Board Update
April 2022
Public Comments
Administrator Report
Survey results: Mrs. Davies shared the highlights of the survey results with the board. The results confirmed for us that parents had a strong desire to return to the post-pandemic activities that makes Woods special. It also highlighted that there is a group of parents who feel uninformed about what is happening at school. Mrs. Davies will follow up on that and work with the ensure communication is timely and accessible for all parents. The survey results are linked below for those interested. https://core-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/781/Woods_School/2037579/Geneva_Slide_Deck_Survey_Report__1_.pdf
Election Concerns: Mrs. Davies updated the board, and explained to those in the audience about some election issues that were discovered in March prior to the election. (See below for full explanation). The board will meet with School District's attorney at the May meeting to seek guidance on steps moving forward.
From Mrs. Davies:
Legal requirements for school boards:
Woods School Board is comprised of a 3 member board. We are only 1 of 3 districts in the state with a three member school board. All other 430+ Wisconsin Districts have 5-9 members, and the election laws are different for a 3 member board vs. larger boards. It is my assumption that previous administrators may not have been fully aware of the different requirements for a 3 member vs. 5+ member boards and thus incorrectly guided the Board in the election procedures.
We are focusing on two concerns which I will outline below:
First Concern: Following the April 2020 the election, the term lengths for Molly Polyock and Eric Chapman were incorrectly submitted to the County when the election was certified.
Back Ground:
In April 2019, Neal DeVries was re-elected to a 3 year term (ending in 2022). In August of 2019, he resigned. The board appointed a new member, Molly Polyock. Per state Law, Molly ran for election to serve the remainder of Neal's term the following April. At that time Eric Chapman was also up for re-election and on the ballot. When the board of canvassers met to certify the election, they used the legal requirements for a 5+ member board. That is, the person with the most votes gains a 3 year term, and the person with the second highest votes gains a 2 year term. At that time, Molly Polyock had the most votes, and Eric Chapman had the next highest number of votes. HOWEVER, as a 3 member board, it should have been certified that Molly would serve the remainder of Neil's term, expiring in 2022 and Eric was re-elected to a 3 year term, expiring in 2023.
In January of 2021, Molly resigned from the board. The board appointed Colleen Trybulla, who also resigned in July of 2021. (Both were intended to serve the remainder of Neal's three year term.). In August of 2021, the Board appointed Quan Le to serve the remainder of the term expiring in April 2022.
On March 22nd, Mr Quan Le contacted me with concerns about the number of candidates on the ballot for the April Election. He stated that based on a conversation he had with a person at the Wisconsin Elections Commission in August 2021, he believed that both he and Eric Chapman's would be up for re-election in April of 2022.
Upon being made of Mr. Le's concerns, I sought advice from the School District's attorneys who collaborated with the Walworth County Clerk and the Wisconsin Elections Commission to understand what our next steps should be.
Second Concern:
When a person runs for school board on a 3 member board, they also run for the office.(For example, the ballot should read, Joe Smith-President)
While investigating the term length issue, it was found that the district was not posting the elections for a candidate and the office on the ballot. After some digging through previous election results, the County clerk confirmed in 2010 the district stopped correctly submitting candidates on the ballot i.e.: Joe Smith-President. Neither Mrs. Wolski or Mr. Chapman were on the board in 2010.
The recommendations from our attorney and the Wisconsin Elections Commission:
Given that we weren't made aware of the issues until March 22, the Elections
Commission felt that there was no time to rectify the situation because absentee ballots had been printed and mailed to voters. The Wisconsin Elections Commission advised the board to allow the April Election to take place as written on the ballot. The winner of the race would be elected to a 3 year term. Frank Broz won the April 2022 election. His term was certified as the Treasurer, with his term expiring in 2025.
Going Forward?
The board will work with our attorneys and the Wisconsin Elections Commission to create a remedial plan to ensure members are elected to their specific office and for the appropriate term length. This will be discussed at our May meeting.
I hope this answers any questions, or provides clarity to rumblings you may have heard in the community. I don't believe there was any ill intent on behalf of the current board, or previous administrators. I do believe that it was more than likely a lack of understanding of the different requirements for a 3 person board.
Director of Finance Report
Director of Buildings and Grounds
Approval of Vouchers/Treasurer's report
Teacher Resignations
Ms. Sarah Eiserman/Special Ed effective June 3. Ms. Eiserman will be moving to Florida later this summer.
Sarah and Alby will be missed by our staff and students.
Both positions have been advertised via WECAN.