Florence Teachers, Citizens Regain Hope
Florence teachers are ready to start fresh this year, with a new school
board and administrative team. Teachers who sat down with OnWEAC In Print
to discuss last year’s turmoil and their renewed optimism for the future
are (left to right) Dave La Point, Joan Canfield, Trina Fluur, Nick Baumgart,
and Jerry Paulson.
After a year of intense turmoil and anxiety, Florence teachers, support
staff and students are returning to school this fall with an entirely
new school board, a new set of administrators, and a new sense of hope
and optimism.
“We’re really a team now. A whole team,” said high school
science teacher Trina Fluur. “We have a renewed level of trust between
the staff, the administration, the school board and the community.”
But the teachers of Florence will tell you it was a long, difficult struggle
to overcome the powerfully negative influences of an oppressive administration
and school board. It took the school staff and citizens working together
to restore a positive climate to the district. Through community organizing,
a recall election and a general election, they helped drive out all six
school board members, the district administrator and the two principals
under his rule.
“At this point, things have turned around,” said Nick Baumgart,
who was Florence Education Association vice president and chief negotiator
last year. “We actually have the freedom to teach as we feel is best
for kids. It’s a tremendous burden lifted off our shoulders.”
Although the teachers and staff had ongoing issues with District Administrator
Gerald Gerard since he came to the district in 1990, the problems severely
escalated during the 2001-2002 school year, according to several Florence
teachers who sat down with OnWEAC in Print in July. They said they wanted
to tell their story to help teachers and support staff in other districts.
“We don’t want to see another school go through what we did,”
Baumgart said.
The catalyst for last year’s escalation of problems was when the
high school principal retired and the elementary principal left, Baumgart
said. Both of them were professional administrators whose influence helped
soften the impact of Gerard’s negative style, he said. With them
gone, Baumgart said, Gerard and the school board “saw an opportunity
to fulfill their agenda.” Without public or staff input, they quickly
hired two new administrators – elementary principal Hilary Boutin
and high school principal David Zimmermann – and went on “a
power siege.”
The administration quickly began coming down on staff, issuing reprimands
and publicly criticizing teachers and support staff. Baumgart and his
wife, Anne Leschke, also a Florence teacher, were given reprimands after
taking several issues to the school board in a presentation that colleagues
described as nothing but respectful and cordial. However, it prompted
Gerard to issue a “chain of command” directive that warned teachers
and staff that unless they went through their principal and him before
talking to school board members, they would face reprimand and possible
termination.
The administration then went after popular, well-respected 25-year veteran
teacher Tom St. Louis, who served part time as the district’s technology
coordinator. St. Louis’ colleagues describe him as a superb person
and excellent, conscientious teacher and technology coordinator. They
said the administration apparently chose to go after him as a way to demonstrate
power, and intimidate other teachers and staff. They removed him as technology
coordinator, restricted his access to the building, “set him up”
for being reprimanded, and finally suspended him from his teaching position.
“His character is impeccable, and they ruthlessly destroyed him,”
said high school math teacher Jerry Paulson.
The students also recognized the injustice, and on December 7, with the
large majority of the student body participating, they staged a sit-down
protest. When the students migrated outside, Gerard ordered the doors
locked and refused to allow them to return that day, marking them absent.
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| Wendy Zambon |
At the same time, the district began launching public attacks on staff,
including publishing teacher salaries. But their attempts to turn the
community against the teachers and staff backfired.
“This was the catalyst for the community to say we’ve had enough,”
said Wendy Zambon, a parent who helped organize Florence Concerned Citizens.
“We weren’t going to let this board destroy our schools.”
It didn’t take long to organize parents and citizens, who could
see that something terribly wrong was happening in the schools, said Zambon,
who is a teacher in nearby Iron Mountain, Mich.
“Once the community effort was in full swing, our auditorium was
packed for board meetings,” Fluur said.
Shortly after a very dejected St. Louis resigned January 3, the concerned
citizens began the process to recall three of the board members and target
others in the general election.
Within two weeks, 40% of the electorate had signed recall petitions.
Simultaneously, a petition of no-confidence, signed by 600 residents,
was presented to the board. And, 56 of the district’s 62 teachers
approved a confidential vote of no confidence in the superintendent. Teachers
wore black to school as a silent protest.
By the end of January, the two new principals submitted their resignations,
effective June 30, and were rewarded with what Baumgart termed “lucrative
buyouts.”
Amidst the community revolt, two school board members (one of whom was
targeted for recall) resigned, another two were ousted in the April recall
election, and two more were ousted in the general election one week later.
The seventh board member resigned after the other six new board members
were seated. Gerard and the two principals abruptly left the district
after the elections (Gerard also received a substantial buyout), and the
retired high school principal, Jack Kriegl, agreed to come back and serve
again as principal.
“For a week, we were all hugging each other,” Fluur said.
Although Florence teachers still are without a contract for 2001-03, they
now at least can communicate with the board and administration.
“We don’t have that anxiety and turmoil anymore,” Baumgart
said.
Florence teachers credited Northern Tier UniServ Director Carol Nelson
and administrative assistant Renee Ison for helping them through the difficult
times. They also credited the community for coming to the rescue of the
school district.
“If everyone gets together and supports each other, they can make
a positive change,” Baumgart said.
“It makes you overwhelmingly want to be part of a community when
so many people show they care about the school district,” Fluur said,
adding that ultimately children are the ones who will benefit most from
a positive school-community climate.
“We can now really put all our energy into working for kids, and
we know that’s where the focus is going to be,” she said.
Posted August 23, 2002