Differences are on exactly what that means for B-OPS
The community meeting was billed as one to “Save Our School” – Butterfield-Odin Public School (B-OPS) – but there were stark differences among those attending on exactly what that means.
For some attending and speaking at the meeting, held Wednesday evening, April 6, in the Butterfield Community Hall, the school’s future is directly connected to the decision by the majority of the seven-member B-OPS School Board at the board’s January 21 meeting to place then half-time B-OPS Superintendent Lisa Shellum on leave until the end of her contract and then terminate that contract.
For others, the school’s successful continuation is on accepting the board’s majority decision and moving ahead to improve students’ educational opportunities.
By meeting’s end, neither side had changed the minds of those across from them, but a spirited discussion on the school, its staff, its success and Shellum was held.
Organizing the meeting was the trio of Casey Lloyd, native of Butterfield and graduate of the school; Brenda Meyer, a resident and taxpayer of the B-OPS School District and Lori Urevig, sister of former B-OPS Superintendent Shellum and whose child is open-enrolled in the district.
Handed out to attendees was an informational sheet of 15 points presented as facts of misconduct, malfeasance and alleged law violations against four members of the B-OPS School Board.
Shellum also attended the meeting, addressing the crowd and answering questions from those attending.
Lloyd began by stating the purpose of the “Save Our School” group. He reflected on a 1993 column by former Mountain Lake/Butterfield Observer/Advocate publisher Bill Paulson that dealt with the question, “Does B-O Want Its School?” Lloyd fast-forwarded that message 23 years to tell those seated around the tables in the community hall, “That is why we are holding this meeting; to see what you think? We want your input.”
He went on to insert the timeline as to when he became involved in the issue. “I was at the January 21, 2016 meeting when Lisa was placed on leave. It seemed that it was so imperative to be done then. Why was that so at that time?” Lloyd continued, raising questions about if Open Meeting laws were “trashed. We are looking for answers.”
Brenda Meyer also made a parallel point to Lloyd’s assertion about the board’s January 21 action. “In October 2015, the board had already decided not to renew her contract. Why did they act so quickly at their January meeting?”
Answering that question, Cary Quiring referred back to the January meeting and noted that what precipitated that action was a report categorizing school board majority wrongdoing presented by B-OPS Board Member Kristy Haseman, in which she was assisted by Shellum, “which went against board ethics.”
“Why are we here?” asked Nancy Olson.
“To do what the sign outside says – to save our school,” Meyer answered.
Olson responded, “The school board made its decision. It’s time to move on.”
Todd Langeland, a former B-OPS School Board member, in reply to attempts to recall the four majority board members (B-OPS Board Chair Joel Penner, B-OPS Board Vice-Chair Leon Wenner, B-OPS Board Treasurer Andy Pierson and B-OPS Board Clerk Tammy Wolle), “You have to have a cause to recall (at the March meeting, a letter signed by 34 teachers was presented in support of Shellum and calling for the resignation of the four majority board members). Right now, you have zero proof of malfeasance. Is this mob rule? Complain until you get your way? If you don’t like the decision, wait for the next school board election and run the candidates you want. Maybe not every decision (by the school board) is one you like. Maybe not every decision is correct. Get your candidates ready for November.”
Olson additionally raised issues about the school’s mathematics and reading scores. “The state average is 56%-60%. B-OPS average is 22% The overall school record is C-.” Olson indicated that she had pulled this research from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) web site.
At this point, Lloyd inserted that if Lisa is gone, “20 to 30 students will also leave,” which he intimated would be very hard on the school’s future.
Meyer shared that she got involved because the of choices that have to be made. “We have to get in the middle; to say, ‘Stop it, let’s talk this out.'” She added, “When has the school board sat down with Lisa to discuss test scores? They haven’t. Following Lisa’s evaluation, she asked board members, ‘How do I fix it?’ She wanted to meet with board members to write goals and make corrections.”
Lucille Thares interjected that, “I talked with Joel Penner at my kitchen table. I asked him, ‘Is it true that Lisa e-mailed you to do mediation?’ He replied, ‘Yes,’ and then told me when I asked him what was his response, ‘I ignored it.'”
