Hinsdale D-86 Board Minority Shafted: Members

DARIEN, IL – The minority on the Hinsdale High School District 86 board on Thursday accused the majority of keeping its three members out of the loop.

At a meeting last month, a proposal emerged to do away with the district's online public records database. This is where the districts posts responses to records requests.

Hopes for the proposal died when even two members of the majority, Cynthia Hanson and Terri Walker, expressed opposition.

At Thursday's board meeting, members of the minority – Peggy James, Jeff Waters and Debbie Levinthal – wondered where the idea came from.

The administration said the board's policy committee held a detailed discussion in February about policies related to Freedom of Information Act requests. But the minority said eliminating the online log was never considered in that meeting.

They have since been told that the idea of doing away with the log "evolved" from the public discussion.

Board member Peggy James, a member of the policy committee, said one board member is acting as a de facto member of the district's administration.

"She is a participant in idea and brainstorming sessions with our board attorneys and administration to develop presentations to the rest of the board and determine what is appropriate content and what isn't," James said.

She added, "I have serious concerns that information shared with a subset of the board and overreaching of certain board members to participate and create content on what is presented to the board."

She did not name the board member who she believed was essentially part of the administration. But based on minority members' comments, it appeared she was referring to board Vice President Kathleen Hirsman.

Member Levinthal said she had long suspected some board members received more information from administration than others. That violates the board's protocol – "one gets, all get," she said.

On the proposal on the online log, Waters said, "It was not an evolution as certain board members would maintain. It was a manufacturing of one voice. The voice wouldn't be collective. One or two members' voice... For me, I consider it offensive to waste my time and other board members' time."

Later in the meeting, board President Erik Held announced committee assignments.

Levinthal said a "big imbalance" existed, with Hirsman getting six assignments while most others received three. She asked why that was the case.

Held said "time and inclination" were factors in the selections.

"She has the capacity to serve on multiple committees," Held said. "There hasn't been a conflict with that."

Hirsman and other majority members did not respond to the minority's contentions about unfairness.

In an interview Friday, Hirsman said she has had a couple of conversations with James.

"I believe we have resolved our differences," she said.

In a later interview, James said their differences have not been resolved.