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The Hinsdalean has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Hinsdale High School District 86 to obtain more information about a complaint reportedly filed last month regarding a special education driver who had inappropriate interactions with a student. Attempts to obtain the complaint from attorney Roy McCampbell, who is reportedly representing the family, were unsuccessful. McCampbell, in an email, suggested that the recent loss of his family member was a complicating factor. “I would appreciate not mentioning the a...
How do you plan the Community Speaker Series? Several years ago Hinsdale's Megan Mikhail attended a local presentation by Jessica Lahey, author of the bestselling book "The Gift of Failure." It was part of the annual Community Speaker Series, and Mikhail left illuminated. "It taught me as a parent that it's very good for my children to have what she called 'soft fails' so that they can learn and grow and (I will) not be scared of them failing," Mikhail recalled. Mikhail and...
A little more than 90 days ago, Mike Lach officially took the helm as superintendent of Hinsdale High School District 86. His arrival was a long time coming. After former Superintendent Tammy Prentiss was put on paid administrative leave in 2023, the district was left without a full-time leader. Other members of the administrative team did their best until interim superintendents could be found. None of these situations was ideal. When Lach was first hired and in his early appearances as superintendent, he said the right thin...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 Hinsdale South High School 7401 Clarendon Hills Road, Darien www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings On the agenda: RFQ for board attorney, five-year financial forecast, 2025-26 program of studies, tax levy estimate resolution...
The Hinsdale High School District 86 Board has revised its policies on the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act to shift responsibility from the superintendent to the board president. At their Oct. 9 meeting, board members held a first read of board policies 2:200 and 2:250, which give the board president power to designate employees for OMA training and choose an FOIA officer, respectively, duties previously assigned solely to the superintendent. Board member Peggy James, the board’s policy committee chair, s...
Community Consolidated Elementary Dist. 181 Board 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21 Hinsdale Middle School 100 S. Garfield Ave. www.d181.org On the draft agenda: preliminary tax levy memo, facilities master plan recommendations, superintendent search firm selection, district office building bid award, math/ELA/ACE placement criteria, SEL update, inclement weather, maintenance grant approval Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 Hinsdale South High School 7401 Clarendon Hills Road, Darien www...
Mike Lach doesn’t mind resolving disputes between staff members, debating policy decisions, responding to a host of emails or spending lots of time in meetings. “I want to do this work because I like the work and I believe in the work,” said Lach, who is three months into his first year as Hinsdale High School District 86’s superintendent. “I think public schools are a wonderful institution — this idea that you get together with the people on your street and the next block and the block over, and you put in your taxes to cr...
Hinsdale High School District 86 had to respond to a threat posted on social media just as first period was starting Sept. 13. “You may have heard that over the past couple of weeks, these kinds of social media threats have been cropping up in just about every state, all over the country,” Superintendent Mike Lach said during his report at the Sept. 26 school board meeting. “We have to take them seriously.” District officials quickly learned the threat was not viable and had notified students and parents in less than an hour,...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board Among other business at their Sept. 26 meeting, board members: • held a public hearing on the 2025 budget, which shows projected expenses of $142.9 million and projected revenues of $141.3 million. Yvonne Mayer was the only community member to speak at the hearing, asking the board to look again at the projected legal fees before approving the document. The board voted 7-0 to approve the spending plan. • reviewed a “request for qualifications” that will be sent to qualified legal f...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9 Hinsdale Central High School, 55th and Grant streets www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings Hinsdale Parks and Recreation Commission 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8 Memorial Building, 19 E. Chicago Ave. Hinsdale Plan Commission 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9 Memorial Building, 19 E. Chicago Ave. On the draft agenda: public hearing on zoning code text amendment for lighting standards, sign permit reviews on 21 W. Second St. (Modern Skin Dermatology) and 410 W....
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 Hinsdale Central High School 55th and Grant streets www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings On the agenda: FY 2025 budget hearing and adoption, RFQ for board attorney, 2024 tax levy overview, proposed 55th Street TIF, approval of precalculus courses Hinsdale Village Board 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1 Memorial Building 19 E. Chicago Ave. www.villageofhinsdale.org...
The Hinsdale High School District 86 Board will hold a public hearing tonight on the fiscal year 2025 budget (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), which shows projected expenses of $142.9 million and projected revenues of $141.3 million. The $1.6 million deficit is due to expenses in the capital projects fund, which has paid for Future Ready Facilities projects approved in the 2019 referendum. The district is working to close out remaining projects and shut down the fund, Josh Stephenson, the district’s chief financial officer, w...
