WAUWATOSA — At least half a dozen parents spoke in front of the Wauwatosa School Board Monday night to voice concerns over the leadership at McKinley Elementary School. Many worried that teachers will leave at the end of the school year.
"Trust is broken, morale is broken, our school community is broken," concerned parent Chris Merker said.
A school community that means so much to many McKinley families. They said they are facing challenges with leadership.
"Unfortunately, things are not going well at McKinley. The leadership is poor," a parent said during public comment.
Parents cite an alleged management problem that started in the fall of this school year. They said it involves the principal, Ted Martin.
"The situation seems to have evolved to a point of no return, and I fear the only option left is a leadership change," Todd Koehler said.
Koehler sent TMJ4 an email saying parents like him would be speaking at the meeting Monday night.
"If we don't raise our voices, then the status quo will continue, and that's not beneficial for this district," Koehler said.
He noticed the situation was getting worse when his child's teacher quit mid-school year.
"Our teachers are so important; we can't afford to lose them," said Koehler.
Koehler says he wants to see more action from the district before it's too late.
"The environment sounds from what we've heard, pretty toxic, and it wouldn't be surprising to us if a number of teachers left," Koehler said.
Superintendent Demond Means said they have a facilitator working to repair relationships within the school.
"We also have an investigation in place right now where we are examining the professional environment of McKinley," Means explained.
Means also told me off-camera that he knows of parents and teachers who support the principal.
"I will continue to try and determine what the next steps should be," Means said.
The district is expecting to have a report from the internal investigation by May 9th.
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