Closed Doors: Hinsdale D-86 Board To Talk Personnel

HINSDALE, IL — The Hinsdale High School District 86 board is holding a special closed meeting on personnel issues Monday.

On Thursday afternoon, the district posted the meeting agenda to its website. It's the first such special closed meeting on personnel issues since June 2020. At that meeting, the board went behind closed doors for 25 minutes and emerged to accept the resignation of Domenico Maniscalco, the head of human resources.

For Monday's meeting, the board's agenda said it will discuss the "appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of employees or district legal counsel." The agenda indicates the board will take no votes.

Under the state's open meetings law, a public board is barred from taking action unless it gives the public notice. That same law allows discussions of specific employees behind closed doors, but general personnel issue cannot be discussed.

The board's president, Terri Walker, did not return Patch's text and phone messages left on Thursday.

After April's election, a new board majority took control. It's not unusual for a new school board to seek to replace the superintendent.

But the new majority has given no public indication it wants a change at the top. At the same time, it has questioned the curriculum changes recommended by the superintendent and approved by the old board.

In November, the former board unanimously approved a three-year contract for Prentiss, with a $250,000 base salary.

After accepting Maniscalco's resignation at last year's meeting, the district released a statement praising him for his nearly seven years of service. Documents from a later public records request revealed a rift existed between Prentiss and Maniscalco.