Teacher resignations, non-renewals complete process
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff writer
The Burlington Area School District staffing picture got a little clearer Monday night, as the School Board approved several resignations and prepared to issue final notices of non-renewal.
Last week, BASD Superintendent David Moyer said the school district had narrowed from 17 the number of final non-renewal of contract notices that would have to be sent out.
Originally, the district had been looking at 17 layoffs encompassing 13.86 full-time equivalent positions. School Board President David Thompson indicated last week that a number of teachers had chosen to either retire or had turned in resignations.
According to the BASD School Board meeting agenda Monday night, resignations were tendered by Ed Brenton (technical education, Burlington High School), Marilyn Briggs (special education, Cooper School), Mike Silkwood (tech. ed., Karcher Middle School), Lorrie Wagner, (physical education), Carmen Brito-Rieselbach (Spanish, BHS), Jennifer Stever (BHS science) Shelly Mutter (44.78 percent FTE physical education) and Kathy Behrens (Cooper physical education).
In addition, Amy Solum, who teaches computer education, retired effective April 30.
That would presumably leave the following final non-renewal notices to be issued: Karen Fohey (Spanish), Joan Horn (special education), Dorothea Janisch, Leslie Moritz (second grade, Waller School), Linda Oja (orchestra), Dan Walker (elementary school art), Melinda Hoffman (guidance counselor, Waller School, .2 FTE reduction) and Ben Johnson (.6 FTE reduction, BHS band).
The Standard Press made an official request for that list through the open records law, but it could not be completed before press deadline.
BASD Business Administrator Peter Smet said Tuesday the district was in a position where it had to reduce its teaching staff, though because of changes in state law through Act 10, teachers were now being issued “final notices of non-renewal” versus being laid off.
“No one likes doing it, but this is the process the state has laid out,” Smet said. “We had to reduce the number of teaching staff.”
When the preliminary notices of non-renewal were issued in April, Moyer said that the majority of them were due to declining enrollment in the district as well as program changes within the various schools.
Smet confirmed Tuesday that a number of teachers chose a different route than being issued the final notice.
“That was their choice,” Smet said.
He also made a point of clarifying the state law, as contract non-renewals in the past tended to have a negative connotation, versus the term now being used to encompass all teachers not returning.
“The way that the law is written in the state of Wisconsin, the teacher has a contract that automatically renews unless the board takes action not to renew it,” Smet said. “In order to reduce your teaching staff, you have to go through this non-renewal process.”
Preliminary notices must be given 15 days prior to May 15. When a person gets the preliminary notice, they have the right to request a private conference – and a number of teachers did meet with the board.
“Some people choose not to do that. Some people choose to resign or retire,” Smet said. “It’s their choice to do that.
“If they do nothing or have that private conference, the board continues,” he added. “Then they get their final notice of non-renewals.”
Those must have been delivered on or before May 15.
-
-
-
-
-