3 Candidates File For Hinsdale D86 Board

HINSDALE, IL – Three women submitted paperwork Monday to run for the Hinsdale High School District 86 board in the April election.

They are Asma Akhras of Darien, Kay Gallo of Clarendon Hills and Catherine Greenspon of Burr Ridge.

In the election, three seats are up. They are held by President Erik Held and members Cynthia Hanson and Kathleen Hirsman.

None of the incumbents have filed for re-election. They have a week to do so.

Gallo and Greenspon, both regular critics of the board, previously announced their candidacies during board meetings.

Akhras is a board member of the Chicago chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

According to a biography on the council's website, Akhras completed her bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in math education from Saint Xavier University. She received her master's degree in education in curriculum and instruction from Benedictine University.

The biography states she has experience in teaching from elementary school to college. She lives in Darien with her husband and three children.

In June, Greenspon, a board member for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, revealed her plan to run for the board. When she announced, she said she was concerned about what she said was a low graduation rate among special education students.

"It is clear to me that in order to prevent these things from happening, I need to be sitting at the table," she said at the time.

Gallo is a former school board president. She created an online petition last winter calling for the ouster of District 86 Superintendent Tammy Prentiss. It has drawn nearly 2,300 signatures.

Gallo's petition criticized how Prentiss handled the mask mandate and the resignation of an anti-racism consultant.

Gallo also accused Prentiss of "untested and unorthodox educational philosophies" and an "autocratic, non-transparent style of leadership."

In October, however, Gallo gave the district's administration rare praise for a proposal to raise the property tax levy to the maximum of 5 percent allowed under state law.

She said the board made the mistake of not increasing the levy at all in 2013, which she said caused the district financial problems for years. She added the board also went too low with its levy in 2014.