Announcement Upset Some Hinsdale D-86 Officials

HINSDALE, IL — A couple of Hinsdale High School District 86 board members expressed their concern last month about the early announcement of two days off for students before Thanksgiving. The statement was issued before the board's decision.

The emails from board members were revealed as the result of a public records request filed by resident Yvonne Mayer.

In an email blast last month, Superintendent Tammy Prentiss and board President Terri Walker announced the likelihood of the days off. The email was the Tuesday the week before Thanksgiving. The officials said they expected the board to grant the days off when it met two days later.

In an email, James questioned the announcement later that Tuesday.

"I have to say I am disappointed that this message was shared with students and the community in advance, before we had a chance to discuss the possible change at the board table," James said to Prentiss. "By sharing this message with students, you have taken away our ability to weigh the pros/cons of such a last minute change at the board table."

Board member Debbie Levinthal also expressed her concern about the statement. She wrote, "I don't understand why this announcement went out prior to Thursday night's board meeting? The announcement by the board president that approval is anticipated implies that—"

The district blacked out the rest of Levinthal's comments.

In response to Levinthal, Walker said, "The announcement went out because it would be impossible to implement all of the operational necessities by Friday, November 19, 2021. According to legal counsel—"

The rest of Walker's response was redacted. It was probably done so under the exception in open records law for attorney-client privilege. The district can choose to keep such passages secret.

The board ended up unanimously approving the days off. According to the records, Prentiss got the idea on the days-off message to the public from a Missouri school district. She and other officials recommended the days off because of reported stress and anxiety among students.

In her email to Prentiss, James said she believed the days off were putting a "Band-Aid" on the stress and anxiety among students and staff.

"We need to have fully vetted plans that have considered all possible issues before rolling them out," James said. "There are so many unintended consequences from this last minute plan. When will we address all the causes of this stress? Grading, Finals, COVID, among many other things."

She also questioned whether the district was tracking statistics related to mental health such as depression and anxiety, suicide attempts, intensive outpatient practice and partial hospital programs.

The records did not include the administration's response, if any, to James' inquiry.