I'm Experiencing Retaliation: Hinsdale District 86 Board Member

DARIEN, IL – A Hinsdale High School District 86 board member contended last week that she has been retaliated against, which she said showed the board is yet to be high-functioning.

Board member Liz Mitha spoke near the end of a 4½-hour board meeting Thursday.

Mitha, who was elected in April 2025, did not give details on what she saw as retaliation, but appeared to direct her criticism to board President Catherine Greenspon and others.

She started by praising the board's choice of Chip Pettit as the superintendent and saying the district has made progress in measuring performance.

But the Darien resident said the board needed to improve in how it takes responsibility for itself.

"Over the last few months, I've experienced a shift in how I am treated as a board member," Mitha said. "Since the most recent reorganization, there's been a real disregard for my feedback and input, as well as a seeming intentional disregard for any questions or requests I share."

At the April 30 reorganization meeting, board member Mary Satchwell nominated Mitha as the new board president. The pair suggested Greenspon was micromanaging the district.

However, the board voted 5-2 for Greenspon, who is in her fourth year as president.

At Thursday's meeting, Mitha said board members must be able to share their opinions openly and honestly "without fear of retaliation like what I'm currently experiencing."

Greenspon said a difference exists between a disagreement and being disregarded.

"You have every opportunity to share your opinion," Greenspon said. "If somebody doesn't agree with you, that doesn't mean they're disregarding you. It simply means they don't agree with you. And repeating yourself over and over does not make people agree with you."

Mitha said she could present evidence to make her case.

"I don't need to go down this path, but I'm happy to do that," she said. "My requests are being dismissed out of hand, and I would just ask that we all treat each other respectfully and do so because we are all equals here."

Greenspon said she was fine with hearing the evidence.

But others said it was more appropriate to discuss such issues during the board's planned retreat in September.

Last year, Mitha nominated Satchwell for president. But neither openly resisted Greenspon and the others in the following year.

In her years at the helm, Greenspon has generally kept the board together on most issues. And she has not faced a vocal opponent until now.

That's a far cry from Greenspon's two immediate predecessors, Erik Held and Terri Walker, who supported a superintendent that a board minority openly opposed.

In 2023, Greenspon led a new board majority to oust Superintendent Tammy Prentiss and hire a new superintendent, Michael Lach. The board then soured on Lach, who left earlier this month.