D-86 Board Silent On Email Policy

HINSDALE, IL — If you want to contact members of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, you can contact them through school email addresses listed on the district's website. But if you're expecting a response, that may be another matter.

Earlier this month, board Vice President Kevin Camden announced he would no longer respond to constituents' emails and that he would forward messages to the district's communications director. When Patch reached out to him about his policy, he did just that.

Last Sunday, Patch emailed the other six members of the board — President Nancy Pollak, Kathleen Hirsman, Keith Chval, Cynthia Hanson, Erik Held and Marty Turek. None of the board members responded.

Patch asked them if they followed the same policy as Camden's and whether such a policy would even apply to general questions such as the budget and the tax levy. Patch also asked them about how their constituents could contact them outside of a public meeting.

Most politicians run for office saying they want to hear from their constituents. The three municipalities that make up much of District 86 — Hinsdale, Darien and Burr Ridge — post online the personal phone numbers of their mayors and board members.

At District 86, residents have the opportunity to comment during two parts of board meetings. And many residents have taken advantage of that in recent months. The board received heavy criticism for a new science curriculum it adopted in November. Superintendent Tammy Prentiss appeared to give merit to at least some of that criticism in mid-December when she apologized to the community for the administrative team's "ineffective job" in communicating changes to the district's science program.

In December and early January, Camden told the board, a few of his emails were "bastardized" and used to support people's personal issues related to the board. He acknowledged his new policy would stymie communication between board members and the community.

"The district communications director can respond on my behalf. I will not tolerate further back and forth via email," said Camden, a lawyer who specializes in employment law. "It's frustrating. If you want to attack anyone, I get it. I ran for it. I understand it. I'm more than happy to sit here and take it. But what we're not going to do is cut and paste certain things and put it out there and expect that's going to be the record that's out there."

Chris Jasculca, the district's communications director, was referred the inquiry about Camden's policy. In response, Jasculca cited passages from the Illinois Association of School Board's statement of best practices.

"Some people call a school board member with concerns, suggestions, and questions. This may be appropriate when discussing district-wide policy," the association says. "More often than not, however, the matter must be referred to the superintendent or other staff member. Remember that the individual board member has no authority other than voting on official actions at meetings. Therefore, the individual board member is rarely the place to begin when you have a concern."

Jasculca said any email that a board member receives is shared with the entire board and any appropriate members of the staff.