Settlement Mandates D-86 Board Undergo Training

DARIEN, IL — The agenda for the Hinsdale High School District 86 board this week revealed that members are set to hear a presentation about the First Amendment and the Open Meetings Act.

Here's what the agenda did not say: A lawsuit settlement requires the board listen to the presentation, which is slated to last 40 minutes followed by a 20-minute, question-and-answer session.

Last year, the school board president blocked three people from speaking during the public input portion of a meeting. It was during the battle over changes to the district's science curriculum.

At the Dec. 12 board meeting, residents Meeta Jain Patel, Kara Kuo and Kim Notaro tried to read a letter by resident Dan Levinthal that alleged Carol Baker, the assistant superintendent of academics, opposed cutting course offerings in another district but supported doing so in District 86.

But board President Nancy Pollak stopped each of them from speaking, saying the rules barred them from talking about specific personnel.

One of them told Pollak she was violating their First Amendment rights, prompting Pollak to suggest they file a complaint.

In February, the residents followed Pollak's advice. During the course of the litigation, the plaintiffs noted the board allowed speakers to praise top officials during public input. They said the board had no right to discriminate between viewpoints.

In May, the district settled the lawsuit, agreeing to pay the plaintiffs' $21,000 in legal costs and publicly acknowledge it should have let the residents speak.

Under the settlement's terms, the board must allow Maryam Judar, executive director of the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center, to speak at an October board meeting about the First Amendment and the state Open Meetings Act.

The board approved the settlement, with its new president, Kevin Camden, dissenting.

Camden, an attorney, said he opposed the settlement because it was "disingenuous and hypocritical" to have policies against bullying and harassment yet accept an agreement that he contended allowed residents to criticize employees personally.

Earlier this year, Camden said he would no longer respond to constituents' emails in light of the battle over the science curriculum. He said people had been twisting his words. Since then, he appears to have backed off from this policy.

In September, upset over critical comments about the reopening of schools, Camden announced that public input would be at the end of meetings, instead of the beginning, letting residents speak after the board has made its decisions. Camden said this policy would last as long as he was president. No board member objected.

The school board meets in open session at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hinsdale South High School in Darien.