Protesters Call For Spooner Superintendent To Resign

Protesters Believe Teachers Are Being 'Bullied'

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The voices are growing louder against the new administration of the Spooner Area School District.  And now, there’s a call for their resignation starting from the very top.

On Thursday, students, parents and longtime residents told FOX 21’s Dan Hanger that Spooner Superintendent Michelle Schwab is a “bully” and is forcing dozens of longtime teachers and staff to flee the district.

And on Thursday – the day before the end of the school year – hundreds showed up at the football field with signs and petitions for the superintendent and school board to resign.

“It is time to take a stand and take back our school. We stand with our staff and we are so sad that it has come to this and they are fleeing from our school,” shouted one protest organizer and mother to the group of more than 250.

Over and over again Thursday, the protesters said Supt. Schwab, who was newly hired a year ago, is going about the district’s shortfall of nearly $1 million in a way that’s destroying Spooner’s pride.

“My friends who are teachers call me and say this is how I was treated today and they are crying. And it’s horrible,” said co-organizer Betsy Salquistan while holding back tears.

“It’s the way they do it. It’s the bullying. It’s the — my way or out,” explained Richard Melton, a longtime Spooner resident of more than 30 years.

“I am really irritated because of the toxic work environment that has been created by the current administration,” said Robert Watkins, another longtime Spooner resident of 35 years.

In a written statement e-mailed to the media on Wednesday, the district said over the past school year at least 42 employees either resigned, retired or did not have their contracts renewed – but were never fired.

“Anybody that stands up is targeted,” said Melton.

The group of at least 250 on Thursday strongly believes longtime teachers and staff were forced out by Superintendent Schwab and a mostly new school board.

“We’ve had school board member actually say the current situation is like flushing the toilet. Come on. That’s literally treating people like crap,” said Watkins.

“I taught here for 15 years. I’m very distressed at the loss of talent that’s on the staff. They’re leaving on mass. They’re being harassed,” explained a former teacher while signing a petition to call for the resignation of the administration.

“You can’t get to her. The people who have asked for meetings with her. It’s a lot of deceit — squirreling around all of the questions,” Melton said.

FOX 21’s Hanger repeatedly requested an on-camera interview with Superintendent Schwab – more than a day in advance before arriving to cover the protest Thursday, but all efforts were unsuccessful and Ms. Schwab never came out of the building to address the issues.

Instead, Hanger was repeatedly referred back to the press release sent out on Wednesday. (For the interaction with an unidentified woman who spoke on behalf of Schwab, click on the video above)

District officials attribute their difficult decisions to not only the deficit but also state and federal changes like the Affordable Care Act.

Below is the complete press release given to the media on Wednesday.

Spooner Area School District Board President and Superintendent
Comment on Staff Departures and Recent Community Assembly

Spooner, WI – School Board President, John Hedlund, provided the following statement in response to recent student and community involvement with a public assembly at the high school. The district believes that the assembly and recent social media traffic may be related to staff departures and recent cost saving measures taken by the Board of Education.

“The 2014-15 school year began with a nearly $1 million deficit,” said Board President, John Hedlund. “The Board of Education has had a year full of difficult decisions. It is never easy to see well-respected and qualified staff leave an organization and I understand why emotions may run high,” said Hedlund.

“The truth is, our school district cannot afford to operate as we have in previous years. Change isn’t always easy to accept, but we have to move our District forward so that our students continue to have access to quality education. We are affected locally by state and federal changes, making our decisions difficult”.

Spooner Area School District Superintendent, Michelle Schwab, provided the following statement:

“With the need to implement updated school policies, a significant budget deficit, required compliance with the Affordable Care Act, a 2014-15 budgeted liability of $870,000 for post-employment benefits and the resignations of long time respected staff – I can understand the frustration,” said Superintendent Michelle Schwab.

“In the last school year, an entirely new administrative team was put into place, including myself. We faced many issues and were tasked with reducing the deficit, examining student achievement and ensuring that district operations complied with state and federal regulations. In addressing several areas, adjustments needed to be made and we see how these have had an impact. Our staff and community have endured a great deal this year.”

“Emotions are expected and we strive to support those that come forward by providing factual information.” Schwab said. “I am confident the school district has a bright future and I look forward to putting these challenging times behind us.”

The Board of Education reviewed their approvals of staff departures this week and the following data is being shared:

Departures between July 2014 and June 2015:

16 Contracted Employee Resignations; there are 104 total contracted staff

9 Classified Employee Resignations; there are 61 total classified staff

8 Contracted Employee Retirements

5 Classified Employee Retirements

4 Non-renewals – Contracted positions eliminated due to budget cuts

The 42 staff members represent 21.96 FTE (Full Time Equivalency). Eight staff members left between July 1 and October 1; and one staff member was on a board approved sabbatical all year. During the 2014-15 school year, no employee was terminated and non-renewals were not based on performance.