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Barrett says new perspective needed on Hinsdale District 86 School Board
Updated: December 28, 2012 1:50PM
HINSDALE — Dianne Barrett, who will have served eight years on the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board when her current term expires in April, is not seeking re-election.
“There are four seats open,” Barrett said Thursday, Dec. 27. “It’s time for four new people to get in and bring a new perspective to the district.”
Barrett said she hopes a new board would “revisit policies and address the lack of accountability.”
She has frequently questioned and criticized how the School Board evaluates issues and handles its finances. Barrett filed a lawsuit against the district when the School Board did not give her access to recordings from closed session meetings she did not attend. She amended the lawsuit to also seek access to student records from the district’ special education department. Portions of the complaint are still pending.
Barrett, who lives in Hinsdale, said she hopes four new board members are elected to bring “a whole new breath of fresh air.”
Voters will have a choice of new and experienced candidates, as nine people, three of them incumbents, filed to be listed on the April 9 ballot.
Candidates’ nominating petitions were due Dec. 26.
The three incumbents running are Dennis Brennan of Hinsdale, Deirdre “DeeDee” Gorgol of Willowbrook, and Kay Gallo of Clarendon Hills.
Challenging them will be Darien residents Jennifer Babbington, Claudia Manley, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the School Board in 2011, and Roger J. Kempa, who submitted his petitions Dec. 26, along with Edward A. Corcoran of Clarendon Hills and Roseanne Rosenthal of Hinsdale.
Victor Casini, who lives in Burr Ridge also filed as a candidate. In the fall, Casini argued specific movies should not be shown in a film as literature class at Hinsdale South High School, prompting a large crowd to attend a School Board meeting to discuss the controversial topic.
Casini formally objected to “Brokeback Mountain” and “American Beauty” because of their graphic scenes, crude language and subject matter. The school district evaluated his objection and denied it.
Casini, who previously served on the Gower Elementary District 62 Board, said, if elected, his focus would be on “fiscal responsibility and transparent operations of the board.”
