Hinsdale Central Teacher Late Too Much: District

HINSDALE, IL – A Hinsdale Central High School teacher was publicly reprimanded last month because of frequent tardiness, according to the school district.

Through a public records request, Patch last week obtained documents related to the case involving music teacher Matt Kurinsky, who is also listed as the band director.

Kurinsky was late 19 times between Feb. 24 and March 24, the records show.

"(T)his behavior is unacceptable," the district said. "One of your primary responsibilities is to supervise students enrolled in your classes in order to ensure the safety and security of students."

The district also said, "Your tardiness has disrupted student instruction, jeopardized student safety and district operations."

Teachers with early-bird classes must be at work by 6:45 a.m., with classes starting at 7 a.m. Yet for many of the 19 days, Kurinsky showed up five to 10 minutes after 7 a.m. In one case, he was reported as tardy by 13 minutes.

Late last month, the school board voted unanimously for a "notice to remedy" for Kurinsky, who started at Central 18 years ago.

As part of its records request, Patch sought Kurinsky's written responses to the allegations.

In a June 20 email to superiors, he said the notice to remedy did not seem to have an end date.

"Can we say after six months, at the end of the first semester, if corrected, it goes away?" Kurinsky said. "I haven't missed a minute of early bird since our meeting in April."

Kurinsky declined to comment in response to Patch's inquiry last month. He did not return a message Thursday.

His salary was $141,000 in the 2023-24 school year, the latest information available on the district's website.