by Scott Jentsch

The School Board met April 11, 2022 with several items on the agenda of note, including the approval of two policies having to do with student fundraising and non-school affiliated groups, and most importantly, the approval of the proposed English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum. Also on the agenda was the recognition of outgoing Board member Kate Unger for her three years of service and of the Eisenhower High School Academic Decathlon team, which achieved back-to-back State championships, as well as a status update and tour of Eisenhower Middle/High School.

Recognitions

Kate Unger served on the School Board for three years (one term). She was recognized during the meeting for serving as Treasurer in the past and as chair of the Personnel Committee, where she worked to improve the Superintendent review process. She also was one of the most prepared for meetings and asked questions that helped discussions progress and to help the public understand issues at a deeper level. Thank you, Kate, for your service! (Watch the video)

The Eisenhower Middle/High School Academic Decathlon team was recognized for their achievements, including being Division 3 State Champions. Twelve students and coach Laura Ramthun were introduced by Kevin Fitzgerald (Athletics & Activities Director) and congratulated for their third State Championship in a row. (Watch the video)

Eisenhower Update & Building Tour

Principal Matthew Buckley was joined by Ike admins Kristine Springer and Kevin Gemignani (Associate Principals) and Kevin Fitzgerald to provide a short slide presentation for the periodic school update for Eisenhower Middle/High School (Watch the video), followed by a tour of the school's "maker space," which is roughly equivalent to West's PhabLab. The robotics equipment and Rube Goldberg machines were interesting to look at, but a demonstration would have made it even more interesting and helped those in attendance to appreciate what the equipment did. Anyone that attended the last Ike tour will recognize the maker space, as that was also on that tour as well. Perhaps someday, the community will be able to see more of the school, as they did with West Middle/High School earlier this year.

Board members practicing "whole-body listening" during the presentation.

One item of note from the presentation was that 80% of students participate in at least one co-curricular activity (sports, marching band, Academic Decathlon, etc.), with students participating in one had an average GPA of 3.48 and more than one had an average GPA of 3.6. This emphasizes the importance of co-curriculars to the success of our students and those activities need to be considered as part of the educational experience.

Policy Approvals

The Board approved both policies that were on the agenda for pending approval. Both Policy 5830 - Student Fundraising (replacing current policy 1324 - Fundraising) and Policy 9700 - Relations with Non-school Affiliated Groups were passed unanimously without discussion, even though a District resident expressed some concern about the language of 5830.

English Language Arts Curriculum Approval and the Conflict of Interest Accusation

I saved this item for last, as it has the largest impact on the School District. Curriculum materials are reviewed on a rotating basis, and this one follows similar reviews for Math and for Social Studies. It also represents a significant investment by the School District, with the K-8 program totalling $821,097 and the High School program with a cost of $61,942.

There was an extensive presentation given March 28, 2022 by admin staff and teaching staff, which spent two years evaluating options and investigating the suitability of this curriculum before presenting it for approval. The materials were available for two weeks since that presentation, where Board members and the public could review them and ask admin staff any questions or provide feedback. I took advantage of this opportunity, and I came away impressed with what I saw and how they answered my concerns and discussed how it would be implemented if approved.

I expected the approval vote to be a formality, as past approvals have pretty much been. However, there were some interesting comments by Board members, including an accusation of a conflict of interest on the part of another Board member in this process. (Watch the video)

Board member Ron Seidl asked how long test scores would take to show the impact of this new curriculum and if there are any guarantees made by the company behind the curriculum. Director of Elementary Teaching & Learning Brady Reinke responded by saying that we would see results between 2-3 years later. Superintendent Joe Garza reminded everyone that the curriculum is a tool and one element in a comprehensive education system, much like an iPad or Chromebook. Chief Academic Officer Kellie Sanders assured Board members that we may see results sooner, depending on a multitude of factors, including how students, families, and teachers respond to the new curriculum.

