Hinsdale District 86 school board president Richard Skoda.
Tea Party followers got elected with a low turnout to the Hinsdale District 86 board with an agenda of driving out experienced teachers.
And it looks like that they are making headway.
On the one hand, the Hinsdale teachers union is winning wide-spread support from a community that is concerned about the possibility of a decline in the quality of the historically high performing school district in the western Chicago suburbs.
On the other, experienced staff are leaving in unprecedented numbers because of the uncertainty of what is to come.
Official figures are hard to come by.
But here is what I have heard:
At least 8 para-professionals have left as of last Friday. But more quit this week.
The total number of staff that have left since the new majority was elected may be more than 50.
This includes all the top administrators including both principals.
The talent pool for Central had no candidate with experience as a principal.
At Hinsdale South they hired principal with 100% negative rating.
Fred Klonsky 
I am trying to view this situation as “give a man enough rope to hang himself”. This board is demonstrating why Tea Party ideas are a dead end.
Can the citizens of Hinsdale call for a recall election? If not they should at least go to the board meetings and chant “we will remember, come November!!” It worked in my district 42 years ago!! WOW!! I’m OLD!!!!!
The same extreme group now has College of DuPage on their agenda. At the last COD board meeting, Skoda and his group conducted themselves with all the decorum generally associated with a lynch mob–hollering and heckling when others were trying to speak. As far as teacher hiring in D86 is concerned, it is impossible to get a straight story out the present board majority (of four) and their subservient administration. On August 18, we were told we have no vacancies at Central and one at South because a teacher was promoted–but why are more vacancies being advertised on the District website? And why are they still hiring in August, when most districts scooped up the best applicants back in April? Are they looking for desperate candidates who (they hope) will work for lower pay? Three teachers resigned in August–why were there only two replacement hires? The mysteries multiply. Ironic that this present majority claims to value transparency, when they practice just the opposite.–Linda Burke
I am afraid if Rauner gets in, we are going to see more draconian demands by Skoda and others like him. Outlawing public employee strikes, ending prevailing wage, making Illinois a right to work state, pushing charter schools, taxing our pensions and social security, changing public pensions to 401Ks, and ending fair share for teachers are all on the Rauner agenda.
Skoda, along with “Nekritz-Biss & Associates, The Pension Theft Experts”, will rejoice if Rauner wins. Lets do our best disappoint them!
“Outlawing public employee strikes, ending prevailing wage, making Illinois a right to work state, pushing charter schools, taxing our pensions and social security, changing public pensions to 401Ks, and ending fair share for teachers are all on the Rauner agenda.” all require legislative action. Is it reasonable to think that is going to happen?
I guess you are unaware of Speaker Madigan’s stance on education funding and educators.
Probably at least some of them would happen. Look at what happened in Wisconsin. Some of Rauner’s supporters are stating he will “break the backs of the two teachers unions”.
Rauner has said repeatedly he would personally financially support candidates that demonstrate they share his vision on these types of issues. If they don’t go along with him, he will support their opponent in the next election cycle. If elected, Rauner will be in office 4 years. The entire Illinois house and some Illinois state senate will be up in 2 years.
The Superintendent left in the middle of last year as well!
Why elect him and run the risk? He will owe all sorts of political favors to the extreme element even if he is trying to market himself as a sort of crossover figure. –Linda Burke
I remember years ago when a particular western suburban school district elected a few “back-to-basics” extremists to the school board. Cut taxes, cut teachers, cut programs, etc. Few people would have guessed in those pre-Tea-Party days how much damage they would cause. Not only did the schools suffer, but as parents left in droves the demographics and property values changed.
The school district never again attained the quality of education or the comparative property values that it once had. There are enough people in Hinsdale with a “couldn’t happen here” attitude to allow Skoda et al to get elected. I sincerely hope this same scenario doesn’t happen to Hinsdale. I loved the 13 years my family and I lived in that school district.
WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What west suburban district are you speaking of and what was the time period. I’m not sure why you would be cryptic about the name.
SAD DAYS FOR TEACHERS – there soon will be no one left to teach our youth. Maybe the Board can take over literally. Ugh —