This petition is based on available information obtained from public meetings, public records and news media coverage. The following petition sets forth reasonable inferences and opinions that can be drawn from this publicly available information.

• Tammy Prentiss intentionally misled School District 86 stakeholders, the Board of Education and the media during the January 13, 2022, Board meeting when she read aloud a divisive and defamatory letter (see image above) purportedly received from Valda Valbrun, an outside Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) consultant who had sent an email the previous day withdrawing her proposal to conduct DE&I training for the District.

• Superintendent Prentiss failed to disclose that she added two highly inflammatory sentences to Valbrun’s original language the day after receipt, which revisions labeled Hinsdale as “shameful”, “a dangerous place” to work and stated that Valbrun feared for her “physical” safety.

• Superintendent Prentiss’ claim that she merely added the inflammatory language a day later at Valbrun’s request is not credible. Even if this dubious account were true, the Superintendent should have acknowledged her participation in embellishing Valbrun’s email before reading it publicly.

• Superintendent Prentiss acted dishonestly and unethically in deliberately creating the impression that the doctored withdrawal letter had been submitted by Valbrun.

• Superintendent Prentiss took the unusual step of reading the embellished letter aloud at the 1/13/22 Board meeting, without prior Board approval, triggering highly negative media coverage in the Chicago Tribune, local weekly newspapers and television news stations, which portrayed Hinsdale and other District 86 communities as racist and openly hostile to persons of color.

• Through her deliberate misrepresentations, Superintendent Prentiss attempted to advance her extreme DE&I agenda by “equity shaming” District 86 and creating a false media narrative that damaged the reputation of Hinsdale and all other the communities comprising D86.

• Superintendent Prentiss exhibited unsound and unprofessional judgment, as well as a callous disregard for the welfare of District 86 students, by distributing the misleading and divisive withdrawal letter in a communication emailed to all students and their parents.

• The Board should immediately retain an independent law firm (not currently representing District 86) to conduct a comprehensive investigation into:

     1. The Superintendent’s involvement (and any Board member’s involvement) in preparing and publicizing the altered Valbrun letter; and
     2. The accuracy of various allegations raised by Valbrun in her original letter; and
     3. Whether the Superintendent or any Board member improperly communicated with or otherwise favored or assisted Valbrun Consulting in securing business with the District.

• Although the goals of DE&I training are commendable, Superintendent Prentiss has twice failed to retain a qualified and professional DE&I consultant, each time proposing an individual whose previous social media posts alienated, polarized or insulted the D86 community.

• 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.

• Superintendent Prentiss has supported the implementation of restrictive procedures which delay and even block Board members from placing items on the agenda for timely consideration by the full Board.

• Board meetings are conducted in a manner which is designed to minimize and marginalize public input.

• Superintendent Prentiss refused Board members’ request to convene an emergency meeting (as numerous other school districts did, including District 181) to discuss how to respond to a recent TRO granted by a downstate Illinois court suspending Gov. Pritzker’s mask mandate. Without the input from the full Board, the Superintendent (and the Board President) autocratically decided to continue the mandatory masking policy.

• Tammy Prentiss has acted unethically by misleading D86 stakeholders and irreparably breaking the trust of the D86 community.

• Tammy Prentiss’ untested and unorthodox educational philosophies are inconsistent with our community values.

• Tammy Prentiss has defamed and insulted the communities of District 86 and recklessly damaged municipal reputations.

• Tammy Prentiss’ autocratic, non-transparent style of leadership has marginalized duly elected Board members and is a having destructive and polarizing effect on the District.

• Tammy Prentiss has lost the trust, confidence and respect of a majority of the stakeholders of District 86.

• Tammy Prentiss can no longer effectively carry out her responsibilities as the Superintendent of District 86. Her divisive conduct, lack of integrity and inability to build consensus have negated her ability to perform her job.

• For the foregoing reasons, the undersigned persons request that Tammy Prentiss immediately resign from her position of Superintendent of School District 86.

• If she refuses to resign, the undersigned persons request that the D86 Board of Education promptly put Tammy Prentiss on administrative leave, take the necessary actions to remove Prentiss from her position and terminate her contract for cause.

• The undersigned individuals represent that they are residents of the communities that comprise Hinsdale Township High School District #86.