Board member Amy Crosby asked a question about the costs of consumable items, especially when it came to the end of the six-year term of the current purchase agreement. Director of Secondary Teaching & Learning Kelli Kwiatkowski addressed those details.

Board president Janet Schulz asked for someone to make a motion to separate the approval votes for the elementary and high school elements separately. Kate Unger made a motion to approve the K-8 portion and stated that she supported the approval. Crosby expressed support as well, relating a personal experience with her students.

Board vice-president Mitch Helmer then read a statement from his laptop (which he might have been composing earlier in the meeting, given his lack of focus and attention during the Ike presentation) and opposed the adoption of this curriculum. He stated that if the current curriculum is ineffective, it's because the teachers aren't doing it right, which was a startling statement from a sitting Board member. Rarely does a Board member accuse teachers of incompetence, so this was a very surprising statement to say the least.

Board member Krislyn Holaday-Wondrachek mentioned that she reviewed the materials including videos that Board members were sent, and she liked what she saw. She said that she trusted that the administration and staff have done their due diligence and that they have "landed on something that they believe is going to work in our students' best interests."

And then things got interesting...

She went on to mention that she was troubled when she saw a "flood of E-Mails ... from Mitch Helmer over the past two weeks and I received at least five E-Mails from Mitch... an E-Mail from his wife, Sarah Helmer, as well as many E-Mails in response to all of the E-Mails from the Helmer family" and she disagreed with the discussion that was happening outside of the public view. She asked that future conversations be held in the forum of a public meeting where transparency can be had about the discussions at hand.

She noted that past curriculum changes have been approved without this level of discussion, and then related that she discovered that Mitch's wife works for a competing educational publisher. She expressed concern about the appearance of impropriety and mentioned that the Board has a code of ethics (Policy 0144.2) dictates that "Board members must avoid being placed in a position of a conflict of interest and refrain from using their Board positions for personal and partisan gain." She asked that Helmer recuse himself from voting on the curriculum approvals. Helmer mentioned that he spoke with the District's lawyer (at District expense) and was cleared of a conflict of interest. She requested that the Board censure Mitch Helmer if he did not recuse himself.

Schulz disagreed with the approval of the new curriculum. She expressed a desire to postpone the vote until a new Board member is installed, an idea which Helmer agreed to support. Mitch Helmer and Janet Schulz recently campaigned, and won the April 5, 2022 election, with the new incoming Board member on a single platform. This presumably would mean that the incoming Board member likely would vote in agreement with her running mates.

Board member Jeff Kurth mentioned that he reviewed the materials and he believed that the Board should trust the administrators and staff to have made the right choice and that the new curriculum was something that should be approved for purchase. This position was a surprise, as most expected him to side with Schulz and Helmer on basically every vote, but miracles do occasionally happen. After giving it some consideration, I think this was a savvy move on his part. If the curriculum works, he can take credit for it when he runs for re-election in two years. If it doesn't work, the blame can be assigned to the adminstration and staff members that proposed it. However, on face value, Kurth demonstrated a trust in the people hired to make these decisions, and that should be applauded.

Seidl said that he always looks at things from a financial perspective. He said it "didn't make sense" to him from that perspective, because the results weren't guaranteed. Holaday-Wondrachek countered that our students "aren't widgets" and that there needs be some level of trust, given that the Board members are not educators.

This makes complete sense, and why there needs to be better decision-making by our School Board. An hour browsing websites by a non-educator (even one married to an employee of a competing publisher) does not replace the two years of research by a team of trained and experienced educators that have recommended this curriculum as the best course of action for the School District of New Berlin.

Schulz repeated her concerns and wanted the Board to be careful. She asked for support for a postponement vote, and there was none.

The curriculum approval vote for the K-8 curriculum passed, 4 to 3 (Schulz, Helmer, and Seidl opposed). The curriculum approval vote for the high school curriculum passed, 6 to 1 (Helmer opposed). Mitch Helmer did not recuse himself.

 

Photos above Copyright © 2022 SVJ Designs, LLC.

Last Updated: Apr 13, 2022

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