Another Walkout At Hinsdale D-86 Meeting?

HINSDALE, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 board is holding its first regular meeting Thursday since a board minority walked out more than a month ago.

Three of the seven members – Peggy James, Jeff Waters and Debbie Levinthal – left the meeting early as part of a dispute over three sets of closed session minutes.

In their absence, the board lacked a quorum to conduct business. So the meeting immediately ended.

A walkout is unlikely this week as long as the majority attends in person. At the June 23 meeting, board President Erik Held took part remotely. The board needs four members in person to conduct business.

The meeting minutes were for Feb. 4, 10 and 14. These meetings were held during a wave of public criticism against Superintendent Tammy Prentiss over a controversy involving an anti-racism consultant.

The same minutes are on Thursday's agenda. As the board's secretary in February, James drafted the documents.

At the June 23 board meeting, James said Held substantially edited the minutes. He later told Patch that her minutes deserve a vote from the board.

The minutes are not public records because they are from closed meetings. The board can later vote to release them.