Things Get Ugly at a Florence Board Meeting

Saturday September 22, 2007

Teacher case looms over FCSD annual meeting
Hank Murphy

Events surrounding suspended Florence teacher Nick Baumgart resonated
loudly Monday after dozens of his supporters, many of whom wore bright
yellow buttons proclaiming "Bring Back Baumgart," gained procedural
control of the school district's budget hearing and annual meeting.
Facing an audience in no mood for niceties, attitude, the board and
administration were grilled over administrative costs, expenditures
for attorneys, the setting aside of referendum money, and Hillcrest
School.
A resolution failed that would have given the board of education
permission to sell the vacant school building. The motion indicated
the action did not reflect a loss of confidence in the school board,
but it left the Aurora landmark facing even more uncertainty.
Pushed through was a resolution calling for the district to supply
training for teachers who must abide by the district's policy
governing the use of physical force and to support teachers who act in
accordance with the policy.
Interim Administrator Fred Stieg said the formulation of school
policies should follow a responsible protocol.
"I believe what is being done here is inappropriate and I strongly
recommend the board not to comment, based on legal advice relevant to
this matter," Stieg said when the motion was heard.
In a regular meeting that preceded the annual session, board President
Dan Brereton, citing legal reasons, placed off limits references to
matters pertaining to the Baumgart case.
The 47-year-old teacher and former teachers union president is charged
with a felony count of injury to a child in connection with the
removal of an eighth-grader from his classroom on June 1. He faces a
misdemeanor count of battery regarding an incident with a student in a
stairwell that allegedly took place between May 5 and June 5. His
attorney, Roy Polich, said Baumgart will plead innocent.
Shut out of the regular meeting, Baumgarts supporters found a new
venue to air their views at the annual meeting, where electors have
the power to elect a chairman. By a wide margin, they chose Rich
Justice over Brereton and gained a measure of control over the
proceedings. They leveraged that control to address the district's
policy governing physical force.
"On Dec. 18th of 2006, the school board adopted this policy. I want to
know where and when the training program will take place so that the
people in this school district that you have authorized to use it will
use it such a fashion that it meets your approval," asked Charles
Kellstrom of Spread Eagle, who led sometimes harsh questioning of the
board and Stieg.
Former high school and middle school principal Jack Kriegl asked, "If
we can't use reasonable and necessary force to maintain control, then
how do we do it? The next alternative I believe is to call our
superiors. I believe every time we do that, we weaken that individual
teacher."
He later added: "We can't have a group of vessels here at this school
who are afraid to use necessary force because they're afraid they will
not be backed by their superiors. That can't happen."
As the night grinded on, tempers occasionally flared amid testy exchanges.
Near the end of the proceeding, several people suggested the board had
abdicated its responsibilities in the Baumgart matter by deferring to
attorneys and Stieg.
When John Carlson of Aurora suggested school board members should
"stand on your own two feet" in dealing with the matter, Brereton rose
and responded, "With my history in this district, you know damn well I
stand on my own two feet. I do on every issue."
Of the notion that board members say and do only as told, Jim Gehlhoff
said, "To say that we don't speak our minds and listen to Fred like
we're children – nothing could be further from the truth."
When asked after the meeting if the Baumgart case had opened a chasm
between teachers and the board and administration, Stieg replied:
"This issue right now as I see is in the law enforcement side, so if
there is an issue with us I think it is misplaced at this time."