Corcoran: 'False and Misleading' Statements in D86 Mailers

Dear editor and fellow District 86 citizens,

Related to the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 school board election, two direct mail pieces were recently delivered to residents in Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Burr Ridge and Darien, one it appears by the "Building on Excellence" slate and another it appears by the "Committee to Re-Elect Brennan." Both mailers contained statements that were false and misleading about the Claudia Manley/Victor Casini/Edward Corcoran slate. The mailers attempt to damage our reputation with lies to gain voter influence. The untrue statements were rebutted by the group Citizens for Clarendon Hills (C4CH) in an email Sunday and are rebutted below.

This is exactly the type of bad behavior we intend to fix if we are elected.  District 86 deserves better.

Here is the truth regarding each false statement:

1. Our slate is called "Friends for District 86" not "Friends of Skoda/Barrett Challengers." This is an attempt to attach us to existing board members and a lawsuit, neither of which is part of our campaign. 
2. Manley/Casini/Corcoran are not paired with Roger Kempa, Richard Skoda or Dianne Barrett. 
3. We never supported lawsuits of any kind.
4. We never supported deficit spending in District 86.
5. We never opposed spending on technology or improving air quality.  However, even though we support the idea of air conditioning at the schools, we question the high spending on the AC systems and "no bid" contract awards associated with the project. We believe there was serious waste and abuse in the management, technology selection and bidding process.
6. We never claimed the District 86 credit rating isn’t important.  It is important.
7. We never supported Barrett’s tax rate suit and don’t plan to.
8. We don’t favor censorship. We favor the board following its fiduciary duty by making difficult decisions relating to curriculum.
9. We never opposed security improvements.
10. We never opposed science lab upgrades.

Here are some facts worth noting:

Before the 2009 election, Brennan and his slate received a campaign contribution from the Hinsdale High School Teachers Association. (See page 4 of the D-2 document attached.) In 2013, the board settled an HHSTA wage increase just weeks before this election. Our slate believes this was a bid to get support for their re-election. 

Tax rates have increased over the last eight years. Brennan claims in one of the mailers that tax rates have decreased. The evidence is on your tax bill and on page 72 of the district's 2012 audit: the tax rate has increased 23 percent since 2008. The rate in 2008 was 1.0804 and increased to 1.3309 in 2011. 

District 86 spending exceeded revenue in 2011 and 2012 (per page 89 of the 2012 audit). 

These are the true facts. 

We urge the voters to remove the incumbents and vote for a transparent and professional team deserving of your trust. 

Vote Manley, Casini, and Corcoran  (#1, #2, #7) April 9 for Hinsdale Township High School District 86 school board.

Respectfully

Edward A. Corcoran

Editor's note: Patch confirmed with several district residents unaffiliated with the "Friends for District 86" slate that the attached mailers, supplied to Patch by Corcoran, were recently received.