Three more school board members resign

Three more Shawano School Board members stepped down from their posts this week, including the two board members targeted for a recall election.

Chuck Dallas submitted his letter to resign shortly after the board’s Aug. 22 meeting, while Michael Sleeper and Chris Gull tendered their resignations on Aug. 23, according to Lori Sherman, the board’s administrative assistant. NEW Media has requested copies of the resignation letters but is waiting to hear back from Superintendent Randi Anderson on their release.

Replacement proceedings are expected to take place regarding Gull’s seat, but there is a question of how to proceed with replacing Dallas and Sleeper. Because petitions were filed July 25 for a recall election, which is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 4 pending verification of signatures, it’s unclear whether the board will need to fill the seat until the recall takes place.

Sherman said she was also unclear on whether the recall election would proceed now that Dallas and Sleeper have resigned. However, the Wisconsin Elections Commission manual on the recall of local officials states that, according to Wisconsin Statute 9.10(4)(e), the recall proceeds unaffected, even if the officeholder resigns, either before the petition is filed or before the primary or election.

Petitions seeking to recall Michael Sleeper had 1,958 signatures on them, according to Shawano parent Bobbi Lemerond with 1,829 the minimum needed. Petitions to recall Chuck Dallas were also turned in with 1,923 signatures. July 25 was the deadline, with signatures turned in just an hour before the deadline. The signatures are expected to be verified later in the week, as the law gives the district 31 days to examine the petitions.

The recall petitions were taken out in the wake of the recent turmoil in the district. Parents and community members have been attending board and committee meetings in force for the most part since March, when it was announced that there was a potential $2 million deficit in the district that could have required closing a school, cutting staff and/or eliminating programs.

Lemerond has previously said that she took out the petitions against Sleeper and Dallas because they were on the board when Randi Anderson was hired as superintendent to replace the retiring Gary Cumberland in 2019, and they continue to defend her even though community members and staffers who have left claim a toxic atmosphere exists in the schools because of Anderson’s decisions and leadership.

The school board recently filled seats vacated by James Davel and Jamie Beyer in July. The board solicited letters of interest from people over a two-week period and then scheduled interviews. The same process is expected to take place for Gull’s seat, at least.

NEW Media called board president Mike Musolff to find out the timeline for filling seats, but he did not immediately return the request for information.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com