The allegations came on the heels of activity that East said has been ongoing involving certain members of the school board.
The flash-point of the confrontation was a request from Kathy Radig, board member, to again revisit the issue of hiring another fifth grade teacher. The issue had been tabled at a meeting earlier in the year, brought back onto the table, discussed, and laid to rest. It had been decided at the time that no hire would be made unless warranted.
 The Wahpeton Lions Club set up its donut trailer at Gate City Bank to serve mini donuts and coffee drive-thru style to those heading off to work Tuesday morning. From left: Ann Trebesch, Geri Coyne, Susan Johnson, Janel Fredricksen, Evie Fox, Gary Fox and Juline Haugen helped with serving the coffee and donuts outside the Lions' trailer. This was to kick off the United Way campaign. Daily News photo by Erin Hevern. Advertisement |
"Sixty-three," East replied.
"If the levy passed would you consider hiring another teacher?" Radig asked.
East replied, saying he could not single out one individual issue with so many considerations. Radig continued to pursue the topic stating various concerns.
After a moment of silence, East cleared his throat, and said, "OK." He then stood up and took a tape recorder from his pocket. "I am going to record what I have to say," he said.
"I have thought long and hard about whether or not I would ever do this," he said. "Certain things have transpired that have left me no choice."
East then took a seat in the public chairs and sat opposite the board, making eye contact with Radig.
East then confronted Radig about certain activities. "You have been contacting parents of fifth graders," he said. "I have received several calls." East said Radig has been actively attempting to recruit fifth grade students in an effort to exceed the amount needed to hire a new teacher.
"The self gain for your child cannot be ignored," he said. "You've been putting pressure on home-schoolers," he said.
East said Radig's contacting of parents of home-schooled kids has been discrediting the "quality of education" given by home-schoolers, is an insult to them and an act of harassment.
East said he knew Radig had been also actively attempting to solicit people to attend Monday night's meeting to disrupt it with pressure they would then bring onto East regarding the issue.
East said Radig had been calling administration people gathering information for her confrontation of him at the board meeting, but never attempted to contact him so he could prepare.
East opened the school board's own code of ethics and read several parts of it aloud. The ethics state that such activity would be a violation of what the Breckenridge School Board would consider ethical. "Especially when you invoke your status as a board member out in public," he said.
At one point Radig attempted to interject and East stopped her. "I have the floor," he said.
"Do you remember this," he said, holding up a piece of paper. "This is your oath of office." He read items from the oath which forbids certain types of activities and demands others.
In another blast, East confronted Radig about communications she had made out of the board meetings as she tried to find a first year teacher they could hire. "You are targeting a first year teacher," he said. "That excludes all the others." East said such a thing is a direct violation of federal law. He said such an action is subverting the process and the master contract.
"It's morally and ethically wrong," he said.
East asked Radig if she had anything to say. She said, "No comment." "I didn't think so," East replied.
Radig then said she would have pursued an extra teacher whether or not her child was in the class. East confronted her saying that was not true. He asked her if she had contacted any parents of another class which was also at a high number of students.
Radig did not reply to the question.
"I apologize," Radig said.
"No you don't," East replied. East told her that her conduct had been going on for more than a month, she had been confronted about it, and continued to do it.
As East continued to confront one issue after another, he stated all of his concerns were not only with Radig, but with other members of the board.
East said he had been "told and reminded" that he is only an "interim superintendent." He said he had been encouraged when he began because he was told the opportunity existed for him to possibly stay on should everything work out. "That hope has been squashed," he said. He had to choose between this type of conduct and his moral and ethical values, and said it was clear which one he was choosing.
East then said he had been receiving pressure from certain school board members to abide by their wishes. He said a school board member told him that if he "wanted to go to war" that was his decision.
East said he had a school board member say to him, "We need to make it look like we're working with you until the levy is passed."
After the confrontation, East took his seat and resumed the regular order of the meeting.
When an agenda item involving media center staffing was reached, East again stood and activated his tape recorder.
"Some of you have raised the issue of staffing in the media center," he said. The board had earlier in the year approved cuts in that area, he said, in such a manner that all media centers in the schools would stay open, but with a smaller staff.
"Out of the seven of you, several have told me you didn't realize you made a cut," he said.
East explained that the master contract stipulates policy, and said board members had been actively discussing the issue out of the meetings, and were now trying to change what was already done. "This is either incompetence," he said, "or deliberate avoidance of due process." East again said the master contract governs these matters.
"Do we have three members who don't know they made a cut?" he asked.
East then asked which board member was going to answer the question. "If you step into this quagmire I cannot protect you," he said. "So think carefully." East suggested the wise thing to do was drop it and not bring it up again.
"Either way the board cannot win," he said. "You cannot win."
Speaking to the possibility of legal repercussions of their actions, East said, "I believe there is a lady in this community who has made it clear what she's going to do."
Breckenridge Attorney Tracey Lindberg confronted the school board earlier in the year regarding what she said were policy violations, and possibly violations of Minnesota state and federal law, by members of the school board.
"I am tired of handling you with kids gloves," East said. "Don't lob surprises at me and don't lay bombs at my doorstep."
East told the entire board he will not sacrifice his legal, ethical and moral standards to appease them. "I will not subjugate your own policies," he said. "This mode of operation will end one way or another," he said.
East said he has seen communications by school board members that clearly violated their own policy. "School board business can only be transacted in an open meeting," he said. East told the board they are going to "run this school the way the law says."
All members of the board were given the opportunity to comment following the meeting. All declined.
Clay Carpenter wrote on Nov 12, 2009 11:56 PM:
I miss all our good times in Germany.
Your a Patriot and the definition of an American. "
Veronica A wrote on Jun 19, 2009 10:12 AM:
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