The Hinsdale High School District 86 Board is considering whether it makes sense to hire an in-house attorney in an effort to reduce legal bills. The board held a special meeting Wednesday night, after The Hinsdalean went to press, to hear the report of a working group assembled to investigate various legal strategies, one of which is hiring an attorney to be on staff. The group was put together at last week’s board meeting. Board member Asma Akhras asked about hiring a district attorney last week. Board member Jeff Waters as...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board Among other business Sept. 12, board members: • heard Superintendent Mike Lach report that work at the Hinsdale Central pool in on track to be finished in time for the girls swimming and diving senior night meet on Oct. 11. “There’s still a ways to go,” he said. “I don’t want to overpromise, but things right now are on track.” • listened to a security update from Geoff Cooker, the district’s director of security. Earlier that day he had attended the annual emergency operations plan m...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26 Hinsdale Central High School 55th and Grant streets www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings Hinsdale Public Library Board 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24 Hinsdale Public Library 20 E. Maple St. www.hinsdalelibrary.info...
Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 presented a letter strongly opposing the proposed Tax Increment Financing district along 55th Street in Clarendon Hills at the most recent Joint Review Board meeting Sept. 5. “To be clear, District 181 supports economic development, and we can even get behind tax increment financing (TIF) in the right situation and when properly deployed,” reads the letter, which was addressed to Clarendon Hills village manager Zachery Creer. “However, we do not support abuse of the TIF tool,...
Community Consolidated Elementary Dist. 181 Board 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16 Hinsdale Middle School, 100 S. Garfield Ave. www.d181.org On the draft agenda: full-day kindergarten update, summer capital projects summary, district office building update, enrollment report, summer 2024 programs review, 2024-25 curriculum and professional learning highlights Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 Hinsdale Central High School, 55th and Grant streets www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings On the...
Have you looked at your tax bill lately? The answer might be yes, if you’ve paid the second installment of property taxes in DuPage County recently. Or it might be no, if your taxes are rolled into your monthly mortgage payments. Tax bills contain a lot of information. On the right hand side is a column listing the fair cash value of your home, its assessed and equalized value and ultimately its net taxable value, to which the total tax rate is applied. That total tax rate is the sum of individual tax rates for the 13 t...
This fall’s presidential election is still two months away, but some candidates already are gearing up for the spring 2025 consolidated election. A total of 16 seats will be up for election among the four main Hinsdale taxing bodies — four each on the Hinsdale Village Board (including village president) and the Hinsdale Public Library Board, three on the Community Consolidated Elementary District 181 Board and a historic five on the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board. Tom Cauley’s fourth term as Hinsdale village president...
Hinsdale High School District 86 this week introduced D86 Community, a new board of education website that serves as an online hub to access board meeting schedules, agendas, documents, policies, communications, videos and more. This new website — which replaces the aging BoardDocs platform — was created to increase transparency for stakeholders and efficiency for administrators and board members. The website officially launched Tuesday can be accessed by visiting www.Hinsdale86.org, selecting “Board of Education” from the dr...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 12 Hinsdale Central High School 55th and Grant streets www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings Hinsdale Parks and Recreation Commission 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 Memorial Building 19 E. Chicago Ave. www.villageofhinsdale.org...
We typically don’t write editorials about taxing bodies we don’t cover. But with all that has transpired concerning the proposed TIF district along 55th Street in Clarendon Hills — and its potential impact on Hinsdale school districts — we feel compelled to share a few observations. First, a tax increment financing district — or TIF — is a complicated mechanism Illinois law allows local governments to use to redevelop a certain area to eliminate blight or prevent its onset. Without going into all the details here, the T...
By Ken Knutson [email protected] Using data to boost academic performance is important to Hinsdale High School District 86 Board members. And they want their new superintendent to make it a priority. At the board’s Aug. 22 meeting, Superintendent Michael Lach was given his five goals for the 2024-25 school year, the first of which is to “identify and improve the academic performance of all students and address achievements gaps in performance results.” Board President Cat Greenspon said there’s room for growth in the...
Hinsdale High School District 86 Board 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22 Hinsdale South High School 7401 Clarendon Hills Road, Darien www.hinsdale86.org/board-of-education/board-meetings On the agenda: new board of education website, superintendent goals, 2024-25 schedule of board committee meetings Hinsdale Economic Development Commission 8:45 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28 Memorial Building, 19 E. Chicago Ave. www.villageofhinsdale.org Hinsdale Public Library Board 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27 Hinsdale Public Library, 20 E. Maple St....
Even though the Clarendon Hills Village Board continued a public hearing on the proposed 55th Street TIF until September, trustees allowed residents who attended the meeting to speak for about an hour during the public comment portion of the agenda. All but two of the 17 residents — from Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale and Westmont — objected to the tax increment financing district proposed for 55th Street from Western Avenue to Holmes Avenue. They questioned whether the area qualifies for a TIF and how it will impact local sch...
