Tuesday, May 14, 2013
More than $370,000 in main hallway improvements at both schools could be deferred if the board goes with the recommendation of its facilities committee.
The District 86 Board of Education’s facilities committee recommended after a three-hour meeting Thursday that the board direct administration to rebid several previously approved summer projects and defer others to future years, board member and facilities committee chairman Ed Corcoran said. Among the items that the committee wants to defer is $372,000 in main hallway renovations at Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South that would include new lighting, flooring, and paint. “Those projects are being recommended to be deferred until we are able to review the cost for doing that on a campus-wide basis,” said Corcoran, who serves on the committee along with Michael Kuhn and Richard Skoda. Corcoran, an engineer who was elected to the board in …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Barrett attended her last District 86 board meeting as a member Monday night at Hinsdale Central, and had some words of advice for her successors.
Dianne Barrett’s favorite experiences as a District 86 board member were her talks with dedicated Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South parents about their kids. “I was all ears to the parents who had issues and wanted to see them heard,” the board member who has waged a long legal fight against the district over access to records said during her final board meeting Monday night at Hinsdale Central. Barrett, who served two four-year terms and chose not to run for re-election this spring, addressed the audience about her hopes for the new board after she was honored along with fellow outgoing board member Dennis Brennan and DeeDee Gorgol. Barrett said she hopes board members who often vote as part of a minority will not be denied information …
Monday, May 6, 2013
The man who was picked to replace Dennis Brennan as board president Monday night said efficiency is one of his top priorities and that he's not a "one-issue board member" defined by last year's Hinsdale South movie controversy.
The new District 86 Board of Education took its first actions Monday night and among them was the appointment of a new board president. Victor Casini was elected by a unanimous board vote to take over the body’s leading role that for the last six years has been filled by Dennis Brennan, whose four-year term ended Monday night along with those of DeeDee Gorgol and Dianne Barrett. Casini, a Hinsdale South parent and Burr Ridge resident, is among the three new board members elected along with incumbent Kay Gallo on April 9. The attorney and former Gower School District 62 board member said he does not see himself as above the other six board members, and one of his main goals as president will be to make board meetings more efficient. “I like…
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
District 86's general contractor said the low number of subcontractors bidding on several summer-improvement packages is actually due to a construction market on the rise and a corresponding lack of desire by firms to take on small-scope projects.
The District 86 Board of Education approved the summer construction bids recommended by its general contractor last week despite two board members being unhappy with two one-bid packages and a request from a future board member to postpone the vote until the new board is seated. Board members voted 5-2 on April 22 to approve the selected subcontractors, who are expected to carry out about $1.1 million in construction work the board budgeted for this summer, including main hall renovations at both Hinsdale Central and Hinsdale South, a new girls locker room at South, and new exhaust fans at Central. Dianne Barrett and Richard Skoda casted the “no” votes. Both dissenters said receiving only one bid on two of the eight packages—electrical …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Freshman orientation will take place on the Tuesday before, with two teacher institute days in between, according to the calendar approved Monday by the District 86 school board.
The first days of the District 86 school year will go differently this August than they have in years’ past. The District 86 Board of Education approved by a 6-1 vote Monday a 2013-14 calendar that schedules freshman orientation on a Tuesday and the first full instructional day the following Friday in order to preserve the orientation day while keeping semesters balanced and complying with a new state statute. According to next year’s calendar, which got the support of all board members except Richard Skoda, freshmen will come in for orientation on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 20. Two teacher institute days will then take place on Aug. 21 and Aug. 22, before the entire student body comes in for the first full day of instruction on Friday, …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
After serving as Hinsdale Central's principal for three years, Michael McGrory will leave District 86 at the end of June.
Hinsdale Central Principal Michael McGrory is leaving District 86, according to Superintendent Nick Wahl. McGrory, who has been Hinsdale Central's principal for the last three years, has accepted the position of principal at Muscatine High School in Iowa, McGrory's home state, and his last day of work in Hinsdale will be June 30. "We want to thank Mr. McGrory for his three years of service to the Hinsdale Central school community, and wish the best to him and his family in their move back to Iowa," Wahl wrote in a letter to the community. McGrory was quoted in the letter as saying the decision was a difficult one and that working at Hinsdale Central has been a "privilege and great administrative experience." "However, I knew going back to…
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
The board member who lost her bid for reelection last week said she's concerned some of the goals put in place during her four years won't be realized.
DeeDee Gorgol said she’ll feel a little down after her last meeting as a District 86 board member in May. “It will be sad,” Gorgol said. “You make a group of friends and have a common interest and goal and it will be sad because … I’m afraid maybe some of the goals we were putting out there won’t be realized.” Gorgol and Board President Dennis Brennan are current board members who failed in their bid for reelection last week running as part of a slate that also featured current board member Kay Gallo and Roseanne Rosenthal. Gallo was the slate’s only winner, as the “Friends for District 86” slate of Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley swept the other three open spots. Gorgol said the results of the election were disappointing, …
Monday, April 15, 2013
The slate that placed three winners in last week's election reemphasized its promise for board accountability and transparency in a letter to the editor.
- ELECTIONS
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Monday, April 15
The following is a letter to the editor submitted by the "Friends for District 86" candidate slate: Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley, who ran as "Friends for District 86" would like to thank our supporters and volunteers for all their hard work and dedication during the District 86 school board campaign. We are humbled and honored to be able to serve the citizens of District 86 and will do our best to live up to community expectations. We will promote educational excellence within the district. In addition, we also desire to activate the board committee structure to bring skills and expertise from the community into the district. We will reach out again to all community members in the spirit of collaboration to volunteer for …
Friday, April 12, 2013
Dennis Brennan said he wishes the "Friends for District 86" winners well, but warned that serving on the board is a lot harder than criticizing it from the audience.
District 86 Board President Dennis Brennan said he believes his failed reelection bid is partly the result of serving on school boards that have taken action to improve the district and its facilities. “If you sit there and do nothing, you’ll probably get reelected,” Brennan said Thursday, more than a day after his four-candidate slate placed only one winner. “But if you try to get something done … you’re going to probably raise the opposition, whoever that is.” In 2013, that opposition was “Friends for District 86,” the candidate slate of Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley that managed to go three-for-three Tuesday after a campaign centered around improving fiscal responsibility, transparency, and community involvement in …
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Challengers Victor Casini, Ed Corcoran and Claudia Manley all won spots on the District 86 Board of Education Tuesday after a contentious campaign.
Claudia Manley called it “unbelievable.” Ed Corcoran was “elated.” Victor Casini said it was “a pleasant surprise.” Following the election of all three “Friends for District 86” candidates Tuesday in the race for District 86 school board, Manley, Corcoran and Casini all said the sweep was unexpected, but also symbolic. “I think it sends a message that the platform that we ran on resonated with District 86 citizens,” Casini said. “Namely, fiscal responsibility, transparency and community involvement.” Corcoran agreed that the community showed its support for the substance of the “Friends” slate’s platform. He also said he thought voters reacted to the group’s campaign approach. “We tried to have a positive campaign, talking about what we’re…
Ed Corcoran
12:21 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Sue - this project and others need further review and we have no information on what this project costs if the entire school was remodeled in this manner. There should be no panic and all measures of prudence and review should be undertaken to protect both students and taxpayers. The Remodeling project is much more than painting - it is new flooring, locker painting and maintenance, new lighting… more ›