D-86 Fills Post That Suddenly Went Vacant Last Year

HINSDALE, IL — The board for Hinsdale High School District 86 named a new human resources official Thursday. Last summer, the former official suddenly left the position after apparently suffering a rift with his superiors.

In a unanimous vote, the school board appointed Cheryl Moore as the new assistant superintendent of human resources. She is now the human resources director for Community High School District 94 in West Chicago. She also was a Hinsdale Central High School social studies teacher near the beginning of her career.

Last June, the board held a special meeting for the purpose of accepting the resignation of Domenico Maniscalco, then the chief human resources officer. He had already been absent for a few days before that. Although his resignation was set for mid-September, the district's documents and statements indicate he did not return to work in the months that followed.

Four days after the board accepted his resignation, Maniscalco told Superintendent Tammy Prentiss in an email that he would like to withdraw it, according to documents obtained through a Patch public records request. He requested she refer his request to the board, but she replied the matter was not on the board's meeting agenda.

In a partially redacted text, Prentiss told Maniscalco, "You should not be representing the district."

Maniscalco responded, "I'm not representing the district in any capacity."

Maniscalco, who worked for the district for seven years, got paid through mid-September, even as the district hired an interim director, Mary Dudek, essentially paying two people for the same job.

The board kept secret the circumstances of Maniscalco's resignation, only praising him in an official statement. He has not returned Patch's requests for comment. In the last few months, Maniscalco appears to have minimized his online presence.

The school board's news release on Thursday night did not mention Maniscalco or how the position became vacant.

The board approved a three-year contract for Moore, with a salary of $160,000. According to OpenTheBooks.com, Maniscalco's pay was $175,000 in 2018, the latest year available on the website. That pay was a $43,000 jump from three years earlier.

Moore has worked in public education for the last 11 years. Previously, she worked in the private sector, including five years as the assistant human resources director for Ernst & Young in Chicago and three years as the senior human resources administrator for Harris Corp. in California.

Moore received a bachelor’s degree in U.S. history from Northwestern University and an MBA from Pepperdine University. She also holds a master’s degree in educational administration and a chief school business official endorsement from Northern Illinois University.

The district said it involved more than 20 employees in the search, conducting virtual interviews with three finalists.

In the news release, Superintendent Prentiss wished Dudek well in retirement. And she called Moore's qualifications "exemplary." She said Moore would help the district "achieve important goals such as the recruitment and retention of a diverse staff that more closely reflects our school community.”

Moore praised the district in the statement.

“I have a tremendous amount of personal and professional respect for the district that dates back to the time I spent as a social studies teacher at Hinsdale Central toward the start of my career," she said.

Moore is set to start July 1.