Board Member Kristen Schultz Resigns as Nicholas Robinson is Selected for Vacant Seat

On March 1, 2022, board member resigned from her position after being a member for almost seven years. She is the fourth member to resign in the last year.

USD 231

Kristen Schultz’s professional photo.

Olivia Steele, Editor in Chief
Mar 8, 2022

A fourth board member within the past year submitted their resignation on Tuesday, March 1, while a new member was appointed at the March 7 meeting to fill Robin Stout’s previous resignation. Kristen Schultz explained in her resignation letter it would be effective immediately after serving for six and a half years and Nicholas Robinson was voted into the other open seat in a 4-1 vote.

REASONS FOR RESIGNATION

“…I have worked hard every day since [joining], to be an advocate and a voice for the most under-represented professionals in education: our teachers,” Schultz said in her resignation letter. “Turns out, my greatest reason for serving is also my greatest sadness in leaving.”

Schultz cited a recent verbal altercation between her and a few community members at a local restaurant – not as a reason for resigning, but as the “proverbial last straw.” According to her letter, Schultz said the resignation comes from frustrations within the board and that she realizes she does not have a voice within the board anymore.

“I cannot make dishonest people honest,” Schultz said. “… realizing I can no longer sit next to people who choose blatant lies even when the truth is played right in front of them and I cannot be a part of a group that not only dismisses abhorrent behavior by their followers, but also defends and empowers that behavior to continue.”

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“I liked Nick Robinson…Nick has been here at every single board meeting. He’s been very involved. The same community that voted us in seemed to support him pretty well. I think that represents the majority of citizenry.”

— Greg Chapman

NEW BOARD MEMBER APPOINTED

Schultz’ resignation created two vacant spots on the board following Robin Stout’s announcement in late January. Both seats were set to expire in January 2024. Fourteen people applied for the position 7 at-large seat that Stout occupied. At the meeting Monday night, the board reviewed these and after five minutes of discussion, voted to approve the appointment of Nicholas Robinson,

According to his board seat application, he is a 2001 GEHS graduate and served in the Marine Corps for eight years. His top three priorities for the district include “post high school preparedness (not just college but military, truck driving, welding, etc.), staff retention, and SPED.”

“I liked Nick Robinson…Nick has been here at every single board meeting,” Greg Chapman said. “He’s been very involved. The same community that voted us in seemed to support him pretty well. I think that represents the majority of citizenry.”

APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR BOARD VACANCY

The vacant position left by Schultz must be published in the local newspaper for at least 15 days before the board can take action to appoint a new member. Anyone interested in applying for the open position can contact Deb Starling at [email protected] to access the application. They are due March 25 by 3:00 p.m.

SCHULTZ’ RESIGNATION LETTER

Below is the full resignation letter for Schultz. Read about Stout’s resignation here.

Kristen Schultz's Official Resignation Letter

Deb and Staff,

It is with my deepest regret and sorrow that I submit to you, this letter of resignation from my seat as Board Representative, Position 1, for USD 231, effective immediately.

The last 6 1/2 years have been such an incredible experience for me and while not every minute has been enjoyable, I’ve enjoyed every minute.

My parents dedicated their lives to public education and I grew up knowing the important influences teachers could have on a student’s life. I felt it in my own life and saw it again in the lives of my children, from teachers right here in Gardner-Edgerton.

So, when the opportunity first arose to serve, I could not think of a better way to repay all those people who had such an impact on me and, later, my children, And I have worked hard every day since, to be an advocate and a voice for the most under-represented professionals in education, our teachers. Turns out my greatest reason for serving is also my greatest sadness in leaving.

It also feels a bit disingenuous to ramble about how worn down I am, when I know all of you have been working tirelessly just to keep us afloat. These last two years have been intense and difficult for everyone. Please know that any time I expressed appreciation, gave thanks or shared my gratitude, I did so with sincere respect and complete genuineness.

I hope it’s understood that however wrong the altercation that happened Friday night was, my resigning is not about that. It was just the proverbial straw.

This is about my realization that I cannot make dishonest people honest. I cannot demand integrity from those who have no desire to show it. It’s about realizing I can no longer sit next to people who choose blatant lies even when the truth is played right in front of them and I cannot be a part of a group that not only dismisses abhorrent behavior by their followers, but also defends and empowers that behavior to continue. It’s about the slow realization that this is a process made ineffective by non-existent consequences for breaking the rules and it’s about the realization that I would just be playing the same game with a different group of people. Something I have no more energy to do.

But mainly, I send this resignation with the clear understanding that, given the current climate and circumstances, I can no longer make a difference. As painful as that realization is and as much as I’d like to admit otherwise, the manipulation, the lying, the back door planning and the harassment has taken a toll that is now interfering with my personal life and my own inner peace. And while I’m sure there will be many cheering this decision and taking credit for it, this isn’t about them. It’s about not BECOMING them.

While we will no longer be working side by side, I will continue to search for ways, outside of the boardroom, to highlight our teachers, to promote the success of our school district and to advocate for the importance of public education. My commitment to that hasn’t changed, I’ll just be finding new ways to exert that commitment.

With that, I will end this by wishing our board members much success. To do otherwise, would be to wish our district failure. I genuinely hope the next two years are much easier on them than the last were on us.

And to all of you whom I’ve had the privilege to work with over the last 7 years, thank you. Thank you for your dedication and determination and for your never ending commitment to our students, including my own. Thank you for answering my endless questions, for staying late and going in early. Thank you for being the center of what makes this district so great. Working alongside you has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.

Respectfully,

Kristen Schultz

The Blazer also reached out to board president Lana Sutton for a statement on the latest resignation, but has not responded at the time of press.

NEW ADMINISTRATORS APPROVED

The five board members present on Monday also approved the hiring of three new administrators: Shay Carter, Director of Special Education; Tiffany Morawiec, Director of Business and Finance; and Josh Kindler, Assistant Principal at Pioneer Ridge Middle School. Director of Community Relations Ben Boothe sent an email to all district staff today announcing the new hirees and giving descriptions of their backgrounds.

“We are extremely excited to add these three individuals to our administrative team,” Interim Superintendent Dr. James Sutton said in the email. “Each possesses a strong background in leadership and will serve the district and our students extremely well.”

UPCOMING SPECIAL MEETINGS

The meeting was later adjourned after an executive session. The board will hold two special meetings in the coming weeks: on March 21, they will discuss continuing employment contracts for administrators and the ATC (they tabled these decisions at the last meeting). On March 29, they will discuss applicants who have applied for the full-time superintendent position. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be Monday, April 4, 2022.

In regards to the superintendent search, the district provided a page discussing what the board talked about pertaining to a potential timeline. Click here to read: https://www.usd231.com/page/superintendent-search