The news of Randi Anderson being put in charge of another school district is generating two reactions locally. The first one is that at least she’s not going to impact our schools anymore, but then the second reaction is that she’s going to be bringing another education institution to its knees.
I first heard of Anderson being a finalist for Sevastopol School District superintendent near the end of May via a post on Shawano, Let’s Talk About It on Facebook from a former Shawano resident now living in Door County. When I read it, I couldn’t help but feel empathy for the district’s residents, especially the reporters who have to report on the district’s activities there.
Unfortunately, the Shawano School District made a Faustian deal behind closed doors that, besides giving Anderson a golden parachute worth $400,000 for the remainder of her contract, which ends this month, it also required a glowing letter of recommendation from the board president and that all references of Anderson’s tenure with the district go through human resources in exchange for her stepping down quietly. In other words, Shawano school officials couldn’t warn Sevastopol school officials about the havoc she wrought here and could potentially do to their community.
Made worse, Sevastopol utilized the Wisconsin Association of School Boards, the same organization that convinced Shawano’s school board five years ago that Anderson was a good finalist for superintendent in 2019. I’d say their judgment is horrible, at best.
For those new to the area who might not have been aware, here are some of the lowlights of her three years running Shawano School District:
• While most other schools in Shawano County were only closed for a week or two weeks in fall 2020 due to high COVID-19 numbers, Shawano’s protocols allowed Anderson to keep buildings closed and classes virtual for three months. The restrictions were lifted after significant community outcry, but the damage was done.
• Anderson convinced the school board to switch to Apple products for the classrooms, a move that was not only more expensive for the district, but caused quite the learning curve as teachers couldn’t get the equipment to work right.
• Things really went into a spiral in March 2022 when Anderson and other district office administrators revealed that Shawano was facing a $2 million deficit in the 2022-23 budget. Recommendations included cutting staff positions, but she also recommended the board close one of the schools, a choice between Olga Brener Intermediate School and Shawano Community Middle School, with the latter being the oldest building in the district. She recommended the closure decision be made quickly instead of “kicking the can” down the road a year. The board went another route.
• The school closing revelation brought angry parents and community members to multiple school board meetings to register their outrage about the school closing. Staff members spoke to the board about feeling unappreciated by Anderson, who was painted as a hostile leader. Anderson shrugged it off as a “small group of people” wanting to stir up trouble.
• From there, a petition for Anderson’s resignation was circulated and was signed by over 1,200 people. When the petition would not be accepted by the school board at the time, the community focused its attention on two board members who voiced unwavering support for Anderson with recall petitions.
• In 2022, the district lost more than 60 employees, including all four principals and associate principals. Five board members resigned, including the two targeted for recall.
If Sevastopol had done its own investigating, officials might have discovered the chaos she orchestrated here and then thought twice about offering her a contract. It didn’t, and now it’s inherited someone who should not be in charge of educating our youngest.
Shawano is still picking up the pieces from Anderson’s tenure. Poor Sevastopol doesn’t know what it’s in for.
I wish Sevastopol the best of luck, because from my experience, that school district is going to need it.
Lee Pulaski is the city editor for NEW Media. Readers can contact him at lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com.
