Flambeau students walk out to protest principal's dismissal

Sarah Seifert, The Leader-Telegram, Eau Claire, Wis.
·2 min read

Mar. 1—TONY — About 75 students at the Flambeau school district held a walkout last week in protest of the school board's decision not to renew principal Craig Cahoon's contract for the next school year.

Students who organized the walkout said they believe the board is not renewing Cahoon's contract because Cahoon spoke with authorities involving an investigation into two top school officials.

Cahoon, the district's sixth through twelfth grade principal, requested a public hearing with the Flambeau school board about the decision to not renew his contract. That hearing took place Feb. 22, according to meeting materials. Students held the walkout Friday.

Cahoon joined the district as a principal in 2017.

Flambeau High School senior Emmalee Nelson said she and other students who organized the walkout believe the board didn't renew Cahoon's contract because he spoke with law enforcement about an investigation into school district administrator Erica Schley and school board president Julie Hauser.

Schley did not respond Monday to an email and voicemail seeking comment on the status of Cahoon's contract. Hauser also did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Schley and Hauser were charged last year in Rusk County Court with felony misconduct. Criminal complaints filed last year alleged that Schley's husband, Jeffrey Schley, attempted to get a teacher to change his daughter's grade in a physical education class. The complaints also said Hauser failed to hold a special school board meeting to address a complaint from the teacher about the incident.

The original charges against Erica Schley were dismissed Feb. 14, though similar charges against her were filed on Feb. 11. The new criminal complaint alleges Erica Schley met with a male school administrator named "CMC" to "attempt to gain information on an ongoing criminal investigation of her husband and JH (Julie Hauser)."

The complaint says Erica Schley asked CMC what questions law enforcement asked him, and she asked CMC why he hadn't told her he had talked with law enforcement about the investigation. The complaint also alleged that Erica Schley reprimanded CMC for attending a school board meeting to support a teacher, but that other administrators who attended the meeting were not reprimanded.

An initial appearance is set for May 17 in Erica Schley's case.

Hauser, the school board president, was charged in May 2021 with two felony counts of misconduct in office. In that case, a status conference is set for March 30.

Jeffrey Schley was charged in June 2021 with misdemeanor disorderly conduct. A review hearing in that case has been scheduled for March 21.

The Flambeau school district is located in southern Rusk County.