Hinsdale D-86 Official Refused To Say Words

HINSDALE, IL – The head of the Hinsdale High School District 86 board twice refused requests to read out loud changes to the contract for Superintendent Tammy Prentiss.

He had a reason.

At Thursday's board meeting, member Debbie Levinthal asked board President Erik Held to read the two changes to Prentiss' contract.

He spoke about the one extending Prentiss' contract by 31 days and that she would then retire.

As for the other contract amendment, Held said, "I'm not going to read the whole thing there."

It was three sentences.

The provision involved protecting Prentiss from being fired in connection with last year's investigation into her handling of an anti-racist consultant.

A few minutes later, Levinthal made the request again.

"I would appreciate that, as board president, you read into the record, verbatim, the additions to the contract," Levinthal said.

Held again declined.

"It's posted in there," he said. "Based on legal counsel, I'm not going to do that."

He didn't elaborate. But for the board majority's purposes, the refusal made sense. The three sentences mentioned a law firm's report from the investigation related to the consultant.

A provision of the Freedom of Information Act states that a government entity must release a document if it is publicly cited by the head of the public body.

The report is a record that the board does not want to release to the public.

Earlier Thursday, the district informed Patch that it would not comply with the media outlet's request for the report in question. It cited the exemption that allows for the secrecy of attorney-client communications.

At the meeting, the board voted 4-3 for the changes to Prentiss' contract. Levinthal was among the dissenters.

The district's "Board Briefs," which inform the public about actions at meetings, noted the extension to Prentiss' contract, but did not mention the Valbrun issue.