“You know why,” Mathistad said, addressing Thares, “Why talk to someone who is going to sue you?”
Much of the schism between the board majority and Shellum has to do with the public release of Shellum’s complete evaluation compiled by Keith Dixon, hired by the school board to do an outside evaluation, as well as by the school board members themselves. Shellum has filed a harassment charge against Penner with the Watonwan County Sheriff’s Office over this issue. According to Shellum, “Only one person can disclose an evaluation to the public, and that person is me. That is private data.”
She added that her attorney had told her that the release of the complete evaluation to the public was a criminal act. Watonwan County Attorney Steve Linde disagreed, stating that it was a civil matter, and chose not to prosecute.
“Joel was told by myself, by Board Member Diane Peterson, not to make it public. It’s not about my job anymore,” revealed Shellum.
Quiring spoke up saying, “At an earlier meeting, you (Lisa) had said you wanted it (the evaluation) public.
Mom to students open-enrolled at B-OPS, Dawn Fast, turned the focus on the students, “We need to think about the kids. Our responsibility is to educate.”
B-OPS freshman Ethan Sykes spoke on behalf of the students at the community meeting. “If we (students) didn’t care, we would not have had a sit-in after the decision.”
Meyer inserted, “This is real life; lives are being destroyed.”
Halfway through the meeting, the focal point shifted to teacher retention and school district teacher vacancies.
Diane Lloyd, a teacher in Mankato for 49 years and wife of Casey Lloyd, shared that, “If I, as a teacher, knew what was going on, I would be out of here.”
Shellum told those at the meeting that many staff members are shaken by the uncertainly of the school’s stability. “The entire music department is gone. Principal Barry Schmidt has been interviewing for other positions. We have a math opening and math and science positions are in short commodity,” she explained.
Denise Mortenson, B-OPS teacher and president of the B-OPS Teachers Union, followed up on Shellum’s statements by reiterating about the number of letters of recommendation she has written for current staff members and about the unrest and insecurity of the teaching staff. But, despite that, “the staff has kept it (uncertainty) out of the school.” She added that there are no definite staff cuts planned as of yet, according to Penner, but “teachers are looking to leave; they are applying elsewhere.”
And, in addressing test scores, Mortenson stated, “Were test scores low? Yes. Have we started changes to improve? Yes. It will take time. We are now using the same program utilized by St. James Public School. It took them three years, but they have now seen huge growth.”
Mortenson added that, “We (staff) have worked for four superintendents this school year. Who do we listen to?”
In reflecting on what had been discussed over the course of the evening, Lloyd stated, “Because of all this, we can dissent. There is an aura of secrecy; four are shutting out three.”
Mathistad fired back, “The other side does the same. The new board made changes. Before, Lisa had a board who agreed with everything she wanted. We need to pull together with the superintendent and staff we now have.”
Also raised by both Shellum and Urevig were alleged violations of the Open Meeting law by school board members. Shellum shared that she had learned that it is the administration’s duty to investigate complaints against board members for violations of that law. Urevig listed three occasions where she alleges the law was broken by the majority of board members.
Lloyd and Meyer had met with part-time Interim Superintendent Sandi Novak earlier in the day, and told her of the alleged violations and the statute addressing how such accusations are to be investigated, and that Novak had taken that information under advisement.
In wrapping up the meeting, Lloyd brought forward the increase in attorney fees in 2015. In information gathered from the office of the school attorney, Kevin Rupp, $2,837.09 was spent in lawyer fees in 2013, $528.04 in 2014 and in 2015, $21,954.29. Of the amount for 2015, none of the fees were itemized.
Meyer noted that “No one here wants this school closed – but beware – the closing of this school is where we are headed.”
Once again Olson raised her opening question, “What have we accomplished?”
To which Lloyd replied, “We’re going to save our school – and get Lisa her job back.”
The next step by the community meeting organizers to achieve these goals is a Monday, April 11 meeting scheduled with Minnesota State Senator Terri Bonhoff, a member of the Senate’s Education Committee and chair of both the Finance-Higher Education and Workforce Development Budget Division Committee and the Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee, amongst other committee posts.
