WINNECONNE (NBC 26) — Residents of Winneconne say tension in the school district has been brewing for months, but this week brought a rapid series of developments that have left the community asking where things go from here.
On Monday, Aug. 24, the school board placed top administrator Margaret Larson on leave. That decision was publicly announced on Friday, Aug. 28.
On Wednesday, Aug. 26, the district fired Kimberley Zeller, a nurse's aide, citing her comments at a June 1 school board meeting in which she questioned board President Kati Calewarts' actions regarding a transgender student.
Zeller said she plans to fight the termination.
"I will be filing a grievance early next week with the district because I want my job back. I feel as if I was wrongfully terminated. I have First Amendment rights as a taxpayer, as a US citizen, as a parent of students in the district," Zeller said.
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A recall petition targeting Calewarts and Vice President Dean Ackmann was started by Zeller's husband and has received public backing from fellow board member Jill Verich, who had also defended administrator Larson.
"I feel the basis for the recall petitions being circulated are valid. They're affiliated with Mother's for Liberty, they are biased towards that group, and they should not be bring those politics to the board," Verich said.
The acting Winneconne district administrator deferred comment to the school board president. Calewarts has been in contact with NBC 26, but has not sat for an interview.
The recall petition needs about 1,500 signatures to trigger an election. Organizers say they are only a few hundred signatures away from that threshold.
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