D-86 Timeline For Filling Vacancy Challenged

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale High School District 86 is looking to fill the board seat left vacant by the immediate resignation of Nancy Pollak late last month. On Tuesday, the board welcomed residents to apply and released a timeline for the appointment.

In response, former school board candidate Yvonne Mayer, who lost in last year's election, questioned whether the district is complying with its own policy in selecting a replacement. The district's lawyer, however, said the board was acting within the law.

In its announcement, the board cited a state law that requires it to fill the position within 60 days after the vacancy occurred. The district said it would follow that law by making an appointment at its Aug. 27 meeting.

In an email to the school board, Mayer pointed to a school board policy that requires the board to fill a vacancy within 45 days. She said she disagreed with an argument by school board President Kevin Camden that this policy is out of compliance with the state law.

Mayer said nothing in the school code bars the district from following a quicker timeline, only that the board cannot wait longer than the 60-day deadline.

Mayer also noted recent guidance from the Illinois Association of School Boards that says boards may set policy related to appointments.

If the board follows its policy, it would fill the vacant seat by Aug. 13. Mayer said the board can change the policy for future appointments. Under the board's plan for applications and interviews, it could follow both state law and board policy and still appoint someone by Aug. 13, she said.

"I expect that you will do so in order to avoid any potential contest to an appointment you might make after that date," Mayer said.

Camden could not be reached for immediate comment by email or phone. He has said before he does not respond to emails from the public, instead referring them to the district's communications director.

On Tuesday afternoon, the district's attorney, Steven Richart, told Mayer in an email that she failed to note that the board held its first reading on June 25 to amend the policy in question to make it consistent with state law. That was five days before Pollak's resignation was publicly announced. Adoption of the policy, he said, is slated for July 23, before "any alleged 45-deadline would expire."

"The Board never intended (its policy) to impose a stricter timeline than that imposed by law, and the Board is within its reasonable discretion to interpret its policies and their effective dates in the manner it is doing," he said.

Mayer said she stood by her position, saying the policy in effect when Pollak resigned applies. "It is irrelevant that a policy change is going to be voted on this month," she said.

Board member Keith Chval said he doubted litigation would be filed in such a situation.

"Although not necessarily a basis to make decisions related to a risk of litigation, a suit brought over the purported discrepancy that you claim would be both patently frivolous and arguably pursued for vanity, not to mention a waste of taxpayer funds," Chval said in an email reply to Mayer. "I'm sure we don't have any citizens in our district who would undertake a suit in light of those considerations and the light in which it would portray them in the community."

Applicants for the board position must apply by 4:30 p.m. July 21.

On June 30, the district announced Pollak was immediately stepping down because she was moving out of state.

Pollak was elected in 2017, and the board chose her as its president in 2019. She served a year in that role and was replaced by Camden.