The Arrowhead School Board voted not to renew the contracts of four teachers April 8 despite overwhelming opposition from parents, students and residents who packed the school’s South Campus library.
After deliberating in closed session for almost an hour and 40 minutes, the board came back into open session and unanimously approved issuing notices to consider not renewing the teaching contracts of social studies teacher Tim Tower, language arts teacher Katie Herrmann, science teacher Brian Corry and math teacher Mark Leoni. By the time the board’s vote took place just before 10:30 p.m., most of the crowd had gone home, leaving just a handful who stayed for the board’s decision.
During the public comment period earlier in the meeting, most of the 28 people who spoke – a mix of parents, residents, students and former Arrowhead staff – questioned the district’s rationale. Many of the comments drew loud rounds of applause.
While not naming Tower, student Taylor Malec talked about Tower’s work as adviser for the school’s Junior States of America chapter. She said he makes sure each member is heard, challenges them to think beyond the headlines and holds them to high standards. Malec also praised his enthusiasm.
“That kind of enthusiasm is contagious. It makes students want to show up, want to engage and want to be part of something bigger than themselves, which is actually what Arrowhead needs,” she said.
Malec also said she planned to send a letter to board members with signatures from current Arrowhead students, alumni, community members and even Oconomowoc High School’s JSA chapter in support of Tower.
Arrowhead junior Logan Andrew said he was scared of the possibility of influential teachers being taken away from students.
“I ask the board to look at these teachers as more than just contracts, numbers or stats and see them as leaders of the school that truly make Arrowhead a tradition of excellence,” he said.
Alicia Obermann, a former Arrowhead math teacher who now teaches at Waukesha West High School, said she witnessed a decline in teacher morale and retention at Arrowhead. She also wanted the district to explain the reasons for choosing the teachers they picked for nonrenewal.
“The community deserves a standard of transparency and excellence that matches our Arrowhead standard of excellence we expect from our students,” she said.
What the board, superintendent said
Before the board’s vote, board member Brandon Miller said the board had reviewed a lot of information during its closed session.
“We asked a lot of questions, many of which were brought up tonight by the public; all that gave the clarity we needed to make this upcoming decision,” Miller said.
Before public comment began, Arrowhead Superintendent Conrad Farner said that separating with employees is not enjoyable and the district does not take those conversations and decisions lightly. He said before difficult staffing decisions are made, the district’s administration has “multiple extensive conversations” before coming to an agreement.
“Our goal in dealing with sensitive personnel matters is to treat the employees with respect, to be proactive and to keep all conversations confidential. We can’t control what anyone else does with the information, but we will keep sensitive information confidential. The vast majority of our employees appreciate that,” Farner said.
Farner cited declining enrollment of the school as a factor, something he noted is also happening in other districts statewide. He said Arrowhead’s enrollment has declined from over 2,200 students in 2016-17 to a projected 1,774 students for 2026-27.
The district did not cut staff earlier to align with declining enrollment because it was trying to improve its academic performance. Farner said that on state report cards, the district scored at a “B” level nine out of 11 years.
To address those issues, the district implemented a block schedule, added a resource period for students to get extra support during the school day and added more professional development days for teachers. The district has also emphasized implementing best instructional strategies, best use of assessment data and using data to guide instruction and interventions, raising expectations of professionalism for staff, and hiring and retaining “many outstanding teachers,” Farner said.
Farner said the district should be earning the highest rating “every single year.”
Farner also said the district had been focused on trying to get a referendum passed that he hoped would eliminate $750,000 in redundant costs from having two separate buildings and free up funds for staffing and instructional programming and to attract more resident families to the district.
Referendums in November 2024 and April 2025 that would have consolidated Arrowhead into one building failed. The school is currently split between two campuses: North and South.
“More resident families means better funding, means your enrollment stays higher and you might not have to make as many cuts,” he said.
Farner said the district must cut about $1 million from its budget for 2026-27.
But he added that there are also budget shortfalls projected in the next few years, largely due to declining enrollment and the unpredictability of state funding.
Farner said the district has already frozen department budgets, closed co-taught classes, reduced administrative staff by combining multiple part-time positions into one full-time position, reduced maintenance and special education support staff, moved to a self-funded insurance model, restructured bus routes and found efficiencies to save money on utility costs.
“These things have helped us a lot, gotten us to this point, but they are not enough. At this point, we have to make staffing reductions to balance our budget,” he said.
Farner said many factors are considered in making staffing decisions, including instructional effectiveness, professionalism, contributions, leadership, licensure, evaluations, sectioning and program needs and any documented concerns.
“We always make our decisions based on the best interest of the entire school,” he said.
In an April 9 email to the Journal Sentinel, Farner said in addition to the four teachers, three other teachers indicated they are resigning after the current school year. He did not specify who the teachers are nor what subject they teach.
Farner said by using a general estimate of around $120,000 for a full-time teacher with family health and dental benefits and state retirement benefits, those seven teaching positions equate to around $840,000.
“Assuming we get another resignation before next year, that would get us very close to the $1 million,” Farner said.
Contact Alec Johnson at 262-875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on X at @AlecJohnson12.
(This story was updated to add new information and correct a misspelling.)
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Arrowhead school board declines to renew teachers despite backlash
Reporting by Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
