Hinsdale Central Handled Threat Well: Officials

HINSDALE, IL – Members from both factions of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board last week praised the administration's handling of a threat in September at Hinsdale Central.

On Sept. 28, Central closed its campus after a threatening message was found in a stall in a school restroom, officials said. The threat was later deemed not to be credible.

At a board meeting, the board's president, Erik Held, singled out for praise the district's security director, Kevin Simpson, Principal Bill Walsh and Superintendent Tammy Prentiss.

He said officials showed a "cool and steady hand." He noted his children were younger than high school age, but said he could imagine the tension of parents of Central students.

Jeff Waters, a member of the board's minority faction, said he agreed with what Held said.

"As much as I was concerned for the event, I knew we could not have been in better hands," he said.

He also named Prentiss, Walsh and Simpson in his praise. The board's minority is often critical of Prentiss, so Waters' inclusion of the superintendent was notable.

Held and Waters also thanked local police.

Simpson's last day with the district is Wednesday. A former Hinsdale police chief, Simpson announced during the summer he was moving to Maine.