Wrenshall Board hears from unhappy residents

Nearly two dozen people attended Monday's Wrenshall school board meeting, none of them to address agenda items.

Four people spoke; two others belatedly said they wanted to give their time to the first speaker. That was Tony Sheda, a frequent speaker at Wrenshall school board meetings. The longtime resident repeated a litany of past complaints to the board, starting with the assertion that a petition that led to the removal of a board-appointed member, Bill Dian, last September was illegal. Sheda blamed "all the nastiness" and extra costs on Unite Wrenshall, the citizen group that gathered signatures to overturn a decision made by the board with no public candidate interviews. "You didn't interview Bill Dian, did you?" he asked several board members, who all nodded or said no quietly, until treasurer Nicole Krisak spoke up.

"As far as interviewing, no, there was no interviewing. Was discussion happened beforehand? Yes, discussion happened beforehand," Krisak said, adding that people discussed "on the phone" beforehand.

"We talked and said who was interested, nobody interviewed anybody," said Jack Eudy, board chair at the time of the appointment.

The petition that Sheda continues to dispute long after resolution stated that Dian was "interviewed privately by the board chair and a few school board members rather than holding a public interview process."

On Monday, Sheda also complained about statements made by Wrenshall superintendent Kim Belcastro during a March board meeting about the costs of staff time used to deal with his complaints and being "beat up" by community members. He claimed three local newspapers "ridiculed" him in stories reporting about the March meeting, holding up and reading excerpts from the stories, before asking the employee who verified the petition signatures and who has spent work time on issues raised by Sheda if she had ever seen him. She didn't respond.

Sheda also repeated demands that a Wrenshall teacher be disciplined for speaking with him as he made his way from a meeting to the door. "I can't walk out of here and be harrassed all the way to the front door," he said.

Sheda told the school board that he had consulted with an attorney and the "Human Rights division of the federal government," and they had referred him to a federal attorney. Sheda "they're probably gonna involve the school."

The school board was quiet until Sheda exceeded his four minutes of speaking time, encouraging him to wrap up his speech when an alarm sounded. As he finished a minute or two later, board chair Misty Bergman assured Sheda the board was looking into his ongoing complaints and would "have a response."

Later in the meeting, board member Cindy Bourn said the board had decided during its "special" meetings - presumably referring to two closed board meetings on May 11 - that there would be "no more talking to the press."

"If the school wants the press to know something, we'll make a special statement," Bourne said, while other board members agreed. The new policy will include both board members and superintendent Belcastro.

Regarding the special meetings, public bodies are required to state the reasons for closing any meetings: the reasons given for the May 11 meetings were "preliminary consideration of allegations against an employee" and for "confidential discussion with legal counsel regarding pending complaint against school district." Neither agenda mentioned discussion of policies regarding school communications and the board took no action following each meeting.

Also unhappy

Speaking after Sheda, parent Ethan Harvey told the board he was upset with the way they were acting.

"We're losing good teachers because of how several of you are handling things here. I'm frankly disgusted," he said. "You don't have the students in mind, you don't have our faculty in mind and it upsets the hell out of me," Harvey said.

Board member Cindy Bourn asked Harvey for specifics. "What are we doing that's upsetting the teachers?" she said.

"You have more focus on trying to shut this school down or reduce taxpayer dollars, in my opinion," he responded. "You do not focus on listening to our staff and listening to our students and having their education in their best interests."

Bourn interrupted Harvey several times, asking for specifics. The two discussed Harvey's assertions about a lack of support for school staff and administration, and things he said he's heard about teachers who want to leave because they're fed up. He pointed out the resignations announced earlier in the meeting, including the school activities director and two math teachers.

As the back-and-forth continued, Harvey eventually told Bourn he didn't want to hear what she had to say anymore. "These are my four minutes," he told, to which she responded that the board could subtract her speaking time from those minutes. Another board member told him she'd like to talk with him. "I'm just letting you know, the community is upset with a certain section of this board," he said.

Carol Anderson told the board they're doing a good job, then donated her time to Sheda.

Kudos to kindness

Annie Dugan then addressed the board, praising district staff for their work with her youngest son, and praising the mission statement and strategic plan the board had discussed earlier in the meeting.

"Because that strategic plan makes me feel like my student has a spot here. And that your vision really is for all learners and all futures," Dugan said. "That kind of vision and leadership, you have truly worked with a superintendent that set the tone for that. I'm so grateful you have her leadership."

Dugan went on to talk about the "culture of kindness" at the school, and praised administrators and senior teachers for being able to recognize and find talent in potential teachers and staff.

She got the biggest applause of the night when she told the board: "I love that you put that mission statement of 'we,' because it's all of us together doing it," she said, talking about working as a team, and listening to all voices, including at the open forum.

"I'm so thankful to Belcastro and Blanchard and all of the teaching staff here and to the board for developing that amazing tradition. Thank you."

Also Monday, board members decided to hold a closed meeting to review principal Michelle Blanchard's evaluation prior to contract negotiations on May 25. Bourn suggested they also do Belcastro's performance review during the same closed meeting.

"It's the committee that negotiates the contract but they only do that if the board agrees to extend," Bourn asked Belcastro, who confirmed.

In other matters Monday, Wrenshall school board members:

• Adopted the Minnesota School Board Association's harassment and violence policy;

• Approved Luke Wargin as activities director to replace Jeremy Zywicki, who took a job with the Esko school district,

• Adopted the World's Best Workforce plan for the 2021-22 school year;

• Approved membership in the Northern Lights Special Education Cooperative for the next school year.

• Superintendent Kim Belcastro presented service plaques and "Star of the Year" awards to a number of staff members at the start of Monday's meeting.