Community members press Antigo school board over wave of resignations and staff departures

Dozens of community members spoke at the Unified School District of Antigo board meeting on June 25, 2025, pressing the board for answers about a recent spike in resignations and retirements and asking for greater transparency from district administration.

Speakers at the public-comment portion said the departures are damaging classroom continuity and student services. “CTE classes have changed lives in this district,” Chelsea Kubiakuk said, calling for transparency about changes to career and technical education (CTE) and staffing decisions. Nicole Kubiakic told the board, “There is something not right going on in our school district,” and asked board members to reflect on their responsibilities to the community.

The speakers linked the departures to low morale, rapid personnel decisions and what they described as poor responsiveness from district leaders. Laurie Flannery, a former 34‑year district teacher, said the district has had “over a 170 district employees retire or resign their positions” since mid‑2023 and urged the board to share a clear vision and plan for retention. Darcy Wachotko, who identified herself as a special‑education teacher who resigned this spring, said staffing gaps led to unsupported team‑taught classes and IEPs that she characterized as being out of federal compliance. She read a student’s email expressing distress about a lack of math support: “I was wondering when you will get someone in my math to help me. I feel very hopeless in succeeding in my education, and I have no 1 now to get extra help.”

Board members heard similar concerns from local business leaders and student representatives who tied the staffing changes to impacts on workforce pipelines. Sarah Cruz, a local employer who said more than 70% of her workforce came through the district’s CTE pipeline, warned that reductions to metals, machining and related classes would “erode the talent pipeline for our local economy.” Corbin Schrecker, president of Antigo FFA, said the loss of a longtime teacher diminished students’ pathways to apprenticeships.

After public comment, the board amended the consent agenda to move resignations and retirements to a separate action item and later voted to accept the report of resignations and retirements as presented. Board discussion acknowledged gaps in the board’s visibility into day‑to‑day administration; multiple board members said they shared speakers’ concerns and committed to further review. The motion to accept the resignations and retirements carried.

The public commenters asked for specific remedies: clearer communication with staff and the community, quicker and clearer responses to public inquiries, and explicit retention plans to keep experienced staff in classrooms and support services. Several speakers urged the board to direct administration to produce more detailed information about who is leaving and why, and to place remediation on a committee agenda so the board could review options formally.

The board did not adopt new personnel policy changes during the meeting; however, members said the issues raised would be pursued in upcoming committee work and that some items would be revisited in finance and personnel discussions in July.