4 Questions About D-86 Official's Departure

HINSDALE, IL — The official at Hinsdale High School District 86 who is in charge of handling sticky personnel situations is leaving the district under circumstances that remain unclear.

On June 18, the school board held a special meeting, where members met behind closed doors about Human Resources Officer Domenico Maniscalco and then voted to accept his resignation, effective Sept. 15. Maniscalco has not returned messages for comment.

Beyond a vague statement, district officials have not answered questions about Maniscalco's departure. At least three questions remain unanswered:

• The school board met in a special meeting with Maniscalco's resignation as the only issue. Such a matter could have been handled at the board's regular meeting set for a week later. Why did the board need to hold a special meeting for a resignation that was three months away?
• In its statement, the district said it planned to fill the human resources job on an interim basis "while we conduct a formal search for a permanent replacement." If Maniscalco gave the board three months' notice, why does the district need to hire an interim human resources officer?
• Since the board's decision, there has been no public word from Maniscalco, who is about 16 years into his human resources career. When Patch emailed Maniscalco's school account after the June 18 meeting, it received an automatic reply stating that Maniscalco would be unavailable until Monday, Oct. 28. Oct. 28 was on a Monday in 2019, but not this year. This week, his automatic reply said he was on vacation — a popular time for employees to take time off. Is Maniscalco actually working through Sept. 15?
• The June 18 meeting agenda stated the issue was to "accept the resignation of administrator," but did not name Maniscalco. If the situation was entirely positive, why was Maniscalco unidentified until the board voted on his resignation?

After the board voted on Maniscalco's resignation, Patch submitted a records request seeking any documents involving issues that led to Maniscalco's pending departure or any agreements or promises made in connection with his resignation.

The board replied that the only document responsive to the request was the original statement, which was attributed to Superintendent Tammy Prentiss. In that statement, Prentiss praised Maniscalco, calling him a "trusted colleague and valuable member of our team..."

According to Maniscalco's LinkedIn page, he started with the school district in November 2013. He was a senior human resources manager at Niles Township High School District 219 from 2009 to 2013, a human resources associate partner with United Airlines from 2007 to 2010, and assistant store manager and human resources manager at an H&M store from 2004 to 2007.

A few months ago, Maniscalco made the news when he investigated a Hinsdale South High School's teacher's alleged racial slurs during a Black History Month "Empathy" lesson.

"It is my finding that you made an extremely bad judgment call and did not properly hear or listen to your students that day," Maniscalco said in a memo to the teacher.

His photo and contact information are still listed on District 86's website.