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Letter: District 86 failing?
Updated: August 14, 2012 9:08AM
District 86 failing?
It does not take a cynical eye to notice that our public school administrators and boards of education are not exactly subjected to tough interrogation by community media. There is an agenda. Protect the “education paradise” myth. Keep the housing market percolating. Ensure robust real estate advertising revenue for years to come.
We get it. Nonetheless, one of the most egregious examples of journalistic malpractice I’ve ever seen appears in the Aug. 9 edition of The Doings.
The Illinois Policy Institute rated local taxing bodies on web site transparency, emphasizing financial disclosure. Taxpayers should demand transparency. The Institute concluded Hinsdale High School District 86 received an “F”. This is the third consecutive transparency “F” for District 86 since 2011. And how does reporter Kimberly Fornek characterize the news?
“(The district’s) score of 59.2 is very close to passing, (Institute government reform director Brian) Costin said, but it showed little improvement (0.1)” from its previous score.
Close to passing? The obvious headline: “District 86 fails transparency test again.” Actual headline: “District 86 still behind.”
The reporter also gave no indication she sought comment from a District 86 administrator. I’d start with Superintendent Nicholas Wahl.
And while on the phone, I’d have asked, “How far behind is the Hinsdale Central exterior construction?” Two weeks from the start of school, much of Central’s campus is a war zone. But The Doings did not publish an update, or a photo. We’ll have to assume the project is “still behind.”
Steve Woodward
Burr Ridge
