File photo of a classroom in the newly-remodeled Clintonville Elementary School on Oct. 12, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
WINNECONNE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Winneconne community members are pushing to recall School Board President Kati Calewarts and Vice President Dean Ackmann.
The effort, which began July 15, has garnered over 1,000 signatures, according to organizer and former school board president Bob Ronk.
Petitioners cite lack of communication with board members, community as reasons for recall
Community members cite a lack of communication with the board as one reason for the recall.
On Monday night, Calewarts called a special closed session meeting. Members voted, but the topic wasn’t revealed publicly.
School board member Jill Verich missed the meeting due to a prior obligation she said, since the meeting was scheduled four days prior. She said she reached out to Calewarts for details on what took place in the meeting.
“I know nothing because the board president hasn’t shared what transpired the night of Monday night,” said Verich.
Verich said Calewarts hasn’t responded to share more information, and other school board members can’t share the information since it was closed session. Calewarts also failed to notify board members of the topic of a closed session discussion on July 13 prior to the meeting, according to multiple board members.
“Never, ever have I heard of a board excluding the topic of the closed session from the board members,” said Ronk.
Multiple people say they haven’t seen or heard from the district administrator in two days, less than a week before school starts
Earlier this week, an employee was terminated. A letter confirming the termination was signed, but not by administrator Peggy Larson, instead it was signed by the district’s business manager, according to Verich. She said after calling the business manager, he told her he couldn’t share any information and told her to reach out to the district’s attorney.
Various people say they haven’t seen or heard from Larson since early Tuesday. Just five days remain until the school year starts.
“My inclination, the fact that Dr. Larson didn’t sign the letter,” said Verich, “is she’s either terminated or has been placed on leave.”
Recall organizers also point to Calewarts signing a legal agreement for the district 10 days before it was approved by the board, and the board quickly racking up $20,000 in legal fees.
Calewarts defended the decision on Facebook, saying she’s working on behalf of the district and that an authorized agent would, “review and sign an agreement in advance of a board meeting so that the agreement will become effective upon board ratification and doing so knowing the agreement is only authorized after board approval.”
“(She) posts the lame excuse that ‘Well it really wasn’t a contract, and I have the authority to do that on a pending basis,” said Ronk. “And that’s a crock.”
Calewarts has noted the $40,000-$80,000 estimated cost that a recall election would cost. Hers and Ackmann’s supporters also point to their defense of parental rights.
Calewarts and Ackmann are backed by Moms for Liberty, a national right-leaning organization and its affiliated political action committee. Moms for Liberty-backed candidates gained majority control in April.
Our messages to Calewarts and Ackmann went unanswered. We wanted to know whether the board made a decision on Dr. Larson and their response to opponents who cite a lack of transparency.
Messages to Moms for Liberty Winnebago County Chair Laura Ackmann, and board members Kari Flagg and Cindy Otten also went unanswered.
If the petitioners receive the number of signatures necessary to spur a recall election, an election would likely be at least a few months away.
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