Hinsdale South Principal To Be Named

Darien IL

22 February, 2022

6:35 PM

Description

DARIEN, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 board is expected to name a new principal of Hinsdale South High School at Thursday's meeting. According to the meeting agenda, the district is poised to enter a two-year contract for a salary of $176,000. The agenda does not reveal the name of the preferred candidate, who would start July 1. After the decision, the district plans to email a statement to the public about the new principal. In early January, the current principal, Arwen Pokorny Lyp, announced she would resign as principal June 30 and take the principal's job at Downers Grove South High School. As of the 2021-2022 school year, Pokorny Lyp's salary was $172,000. Downers Grove South's enrollment of 2,700 students is more than double Hinsdale South's. Pokorny Lyp has been at Hinsdale South for 15 years. Hinsdale South in Darien has a greater percentage of low-income students than does its sister school, Hinsdale Central, which is in Hinsdale, among the nation's wealthiest towns. Hinsdale South also offers a significantly smaller selection of courses, which many South residents say is unfair. Hinsdale Central is twice the size of South. Some residents suggest a boundary change to equalize enrollments, giving South the ability to offer more courses. However, no school board members have expressed an interest in changing attendance areas, with residents near the boundary fearing their property values would plunge in value if they shifted to South's zone. School officials have said they aim to unify the schools' curricula by 2024. On the seven-member school board, all but member Cynthia Hanson live in the Central zone.