Caledonia food-service worker tells board new director created 'toxic' work environment, payroll and safety concerns

Beth Strzewski, a Caledonia food-service employee, told the Caledonia Community Schools Board of Education that staff working under the district's new food-service director have faced payroll problems, missing personnel records, equipment shortages, and what she described as a “toxic work environment.”

Strzewski said the district’s new food-service director, Megan Beyer, began in summer 2024 and that employees “went way too long without being paid.” She described one employee who called crying because she needed pay to buy school supplies and another who quit after her Social Security number was misplaced. Strzewski said the district’s clock-in system was not implemented promptly and that paychecks were repeatedly shorted.

The worker also raised safety and operational complaints: she said kitchen leads were left without guidance when an elementary school lost power and that Beyer did not return calls. “They were beyond frazzled and stressed,” Strzewski said, adding that Beyer “looked at us, chuckled, and said, ‘looks like you guys have this,’ and went to sit blissfully in her office.”

Strzewski said staff had to buy kitchen essentials such as cut gloves and salad spinners with no reimbursement while waiting months for requested supplies. She described ongoing difficulties reaching Beyer by phone or email, and said she had repeatedly elevated concerns to Beyer’s manager, Eric Nearing, and to his supervisor with little or no response.

Strzewski also said she is pursuing a denied workers’ compensation claim for a torn shoulder ligament she said occurred while helping another employee. She said Beyer did not report the incident promptly and that she had to remind officials to file the report.

Strzewski praised an interim director, Katie Boss, who she said has “listened to each and every employee” and improved morale while Beyer has been on maternity leave. She said most staff “will not return if Megan does” and called the public comment an “act of desperation for a change.”

Board response during the meeting was limited; the board president said the board “will definitely be getting back in touch with you over the matter.” No board action was recorded during the meeting on the personnel or contractor oversight issues raised in public comment.

The comments were made during the public-comment portion of the board meeting and were presented as firsthand testimony from a member of the district’s food-service staff. The board did not make a personnel decision at the meeting and referred personal personnel matters to the superintendent, consistent with its stated public-comment policy.