Residents rally for embattled Grand Forks Public Schools employee -- just don't ask who

Apr. 22—GRAND FORKS — A show of support for a district employee purportedly facing termination was preemptively muted Monday after the Grand Forks School Board's president blocked public comment on the issue.

None of the dozens of students or adults present ultimately spoke in favor or against the employee at Monday's School Board meeting after Board President Amber Flynn told residents doing so would run afoul of board policies barring the public from bringing personnel complaints before the board.

"If you have any concerns or comments about personnel, you can follow the policies or process or reach out to the superintendent," Flynn said, listing the relevant policies by their reference key in the School Board's Policy Handbook. "But I will not allow those comments at this time."

Flynn did not name the employee who would have been the focus of the public comment, and residents the Herald spoke to at the meeting declined to say which employee they had appeared to support, but a Facebook event that circulated last week implored residents to show up to Monday's meeting to support Catherine Gillach, associate superintendent of secondary education.

That post claimed Gillach had been recommended for termination two weeks ago, though it did not say why or who had made the recommendation.

Speaking after the meeting, Gillach said she was unsure whether the assembled crowd had come in her support and had not seen the Facebook event, adding she didn't use Facebook.

She declined to comment on whether she had been recommended for termination.

Immediately after Flynn notified the crowd of the complaint policy, one resident immediately got up and left.

A few clustered just outside the meeting door as the board continued through its agenda, speaking in hushed tones. In fits and starts, more people got up and left, until the meeting room was nearly empty, save for a handful of district employees set to present later in the board meeting.

"This does not make me happy," said Amy Tellmann Beauchamp, a Central High School teacher who spoke to the Herald outside the meeting. "We're disappointed we didn't get the chance to talk."

At the meeting's outset, the crowded room of students and adults — some still wearing their school district ID badges — resembled

a similar scene from just weeks before,

when scores of people spoke up in protest of a slate of proposed cuts to staff positions across the district.

Monday's crowd, while smaller, still managed to fill part of an overflow room.

"Hopefully, our presence here was making our voices heard, even if we weren't allowed to speak," Beauchamp said.

Speaking after the meeting, Flynn noted only two people had actually filled out public comment forms before the meeting, one of whom spoke about a soccer match between the Grand Forks Central and Red River girls teams.

Flynn explained the board wanted to avoid hearing public input on complaints against district personnel because board members want to remain impartial in the event a licensed staff member is being considered for nonrenewal or discharge, such

as in the case of the Head Start teacher

the board moved to fire in February.

"The board could potentially be a jury on anything like that," Flynn said.

The School Board Policy Handbook states "because board members serve as the 'jury' when a licensed staff member (e.g., teacher, principal, or superintendent) is being considered for nonrenewal or discharge, board members must maintain their impartiality in the event of such a hearing. Consequently, board members must not hear complaints about licensed staff."

An internal investigation of an employee does appear to be underway at the district.

Last week, the Herald

filed an open records request

for a letter purportedly sent to some School Board members and signed by one or more Grand Forks Public Schools principals.

The Herald made its request in response to unconfirmed reports of the possible departure of a high-level district employee.

The Herald's request for the alleged letter was declined, with the district citing multiple state statutes relating to internal investigations of public employees and school district employees in particular.

The Herald has been unable to independently obtain the letter.

Per the Policy Handbook, investigations of personnel complaints must be handled by the employee's immediate supervisor, except in the case of the superintendent or business manager, who must be investigated by the board president.

Flynn declined to say whether she is investigating a complaint against Superintendent Terry Brenner.

Brenner departed the Mark Sanford Education Center immediately after a Facilities Committee meeting that followed the regular board meeting; he explained he was late for his son's game when the Herald caught up to him in the parking lot.

Asked whether he is involved with an internal investigation, Brenner declined to comment.

"I'm not commenting on any personnel matters," he said, walking across the windswept grass. "The company line is the same."

General Fund update

Also Monday, the board discussed general fund revenue, which sat at $104 million, and expenditures, which were at $86 million as of March 31, Business Manager Brandon Baumbach reported.

"It's fair to characterize this month as the high tide before things come down over the summer months," Baumbach said, noting revenues sat at 81% of projections for the year while expenses were only at 61%.

He said the general fund was up 11% in revenue compared to this time last year, while expenses were up 12%.

Summer school

Board members signed off on a slate of district summer school programs at each school level, including programs like the Summer Performing Arts and driver's education.

A few notable takeaways:

* SPA is set to expand its number of pre-K sessions from eight to 16. SPA Director Allison Peterson noted the program had doubled its number of pre-K slots every year the session had been offered, and said she believed 16 would be the "sweet spot."

* Increases in staff wages have put a "significant" strain on SPA's budget, and the program is expected to incur an additional $116,000 in staff costs with the same number of expenses. Peterson said the program has cut some staff hours and used grant-writing and fundraising to pay for staff, but the program needed a long-term solution.

* Schroeder, South and Twining middle schools will offer a STEM-based summer programming on top of existing math and English coursework in hopes of increasing participation.

* Valley Middle School will only offer the accelerated RISE summer learning program this year instead of both regular summer school and the accelerated program.

Carpeting projects

Board members signed off on purchasing $43,971 worth of carpet for projects at Lake Agassiz and Winship elementary schools. The funds will be paid out of the district's building fund; the district is attempting to move building maintenance expenses away from the general fund.