The Mercer School Board 
A NEW BEGINNING? WELL MAYBE

For the first time in eight years the Mercer School may have a Board of Education and Administrator which will focus on quality education and the efficient use of taxpayer dollars.

Two new Board members, selected at the July 30 meeting, will join two recently elected members, Bob Davis and Jim Hannemann.  This is in contrast with a Board which not too long ago lacked the ability to manage school affairs in an open and honest manner.

Recently retired Mercer dentist Dr. Jeff Nehring and retired Racine schoolteacher Sue Loth were selected from a list of five to fill two vacant board seats.  The vacancies were created by the resignations of Karl Anderson and Noel Brandt.   

Now only one holdover from the knavish School Board is still on the Board.  But voters will have a chance to remove Micki Pierce Holmsrom in the Spring 2020 election.  They had earlier ousted clique members Kelly Kohegyi and Denise Thompson.  The cabal was further decimated when Deanna Pierson chose not to seek reelection in the last election, and Noel Brandt resigned and moved out of town.

At least two attempts were made earlier to break up the clique with the election of Karl Anderson and Christa Reinert, who were committed to honest and open management of school affairs.  They were repeatedly harassed, insulted and even threatened.   A smear campaign was successful in edging Christa out of her Board seat in this last Spring’s election.  Karl resigned for some unknown reason. 

Probably the best qualified candidate for appointment to a vacant Board position was not selected at the July meeting.  He is Rich Pegg, a retired attorney who has a long history of working with youth groups and has been active in Mercer community organizations.   As an attorney, he would have been able to provide valuable legal insight into school issues and possibly avoid any future wasting of taxpayer money on outside counsel like was done in the last school year -- $77,108, $37,212 of which was reimbursed by the school’s insurer.

Another opportunity for rebuilding a sadly lacking academic program may involve the selection of Sheri Kopka as interim Administrator.  She was the school’s science teacher when chosen to replace Administrator Erik Torkelson who had a stroke in June.  At its July meeting the Board approved a $90,000 one-year contract for Kopka.

To gain greater community involvement Kopka said at the July meeting that she would appoint a citizens’ advisory committee.  She said that the committee would work on creating a new school vision and a strategic plan for continuous improvement “which will guide our work here at the school”.

Let’s hope that Kopka chooses wisely and avoids putting any of the old clique Board members or their followers on the committee.