Hinsdale D-86 Closed Meeting Questioned

HINSDALE, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 board's decision to meet behind closed doors on Monday came under question.

The board's majority said it held the closed discussion to set Superintendent Tammy Prentiss' performance goals for the next school year.

The majority cited an exception to the state's open meetings law that allows secrecy for discussions of the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of employees.

The board voted 4-3 to go into closed session. The dissenters said they were concerned such a meeting would break the law.

In its guidance, the Illinois Association of School Boards said the state Open Meetings Act has no exception to public meetings that is generally applicable to goal setting or planning.

The guidance further states, "The work of planning a process for evaluating the superintendent's performance, therefore, needs to be carried out in public meetings."

Dale Kleber, an attorney and a critic of the superintendent, pointed to the association's guidance. Saying the meeting would be illegal, Kleber warned the district to keep a recording of it for litigation over the open meetings issue.

The board held a similar closed meeting a year ago, with no members raising concerns.

Noting the association's guidance, member Debbie Levinthal said the discussion of Prentiss' goals and her performance needed to be separated.

Board President Erik Held said the board received guidance from its lawyer that a closed session could be held for goal-setting for the superintendent.

And he noted the association says the guidance is not a legal opinion and that a board should consult its own attorney.

Asked for the lawyer's advice, Held said he would check his email and read it.

Member Kathleen Hirsman objected, saying Held did not need to do that.

"We hold you at your word," she said.

Member Jeff Waters said he would be happy to go into closed session if he saw the advice in writing. It was not furnished in the open session.

Waters, Levinthal and Peggy James voted against holding a closed session. They were outvoted by Held, Hirsman, Cynthia Hanson and Terri Walker. These are the usual alliances on the board.

Three hours later, the members emerged from their meeting. They voted 4-3 for the goals, but did not say what they were. Patch contacted officials Tuesday morning for a copy.

James called two of the items "dealbreakers," while Waters said he had "similar issues."

After the vote, Kleber chided the board as he walked out.

"You had one job, and you miserably failed at it: Find a good superintendent and hold her accountable," he said. "That's the only thing you need to do, and you're a failure at it."

No one responded.

In an email to Patch on Tuesday, Held said not all discussions of performance goals for a specific employee can be separated from discussions of the employee's past performance.

"Most employers and employees understand this from their own experience," he said.

Held said the board would fully cooperate with any attorney general inquiry into the open meetings issue and remains mindful of its obligations under the Open Meetings Act as well as its confidentiality obligations as an employer.

"This was the same procedure we used last year, without objection from any Board member or member of the public," he said. "Note that we did have a public vote in open session on the final performance goals and are making the final Superintendent’s performance goals available to the public."