A majority of Wrangell teachers approved sending a letter to the school board, expressing “no confidence” in the leadership of Board President Dave Wilson.
“This action was not taken lightly,” the March 31 letter said. “It reflects widespread concern among educators about Mr. Wilson’s conduct, lack of preparedness, (and) unwillingness to collaborate with community stakeholders. …”
Almost 50 people attended a March 24 work session between the school board and borough officials to hash out options amid a severe budget squeeze at the schools.
Without changes to its draft spending plan, the district could be short hundreds of thousands of dollars to balance its 2025-2026 budget, even assuming the best for more state aid and municipal funding.
“While we continue to respect the efforts of the rest of the school board, we believe Mr. Wilson’s continued role as board president is detrimental to the function and integrity of our district leadership during this time of crisis,” the letter from the teachers union stated.
Wilson is in his ninth year on the school board; his latest three-year term ends in October. He has served as president since 2022.
“I was elected by the people, not the teachers,” he said in an interview on April 7. “I want to work with the teachers. I’d like to have a collaborative relationship.”
Insufficient funding from the state and borough added to the budget problem in recent years, Wilson said.
“The real effort needs to be in increasing our students’ success,” particularly bringing up low test scores, he said.
Teachers union members met March 27, three days after the public forum on the budget, and voted unanimously to draft the no-confidence letter, said Mikki Angerman, president of the Wrangell Teachers’ Association.
A majority of members later voted by email on the actual text of the letter, which was sent to the school board and schools superintendent on March 31.
“Mr. Wilson failed to bring forward a prepared budget with numbers and data attached or engage with union-generated proposals, including a school merger suggestion, at a time when decisive action is needed,” the letter said.
The letter said Wilson “declined to participate in a proposed joint task force” with the borough to look for cost savings, “undermining opportunities for meaningful problem-solving and shared responsibility.”
The board president pushed back at the borough manager’s suggestion at the March 24 work session to form a public committee to consider consolidation options for the district’s three schools.
“This is something the board needs to discuss,” Wilson said at the meeting. “To try and back us into a corner, how we’re going to do it right now, I think is inappropriate.”
The board last week announced it was accepting letters of interest from community members to serve on a nine-member special committee to look at consolidation and other money-saving options.
The letters are due Thursday, April 10, with the board expected to select the members at its monthly meeting on Monday, April 14.
Wilson noted in the April 7 interview that the school board is prohibited by law from making decisions at a work session; any actions must be conducted at a board meeting. He said he should have made that point clearer in his remarks at the work session.
The teachers’ letter also called out Wilson for “repeated defensiveness and confrontational behavior in public meetings,” which, the letter said, “have discouraged dialogue and fractured relationships with teachers, students, city leaders and other community members.”
Wilson noted that there is very poor attendance by the public, or teachers, at school board meetings, “until there is some big gripe, and then everyone shows up.” He said he has received fewer than 10 phone calls from the public in his eight years on the board.
The teachers’ letter also criticized the board president for showing “disrespect toward tribal partners.”
Wilson, in the interview, said he thought teachers have been unfairly “aggressive” toward the schools superintendent and school board.
“We want to work our way through this,” he said of the district’s budget crisis and its relationship with teachers.
“This vote of no confidence applies only to Mr. Wilson in his role as board president. We remain committed to working with the rest of the board in good faith to move our district forward.”
The letter ended: “We thank Mr. Wilson for his past service, but we believe Wrangell deserves a board president who leads with transparency, collaboration and integrity — someone who listens and respects all voices, even when they express views different from his own. The time for new leadership is now.”
Reader Comments(0)