Vote 'Em Out!

Educators and parents in a small Wisconsin town decide: enough is enough.

But the breakthrough followed years of frustration and pain—the stonewalling, the attempted firing of a union leader, the eroding pay capped by an imposed contract in which nearly 40 percent of teachers actually had to give money back.

"In 30 years of teaching, that was about as bleak a time as I've ever had," recalls geography teacher and Nekoosa Teachers' Association activist Leo Thomasgard. "What a difference a year makes."

The scene of this transformation is Nekoosa, Wisconsin, population 2,500.

For six years, the town had a superintendent who, as community leader Randy Moody says politely, was "not a people person."

"He came in with a gun-slinger attitude," says science teacher Jon Joslin. Educators were subjected to dictatorial treatment, salaries slid relative to nearby communities, staff members fled.

But the school board supported the superintendent and fended off any criticism. Just to speak before the board, explains Moody, "you had to submit a written request to the superintendent eight days in advance, and then if he felt like it, he would let you speak."

One of the lowest points was the dismissal of custodian Duane Exner, founder of the Nekoosa Educational Support Personnel Association, on false charges that he had taken a two-hour lunch break and lied about it on his timesheet.

Supported by fellow educators and union lawyers, Exner fought for 14 months and won complete vindication. On his first day back, the staff came out to greet him at the door.

Nekoosa educators cracked the wall again when they helped a pro-educator candidate win election to the school board. But then the board majority shut him out of important decisions. 

With new contract negotiations coming up and more staff bailing out of Nekoosa, those who remained wondered whether things would ever change. But desperation can inspire. As a last resort, they decided on a petition drive to recall the majority of the board. "This is a good community," says Thomasgard. "Parents support their kids."

Joslin and Moody became leaders in the recall campaign. Moody was president of a citizens group that had tried to get the board to change course. He has five daughters, all students or former students in the schools, and they had told him about the sad state of morale in school.

As it turned out, many other citizens of Nekoosa knew about the problem and were ready to act.  Fourteen hundred—more than half of the town—signed the recall petition.

It was 10 degrees outside when voters trooped to the polls for the election, but the results warmed the hearts of educators and parents: a new board majority. The superintendent quickly resigned.

Thomasgard says the new board members are independent, and he doesn't expect the union will agree with them on everything. But their attitude is  completely different. A new contract was negotiated with good raises. There's a feeling of respect for frontline educators: "They're coming to us for ideas!" says Joslin.

And Randy Moody is happy with what he hears from his daughters: "The teachers aren't looking over their shoulders, worrying about losing their jobs," he says. "Now they can concentrate on teaching."