D-86 Leader Upset With Public Comments

HINSDALE, IL — Apparently upset with public comments Thursday, the president of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board announced he was planning to move such feedback to the end of meetings, rather than near the beginning.

As the board's president, Kevin Camden said he had the authority to put meeting agendas together.

"I've said this for a number of years. I'm tired of folks coming in and complaining and not listening as we go through the meeting to answer the questions we have," Camden said after public comments ended. "So we'll move audience communications to the end. If we answer the questions, great. If we don't, the board will have the opportunity to address them at the end of the meeting, and that's the way it's going to be moving forward until there's a new chair."

No board members questioned Camden's decision. They typically present a united front, at least publicly.

While Camden did not indicate which comments upset him, some speakers were particularly passionate in their denunciations of the district's continuation of remote learning. For instance, resident Susan Draddy urged the district to return to in-person learning, as some schools were doing.

"Get these kids in the classroom. I don't feel a sense of urgency at all. I'm stunned that this is OK," Draddy said. "You talked earlier about how everything is going so great. But have you talked with kids or parents? Have you asked them what they think about remote learning? It's not great."

This type of commentary is not unusual at school board meetings around the area lately. In Elmhurst School District 205, parents are submitting comments critical of the superintendent's handling of reopening schools and his communications with the public, particularly his tweets, some of which he has deleted. Yet the board continues to have comments near the beginning of meetings.

Also at Thursday's District 86 meeting, some residents took the board to task over its spending of bonds for school improvements. And one woman questioned why the district was spending a lot more money on landscaping at Hinsdale Central than Hinsdale South from bond proceeds.

Under state law, government bodies must include public comment in their meetings, but they can set rules.

In May, the school board voted to settle a lawsuit by residents who alleged the board president violated their First Amendment rights when they were speaking about the actions of a district official. Then-President Nancy Pollak blocked the residents, saying the board did not allow such commentary about employees. But the lawsuit noted the board allowed positive comments about specific employees, suggesting the district was discriminating based on messages.

Camden was the lone dissenting vote on settling the lawsuit. Under the settlement, a representative of a watchdog group, Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center, is slated to speak for 40 minutes at a board meeting in October about the First Amendment and the Open Meetings Act. A 20-minute question-and-answer session is set to follow.

In February, Camden announced he would no longer answer emails from the public, saying he would refer all communications to the district's communications director. He complained that his responses had been "bastardized" by residents. His change of policy came after months of heated debate over changes in the district's science curriculum.

He has since indicated to Patch that he now routinely answers emails to his school board address.