Hinsdale D86 Critic Running For Board
HINSDALE, IL – Darien resident Liz Mitha has criticized the Hinsdale High School District 86 board, contending Hinsdale South has gotten the short end of the stick.
On Thursday, Mitha, a member of the Darien-based Cass School District 63 board, announced she would run for District 86's board in the April 1 election.
In a statement, Mitha said that in her time on the Cass board, test scores and attendance have increased and the district's financial rating has improved.
She also noted District 63 voters passed a tax increase referendum in 2022 to pay for construction projects at the district's schools.
At a District 86 board meeting in December, Mitha spoke about the disparity between Hinsdale South and Central high schools. The larger and wealthier Central has long offered a greater course selection than South.
"South students shouldn't be penalized because the board has decided to keep Central much larger than South," she said. "Students at South are 11 times more likely to have a course denied," citing the district's data .
In February, Mitha took exception to a petition read at a previous board meeting by Central area residents that said the two schools were "very different" and that discouraged completely equalizing course offerings.
Mitha said the petition insinuated that South's students were less intelligent and capable than their Central peers.
In April, Mitha questioned the board's handling of the teachers union's criticism of its actions. She referred specifically to comments from board member Jeff Waters at an earlier meeting when the room was full of union protesters. At that meeting, Waters called for the board to discuss the union contract behind closed doors, even though the union was the first year of a four-year agreement.
"Rather than try to validate any concerns or indicate a desire to work together, board members said things like, 'I want to add collective bargaining to the agenda' and 'It's an ambush,'" Mitha said.
Mitha serves on the School Association for Special Education in DuPage County. In Cass District 63, she has served on the finance, facilities and parent-teacher advisory committees.
Mitha is an education recruitment consultant and a former teacher with a master's degree in public policy from UCLA, where she focused on education policy.
She has also volunteered as a Cub Scout den leader, Big Brother Big Sister mentor, English-as-a-second-language teacher for refugees and a member of the Hinsdale South Community Action Team.
She lives in Darien with her husband, a partner at a corporate law firm, and two children, both future Hinsdale South students.
In April's election, five of District 86's seven board seats are up. Four are for four-year terms, one is for two years.
Mitha said she is running for a four-year seat. The only other publicly announced candidate , Jeff Waters, is seeking a two-year seat.
The filing period for candidates starts Tuesday and lasts through the following Monday.
