By Lee Reinsch
Correspondent
DE PERE – About 70 parents, teachers and faculty members packed the West De Pere Middle School library Monday, April 8, to show the school board they’re paying close attention to what goes on.
While several people can usually be counted on to attend a typical school board meeting, this was no typical school board meeting, since it came on the heels of an event that drew concerns.
Late last week, members of a superintendent of schools selection committee were notified by email that, after the field of six candidates had been narrowed to two, a third candidate was suddenly being added to the pool.
“We all want what’s best for our district, and we hope to finalize the contract sometime this week,” said West De Pere School Board President Barb Vandeurzen in addressing the crowd. “We’re aware that there’s been some conversation and concern going on among staff about the superintendent search; we can’t give you any answers tonight, but while we understand that the unknown is difficult, we ask that you trust the board to make this very important decision.”
She asked that those commenting not name names because it would not be fair to anyone named who was not there to respond.
Several people spoke out, including some who were on the selection committee.
After thanking his fellow committee members for their participation, De Pere resident Jeff Jindra said committee members were told at the outset that the selection committee process had only failed once before.
“I truly believe this is the second time the process has failed,” he said. “From one committee to another, things were very different; folders were able to be taken home by one committee and not the other. Last Thursday’s email we received about the third candidate being added – that was unacceptable, and I think I speak volumes for everybody here. We had six candidates and , narrowed it to two. The board should have looked at those two candidates and made an educated decision based on what’s best for this district,” Jindra said. “No third candidate needed to be brought in. Let’s make our choice, move this district forward and keep all of the people in this district and this board solidified. With the changes that are going to be taking place at all of our schools here with the referendum, we need stability. There’s one candidate that’s going to bring stability to this district and maintain that stability in this district.”
JoEllen Thompson was also a member of an advisory board.
“I, too, was extremely disappointed in the process in the way this was handled. There seems to be a lot of mistrust. I mistrust that you all can make an appropriate decision when you can’t even follow a process in order to identify candidates that are good for the district,” she said. “We talk very highly of our district, our staff, and our community and we have extreme pride in it, and now to know there’s the possibility that people are going to think otherwise about our district is an embarrassment, and you all should be embarrassed by how this is transpiring.”
She asked the board to re-evaluate whatever their decision might be.
“Give it the consideration that came from all of the staff and the community members as well that served on each of the boards, and make the best decision possible for the district based on those candidates,” she said.
Gina Evans questioned the process itself.
“When it was set and it was already narrowed down to two people, why was that process changed, and why was somebody else brought in?” she asked. “What is the point of the whole process?”
On Wednesday, April 10, the school board announced in an email to staff that Dennis Krueger has signed a contract to become the district’s next superintendent.
Krueger, currently superintendent of the New London school district, was one of the original two finalists for the position.
His contract is effective July 1.