People rallied at two Menomonee Falls schools this week to protest the superintendent search process

Since the Menomonee Falls School District announced its two superintendent finalists — Jerry Sardina and David Muñoz — nearly two weeks ago, a group has raised concerns over the hiring process and the finalists' backgrounds.

This week, members of the Grassroots Menomonee Falls Area group organized two events attended by about 25 people who dressed in black, chanted and held signs protesting. The rallies were held July 5 outside Riverside Elementary School and July 6 outside Shady Lane Elementary School and were timed to coordinate with the finalists' school visits.

The group chanted "We deserve better," "Support our teachers" and "No voices, bad choices."

Hallie Schmeling, spokesperson and co-leader of the group, said in a statement, "Menomonee Falls teachers and principals have been cut out of the superintendent search process." The events provided a "space to empower educators and show our support for them," she said.

The Journal Sentinel attempted to speak to teachers for their perspective, but Schmeling said teachers are not allowed to speak to the media under a district policy that states if an issue is controversial or districtwide, the superintendent is the media contact.

Schmeling said she has heard from teachers thanking her for the rallies. She added that teachers have said they were afraid to attend the rallies for fear of repercussions from the district.

"They are cutting the experts about being able to talk to the community," said Schmeling. "This is just suppressing their voices. I think it is a sign of disrespect."

Concerns with the hiring process

Schmeling said she is concerned the school board will announce the new superintendent at its July 10 meeting without educators' input. She also wished there was an opportunity for community members to ask the finalists questions.

School district officials would not say whether educators had any input in the hiring process. A statement from the School District of Menomonee Falls Board said, "We are in the midst of hiring and therefore cannot provide an update at this time." Board members did not respond to emails from the Journal Sentinel.

After the finalists' toured schools, they met with the school board in closed session meetings at Mitchell's Fish Market in Brookfield on July 5 and at Johnny Manhatten's in Hubertus on July 6, according to the agendas.

The board hopes to hire a superintendent by Aug. 15. If a suitable candidate isn't found, the position will remain open, according to the district website.

School board president supports candidates

School Board President Nina Christensen wrote on her school board president Facebook page that "the board unanimously agreed on the two finalists. They were the strongest candidates with experience, success and leadership skills."

The district recently posted a video from each finalist on the its Facebook page.

In his video, Muñoz cited his accomplishments with the Mosinee School District, where he has been district administrator since 2019. He said that, during that time, the district: installed new handicap facilities and created new special education and music spaces in the middle school, reduced its tax rate by 30% while not increasing its debt; and achieved a teacher retention rate of 90.57% in 2023. He added that he has 25 years of classroom and administrative experience. More information is on his biography on the Menomonee Falls School District's website.

Sardina was a village of Greendale Police Department law enforcement officer from1994 to 2007, according to his biography on the Menomonee Falls School District's website. He has been the superintendent of Iron Mountain Public Schools in Iron Mountain, Michigan, since 2019 and has held different administrative education roles since 2007. In his video, Sardina said he mentored other struggling school districts; can build leadership teams; bring innovation; push the district to challenge the status quo; and enrich classrooms through good instruction in Menomonee Falls.

Grassroots Menomonee Falls Area cites concerns about the candidates

Both Muñoz and Sardina were finalists for the Hartland-Lakeview School District superintendent position in spring. They both withdrew from consideration amid criticism from parents and community members regarding their background and credentials.

More: Hartland-Lakeside School Board names district's new superintendent

"If the staff and community members protested these exact same candidates in another school district, why would we accept these candidates in Menomonee Falls School District?" Schmeling asked in a news release.

Schmeling also cited concerns with Sardina not having classroom experience.

Concerns with Muñoz were over staff retention and morale while he was the Mosinee School District superintendent, according to reporting by TV station WAOW.

Additionally, Muñoz was among the defendants in a lawsuit brought by former Mosinee art teacher Christy Mathis, who was fired after a student accused Mathis of touching her inappropriately. The lawsuit named the district and several of its employees as defendants. The civil suit, filed in January 2022 in federal court, stated the seventh-grade student and two of the student's friends made the accusation because they were angry over how Mathis enforced the school's cellphone policies. Muñoz was dropped from the lawsuit on March 10, 2023.

"The district defendants aggressively defended the allegations in this case due to their unwavering belief that it did not violate any laws," Muñoz, wrote in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Concerns over the district's climate

Kathy McBride, who was at the July 5 event, said the process of selecting the superintendent did not align with a community survey.

From September to October 2022, HYA, a private superintendent search firm based in Arlington Heights did a survey to determine what the community wants in a superintendent. Staff, village organizations, high school students, administrative staff, parents, community and principals were invited to complete the online survey.

Ten focus groups and 1,099 people completed the survey. According to the results, a crucial concern was a lack of trust and respect in the district. Transparent communication is needed, the results said.

McBride, who taught art in the district for 30 years, said trust in the district has declined, citing a lack of communication between the school board and community in the superintendent search process as evidence. Because of these issues, she attended the rally to support the teachers.

"I have always been involved with the school board; it has never been like this," said McBride, who retired in 2015. She said the board has gotten more partisan, when it should be nonpartisan.

She said that the climate in the schools appears to be getting worse. "The teachers and principals need to have a bigger voice," she said.

For more information on the superintendent process, visit www.fallsschools.org

Cathy Kozlowicz can be reached at 262-361-9132 or cathy.kozlowicz@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kozlowicz_cathy.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Group expresses concerns over Menomonee Falls superintendent search