members Jeff Waters, Peggy James and Debbie Levinthal.

The others, Erik Held, Cynthia Hanson and Kathleen Hirsman, appear to back the way board President Terri Walker runs meetings.

At times, Walker has stopped discussions about issues when only three of the seven favored talking about it.

A couple of months ago, Walker came up with the "three-minute pitch" for any board member to make the case about whether to put an item on the meeting agenda.

The practice doesn't sit well with the minority.

Levinthal, who campaigned as a team with Walker in last year's election, said it would be "mutual respect" for members to listen to their colleagues about an issue the others don't necessarily want to talk about.

"If I can't sell it like I'm on the Home Shopping Network, you're not willing to have any discussion," she told Walker. "I view that as stifling."

But Walker answered such concerns by saying, "We operate by majority rule."

Member Jeff Waters said he believed that an issue should be up for discussion during a meeting if two or three members want it. He said he has yet to find another board with a policy similar to District 86's.

Walker ended the discussion by concluding she heard no consensus from the board on how to proceed with the issue.