What Hinsdale D-86 Leader Is Asked To Do

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale High School District 86's superintendent was given no goals with specific measures for the next school year.

On Tuesday, the district released the goals that the school board majority approved a day before. They were produced after a three-hour closed session.

Under the goals, Superintendent Tammy Prentiss must monitor standardized test scores with flat or negative movement, beyond the margins of error.

The superintendent also must identify scores that underperform state targets.

Based in one of the wealthiest towns in the United States, Hinsdale Central High routinely exceeds state averages.

Hinsdale South in Darien is wealthier than most districts, though not Central. All the key metrics show South is ahead of the state academically, according to the Illinois Report Card website.

The longtime goal of aligning the two schools' curriculums and grading practices remains. Prentiss was given no specific benchmarks, other than "the percent of work completed will increase in both mid-year and year-end updates."

With half the students of Central, Hinsdale South has far fewer course selections. Six of the seven board members come from Central's attendance area.

Some of the goals listed for Prentiss are a given. One of them asks that she continue overseeing the completion of projects approved under the $140 million referendum in 2019. This is a basic duty of the superintendent, regardless of her goals.

The goals also require that Prentiss "facilitate" negotiations with the teacher union. Again, she would have no choice: The union contract expires next summer. Given inflation, the new deal is expected to put pressure on the budget.

The goals speak in generalities about capital improvements. But it mentions one in particular – a multi-year heating, ventilation and air conditioning replacement project at Central.

Near the end of his term in 2021, former board President Kevin Camden denounced the district for not including the boiler system in the referendum.

Under the latest goals, Prentiss must provide a plan for the project, given current fiscal restraints.

Last year, Prentiss' goals were equally general.

That hasn't always been the case. During the 2013-14 school year, then-Superintendent Bruce Law was given until a date certain to assess the differences in course offerings at both high schools.

He was also to give recommendations to align the curriculums at the schools. And he was mandated to produce a balanced budget by the next school year.

In the 2015-16 year, Law was given the goal of making sure special education students increase their test scores at a rate at least equivalent to general education students.