Whitnall School Board member claims she received threatening messages

A Whitnall School Board member has claimed she was harassed by other board members and community members in the days leading up to the board's annual spring organizational meeting, at which school board officers are chosen.

At the board's April 22 meeting, Rachel Scherrer, the board's vice president, read from a prepared statement, saying that the day before the meeting, she was "bombarded" with phone calls, texts and Facebook messages from some board members, whom she did not name, and other community members about the board's officer elections.

"I perceived some of these messages to be both threatening and attempts at intimidation and control, especially after the harassment I've received both personally and professionally this year," Scherrer said during the meeting's "debrief" section. She did not specify the messages' content.

Scherrer continued, saying she will "always vote based on what I believe is best for all kids and staff regardless of politics." She said she welcomed and would always "carefully consider" community communication and feedback.

"However, I arrive at my votes through research, inclusion of stakeholder voices, expert opinion and experience, not by manipulation, insults or sabotage, period. This board is not a political board. We are people elected by the community to consider what's best for students, support our amazing staff, and represent the wide beliefs of our community," Scherrer said.

Scherrer also said she was willing to be transparent with community members about her votes.

"If certain members of this board or certain members of the community are going to speak publicly about civility and also integrity, I highly encourage them to be models of it," Scherrer said.

Scherrer also said she wanted to "change the narrative" about the board and how it operates, saying "there is too much that is happening that is wrong and deceptive to the public."

"What you hear is not always what is happening. Let's get back to conversations about kids, our amazing staff, community, and let's move this district forward," Scherrer said.

Board officers elected on split votes

Board members voted, 4-3, for Cassie Rainer as board president over board member Jesse Stachowiak. Voting for Rainer were Rainer, and board members Jason Craig, Karen Mikolainis and Scherrer. Voting for Stachowiak were Stachowiak and board members Quin Brunette and Sarah Blonsky.

For vice president, board members voted, 4-3, for Scherrer over Stachowiak. Craig, Scherrer, Mikolainis and Rainer voted for Scherrer, while Brunette, Blonsky and Stachowiak voted for Stachowiak.

For clerk, board members voted, 4-3, for Craig over Blonsky. Scherrer, Rainer, Mikolainis and Craig voted for Craig while Brunette, Blonsky and Stachowiak voted for Blonsky.

For treasurer, the board voted, 4-3, for Mikolainis over Brunette. Craig, Mikolainis, Scherrer and Rainer voted for Mikolainis while Brunette, Blonsky and Stachowiak voted for Brunette.

Brunette, an incumbent, and Blonsky were also sworn in at the meeting. Both were elected to the board April 2.

How did other board members respond to Scherrer's allegations?

In an email to a reporter, Mikolainis said that during her five years on the board, she also has been subject to "bullying, manipulative, and unprofessional behavior by some of my current and former colleagues." She said she supports Scherrer and praised her for speaking up at the meeting.

"Bullying is not appropriate in the classroom and it is not appropriate on our Board of Education," Mikolainis said in her email.

Although Scherrer did not name specific board members, Brunette said he thought Scherrer was referring to him. He said its common for board members to call each other about the board reorganization. He acknowledged sending Scherrer a text before the meeting asking whether she wanted to be connected to people involved in conservative politics, such as WisRed.

"I also said that 'people are watching and they'll remember how you vote,'" Brunette said in a phone interview. "I think she thought that was threatening. I responded that 'no, that's not a threat. That's just a fact.'"

Mikolainis also forwarded to a reporter an email she said Brunette sent to her and Rainer, unsolicited, telling her who to vote for in the board's reorganization. She said Brunette and others, whom she did not name, tried to contact Scherrer "to attempt to bully her" over her vote, as well.

More: Former Whitnall School District employee charged with falsifying school board election results

"Quin Brunette's attempts to bully our votes and control the officer election are shameful," Mikolainis said.

Brunette said there was no bullying. He said those type of conversations occur every year before the reorganization meeting.

"I guarantee you they had the same conversations," Brunette said in an email to a reporter.

Stachowiak said in a phone interview he could not condone anything threatening or intimidating. He added that if Scherrer's perceptions were safety concerns, she should go to law enforcement "and not necessarily a board meeting." He emphasized that he was speaking as an individual and not as a representative of the board or district.

Blonsky expressed concern that the rules didn't seem to be applied fairly to all board members, expressing frustration at squabbling between Rainer and Brunette over how the meeting was run. She said she was disappointed that Scherrer was allowed to speak but others were not. For example, she said she did not have the opportunity to speak about Scherrer's statement. Blonsky said she also was speaking as an individual, not as a representative of the board or district.

"It felt like I was robbed of my voice on the board, as well. I'm alarmed at how things are going to move forward. I just want us to do better. I want us all to understand our policies better. I want us all to follow our policies well," Blonsky said.

Scherrer declined to talk with a reporter about her allegations.

Past district issues

The Journal Sentinel had asked candidates about board decorum before this spring's school board election.

After last spring's reorganization meeting, there was an investigation into the tampering of the officers' election. The original vote saw then board president Jason Craig lose before a re-vote in May, resulting in Craig being elected to that position. Shari Rodriguez, who was at the time the executive assistant to the Whitnall School District superintendent and School Board, admitted to tampering with the election. She was fired for her involvement. The investigation concluded there was no evidence that any other district administrators or staff were involved.

Last September, Mikolainis came under fire for Mikolainis introducing a policy requiring written parental permission for school staff to use names and pronouns for students that differ from the sex they were assigned at birth. It was based on a model template from the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. The board never voted on the policy.

In addition, the board had been seeking a replacement for former superintendent Lisa Olson, who had announced her intention last November to end her contract early. She did so in January. Ed Brzinski was named the district's interim superintendent January 16, only for Brzinski to announce his resignation two weeks later, effective Feb. 9. Kristen Taylor then took Brzinski's place as interim superintendent. The board recently named Brady Reinke to be the district's next permanent superintendent, effective July 1. Taylor will be interim superintendent until June and will help with the onboarding and transition process for Reinke.

Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AlecJohnson12.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Whitnall School Board member claims she received threatening messages