'Open Hostility' On Hinsdale D-86 Board

Darien IL

16 May, 2022

12:55 PM

Description

DARIEN, IL – A Hinsdale High School District 86 board member informed her colleagues last week about a phone call in which she said another member derided her. On Thursday morning, member Peggy James emailed member Kathleen Hirsman and copied the other five members. She also read much of the email during Thursday night's board meeting. James started off her email by noting their 15-minute conversation the night before. The conversation apparently involved a Feb. 26 meeting of the board's policy committee, to which both members belong. The committee discussed procedures for dealing with public records requests. Last month, though, the board ended up with a proposal to do away with the district's online public records log, which was not discussed during the previous meeting. In the phone conversation, James said Hirsman called her a "bad board member" and accused James of micromanaging the school district. James said Hirsman told her that James did not remember what was said during the policy committee meeting. And she said Hirsman, an attorney, spoke about her 25 years of experience practicing and teaching education and Freedom of Information Act law. James said Hirsman reminded her that she has seven years on the board and has more experience than James, who joined the board last year. James said her favorite line from Hirsman was "Do not interrupt me." In the email, James said she was "flat out disgusted." "Your open hostility towards me and clear disdain for anything I say or questions I may have are abundantly clear," James said. She said a resident recorded the February committee meeting. "To give you a refresher, since my recollection of the meeting was correct and very different from yours, let me know if you would like to review the meeting verbatim – it's on FB Live – several hundred people have also viewed this video," James said. "You mentioned that the presentation 'evolved.' I'm guessing you made that decision with (Superintendent Tammy) Prentiss and (Board President Erik) Held, who both used the same word when explaining to me why the presentation was different than recommended." In an interview Friday, Hirsman said she and James have resolved their differences. She said she had one or two conversations since the call in question. James said in an interview that they had not resolved their differences. She said Hirsman called her Thursday morning to apologize for the name-calling because it was not productive to the conversation. James said she did not see the apology as genuine because it was qualified. District 86 is one of the few government entities in Illinois that posts many of its responses to public records requests online. Before an April meeting, the district released a presentation from its lawyer calling for the elimination of the log. During the meeting, a number of public commenters objected to the proposal. The idea died when members Cynthia Hanson and Terri Walker, usual allies of Hirsman and Held, opposed it.