Faculty votes no confidence in MP School leadership

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Comments were sometimes sharp and emotions ran high during parts of the Mt. Pleasant Community School District Board of Directors meeting Monday night at the Central Administration building.

A crowd of over 100 residents forced the moving of the meeting from the board room to the meeting room.

During the meeting, a no-confidence vote (97 percent in favor of the vote) and a supporting critical attack on school administration (see sidebar) was read and the board tabled action on extending the contract of Superintendent Dr. Mike Wells.

Diana Juntunen, who taught math in the district for 32 years before retiring, read the statement and also offered some first-hand impressions.

?I did a lot of substitute teaching this past year and I was very disturbed to notice that the morale of the teachers was lower than anytime I have been associated with the district,? she said. ?I saw teachers, who in October, wondered how they would make it through the end of the year.

?The comments I heard (from staff) were very disturbing?Quality schools begin with quality teachers and they perform best in a relaxed atmosphere and not when they have to be fearful every day.?

In presenting the results of the unofficial survey of the faculty, Juntunen said 99 teachers of 102 responding to the survey (97 percent) responded that they had no confidence in the leadership of the district. Faculty members also expressed a strong fear of retaliation if they let their views be known.

The reading of the statement from an anonymous faculty member drew a prolonged ovation from those gathered, many of whom were faculty members.

Following the presentation, school board President Brad Holtkamp said the board was aware of problems and was working on resolving the issues. ?We have been in contact with some of the teacher groups. We are going down this road and trying to take care of this. We want to work together to make this a district to be proud of. We don?t mean to put you in the position you feel you are in.?

Patron Todd Batey noted that extension of the superintendent?s three-year contract was on the agenda later and urged the board to proceed cautiously. ?I would hope after what you heard tonight that you would table the contract (extension). I would hope you would want to evaluate the superintendent before you offer a longer contract.?

Later in the meeting, the board did vote to table, with directors Lonny Morrow and Regina Erickson opposing, extending Wells? contract. The superintendent signed a three-year contract during the summer of 2013 and has completed his first year in the district.

In his report, Wells pointed out the district saved $113,000 in substitute teacher expense during the 2013-14 school year. He said the district spent $388,000 in 2012-13 and $275,000 this past year and staff members had 96-percent attendance during the year.

He admitted his has been adamant about having regular teachers in the classroom. ?I know some of the things we have done have not been popular, but when I was hired, I was not asked to be the most popular?We know the best people to teach are our teachers and when they are gone, it is a wasted day regardless of the substitute.?

Director Ken Feldmann took exception to Wells? last remark, saying, ?I would not call it a wasted day.?

?We can agree to disagree,? Wells responded to Feldmann?s statement.

Also in his report, Wells said Salem will be the test site for family-style meals next year. Family-style meals are where the food is already on the tables and students and staff do not have to wait in line to get their food.

Director Lyle Murray said he has heard some comments from Salem that the school would prefer to wait a year before instituting the program.

Wells said, ?that is not going to happen. We didn?t spend a year studying it so that when someone complains, we disband it.?

Murray said most of the families in Salem are in favor of the family-style meals but there are concerns which he feels can be handled.

?I don?t see any educational benefit from this,? offered another patron, adding that from what he has heard, some of the teachers were not on board with this.

Wells said one of the top concerns expressed by parents in surveys was the short time students have to eat and if they don?t have to stand in line, they will have more time to eat.

More news from Monday night?s meeting, including passage of a board resolution to have a special election Tuesday, Sept. 9, on the issuance of $16.9 million in general obligation bonds, to finance school renovations and additions and technology upgrades, will be published in Wednesday?s News.

Directors will meet again in regular session Monday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Central Administration building.