'Excellent Leadership' In Hinsdale D-86

Darien IL

14 February, 2022

12:28 PM

Description

DARIEN, IL — Tammy Prentiss, superintendent of Hinsdale High School District 86, received a lot of criticism during last week's school board meeting. Many residents were upset over her handling of the mask mandate and the controversy over an anti-racism consultant's controversial withdrawal letter. But later in the meeting, two board members defended the superintendent, who took the helm in 2019. That was during the public comments part of the meeting — after many of Prentiss' opponents had left for the evening. Board member Erik Held praised Prentiss for the organization of vaccine clinics, which he said helped the schools and the community at large. "That's something we all should be proud of," Held said. "That does fall back to leadership that we have, which would be Superintendent Prentiss, who was involved with masterminding those clinics for the community." He cited the performance of Hinsdale Central and South and the Transition Center, as well as vaccine rates and the amount of time that students have been in school during the pandemic. "It's not necessarily just because of what the seven of us do or voices from the community. But it does come from an administrative office that is at 55th and Grant," Held said. "Between Tammy and her team, I believe the district owes them all." Member Kathleen Hirsman said she wholeheartedly endorsed everything Held said. "I want to recognize the superintendent for her excellent leadership through the pandemic, from the beginning to the end, from the development of our open-the-schools plan to the organization that it takes, to being a leader among her peers in DuPage County," Hirsman said. She said the district kept its doors open all last school year, which she said compared well to other DuPage County school districts. Other board members differed with the praise. Member Jeff Waters said leadership was an issue. "Leaders lead, and we need to do better," he said. Member Debbie Levinthal said she was grateful for the building leadership teams and teachers, but she did not mention Prentiss. She said she was in the minority that wanted a special board meeting on masks last week, which she said could have avoided the "chaos that ensued in our buildings" over the issue. Earlier in the meeting, many audience members wielded "Fire Tammy Prentiss signs" and repeatedly interrupted board members who appeared to side with the school's administration. In November 2020, the board approved a three-year contract for Prentiss, with a base salary of $250,000. Four of the seven board members, including Waters and Levinthal, have changed since then.