Trust issues with the school board?

CLINTONVILLE – During the discussion on what dollar amount the School District of Clintonville should ask voters to approve for an operational referendum at a special Clintonville Board of Education meeting Jan. 14, trust was questioned by board member Christopher Hoffmann.

Community trust
Hoffmann said the community survey results showed that some in the community question the trust of the school board.
“The mistruths that came out of this board has me concerned that because of the sins of the past,” Hoffmann said. “…That perception is out there in the community and I can’t change the mistrust that was done with the community.”
Clintonville Superintendent Troy Kuhn said he has discussed that with Nick Curran, director of Business Services with CESA 8, which the district uses for its finances, and said factual information needs to be relayed to the community.

Curran added that if the emotion that board members have displayed in the past remains, trust will not be built with the community.
“You as a board have to continue down this path strategically in your work together, and what happened is in the past,” Curran. “You have to figure out how to work past that.”
Hoffmann said he is concerned that based on conversations he has had with community members that they do not trust the district’s board members.
Kuhn said the district will have to build trust with the community in the months leading up the referendum question being on the ballot. He said the district will also need to address the concerns residents included in the community survey.
“Because we don’t send out a survey and then ignore what the survey said,” Kuhn said.
Board President Glen Drew Lundt said he was in support of a $1.5 million referendum in order to force the district to make financial decisions.
“If we tie our hands and get to the basics, we have no choice, we can’t keep kicking this down the curb,” Lundt said.
Lundt said he preferred a referendum for a short number of years so the district could gain the trust of the community for a future referendum.
“Let’s do a start, let us prove we can work together and we can get moving,” Lundt said.
Board member Ben Huber said doing it that way would require the district to spend more time and money preparing for more referendum questions in a short number of years.
Curran added, “If we think we’re going to do a one-year referendum to build trust, I don’t think trust is going to change in one year.”
He also recommended that the referendum not be shorter than three years, and preferred five years.

Board member trust
Later during the discussion, with Hoffmann the only holdout board member from agreeing to ask voters to approve a $1.95 million operational referendum, Hoffmann questioned if he could trust the other board members.
“Help sell me on how I can trust each one of you to do what we say we’re going to do,” Hoffmann said.

Hoffmann said the trust he was referring to were for things that have happened at past board meetings. He cited an example at the Jan. 12 meeting when Huber stated the board had voted to approve having a pollination garden added on district property and that vote did not happen.
“I’m asking for, help me regain trust in my board members, so we go to meetings we don’t put out statements like that,” Hoffmann said. “Help me trust that we can move forward and do what we say we’re going to do.”
Huber said he has made mistakes in the past and has probably made misstatements.
“I’m sure all of us have,” Huber said.
Huber said he thought the board had voted on the pollination garden.
“An acknowledgement of a mistake is a step in the right direction,” Hoffmann said. “That’s what I’m saying. The things that have been said and done, I think let’s all take ownership in and say, ‘Hey, that was incorrect, let’s move forward.’ Help me trust that we’re going to move forward in an honest, ethical manner, and I can get behind the $1.9. The onus is on help sell me on how we can be better people in that regards so I can get behind and have this be a unanimous vote.”
Hoffmann said he no longer wants to talk about goals. He wants to talk about plans.
“The goal can keep moving, let’s set a bar, and let’s get a plan to get there as a board,” Hoffmann said.
He said he would like the board to go through a strategic planning process in exchange for his approval of a $1.95 million operational referendum.
“I think that would be a fair compromise,” Hoffmann said.
Huber said he preferred to do a strategic planning process in April after the spring election.
“I’m asking for a commitment here,” Hoffmann said. “…If it’s too much to ask. I’m asking for the onus of you. Help me trust you, Ben.”
Huber said he would do that, but also asked Hoffmann how much time he wanted to spend on a strategic planning process when the district needs to educate the public about an operational referendum on the April ballot.
Hoffmann said it would be easier to educate the public if all the board members agreed on the dollar amount instead of only six of the board members agreeing.
Huber agreed.
Curran said when the board members bring emotion to the discussions and that’s what hurts the board.
“That emotion is what’s hurting everybody here, you’re all hurting each other’s feelings because emotion is being brought into this,” Curran said. “That’s why I continue to tell you, you gotta get strategic.”
Curran recommended the board bring in someone from outside the district to facilitate a strategic planning process with the board.
“You’re going to need somebody to manage that for you and help you facilitate these conversations so you can keep going forward,” Curran said.
Hoffmann said he could agree to the $1.95 million referendum if the rest of the board members would agree to a strategic planning process, he would continue to support the $1.95 million at the next meeting.
“Then I’m still putting the onus on six additional board members to come up with a strategic planning initiative agreement with the date to move forward,” Hoffmann said.
Without an agreement from the other six board members by the next meeting, Hoffmann said he would remove his support for a $1.95 million operational referendum.
“If we leave tonight with no decision, or me not on board, that does more detriment for this to move forward than it is for the compromise that I’m looking at,” Hoffmann said.
Board Clerk Klint Barkow said a strategic planning process would be a “step in the right direction.”
“Because there’s a negative image out there today, and we need to change that,” Barkow said.
Board Treasurer Jason Moder added that the board needs to show people that members of the board can compromise to get things done.