Dupage Policy Journal

A Hinsdale High School District 86 parent warned the district's board against promoting Marxist "diversity, equity and inclusion" (DEI) ideology upon students in the district, or else it risked becoming "a Lyons Township."

At a Committee of the Whole meeting last Thursday, Angela Sartori of Clarendon Hills told board members that what is happening at Lyons Township H.S.-- which has seen violent attacks and increased divisiveness since hiring a full-time "director of diversity and inclusion" last August-- could also happen in neighboring Hinsdale if they choose a similar path.

"We have a situation in a neighboring district, Lyons Township. Go ahead and look up “Lyons Township Attack” if you want more information. You will see all the news articles regarding Lyons Township," Sartori said. "They hired a DEI consultant (Jennifer Rowe) there. Their racial tensions have gone up, not down. They have a serious situation there where there was no response leading up to this attack. There was not the proper response to the attack, nor after the attack. And they’re in a lot of legal hot water."

"D86 does not need that kind of trouble. We do not need this equity training to be pushed on to us," she said. "We do not want to be a Lyons Township. You can see (there) what’s happening when the DEI consultants come in and really start doing their work."

Sartori said current District 86 Superintendent Tammy Prentiss, 54, of Geneva, is trying to foment racial tensions at Hinsdale Central and South High Schools, attempting to hire consultants with similar views to Rowe's.

Rowe is developing programming to re-train white Lyons Township students she believes are racist, and to stop their "micro aggressions."

"What (Prentiss) has done is negligent. She has made very poor decisions the last eight months," Sartori said.

As of Monday, 1,629 people had signed a petition calling for Prentiss' removal. That's after she called Hinsdale "shameful" and described it as a "dangerous" place to work, because community members don't support DEI.

"Superintendent Prentiss has attempted to push through her own politicized DE&I agenda, in an unfair and non-transparent process, utilizing a hand-picked “Culture, Equity and Leadership Team” (CELT), whose meetings are closed to a majority of Board members and the public and whose minutes are kept confidential," the petition said.

Sartori said Prentiss should not be allowed to hire DEI consultants without informing taxpayers.

"The actions should be public. They should not be private and held in secrecy.. for Prentiss to make the decisions," she said.

The District 86 Board includes UBS Wealth Manager Erik Held, 40, of Westmont, Loyola University School of Law professor Kathleen Hirsman, 68, of Clarendon Hills, McGraw Hill "diversity and inclusion" executive Terri Walker, 55, of Hinsdale, insurance analyst Peggy James, 55, of Hinsdale, academic counselor Cynthia Hanson, 50, of Burr Ridge, former high school math teacher Debbie Levinthal, 54, of Hinsdale, and derivatives trader Jeff Waters, 50, of Hinsdale.