Wentzville teachers, parents urge district to prioritize retention and protect lawful off‑duty speech

WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Dozens of teachers, parents and district employees urged the Wentzville R‑IV School District Board of Education on Sept. 18 to take more aggressive steps on teacher retention and to protect staff who speak as private citizens.

At the board’s public‑comment period, speakers described a national teacher shortage and said local staff face heavy workloads, frequent out‑of‑class obligations and targeted online harassment. Rebecca Mesic identified herself as a district teacher, resident and president of the Wentzville NEA and described widespread staffing pressures. “It is imperative that our district become intentional and aggressive about teacher retention,” Mesic said.

Teacher speakers cited concrete ways the board and administration could help. Katie Rosner, who said she has worked in three districts, praised colleagues’ extra work for students — including using Google Translate and running extended clubs — and called for gestures of appreciation, structured time for collaboration, and consideration of teacher needs when forming policy. “Take their needs into consideration when creating programs and policies,” Rosner said. Several speakers urged the board to avoid expanding district conduct rules to police lawful off‑duty speech.

Other speakers described a recent targeted online campaign against a district social studies teacher who spoke as a private citizen. Jessica Liebman said the campaign included coordinated efforts to expose the teacher’s workplace and pressure the district to fire her; she called the campaign “a coordinated doxing campaign with the explicit intent of getting her fired.” Amanda Knittel and Megan Kurz framed the issue in First Amendment terms and warned that disciplining teachers for lawful private speech could drive educators away and invite costly lawsuits.

Board members did not take action during public comment. President Scott and several board members later referenced public concerns during the meeting’s agenda items and said administration will accept emailed comments from constituents.

The comments came amid other testimony praising teachers for quick emergency responses, student competition results, and examples of classroom work, and the board thanked speakers before proceeding to the scheduled agenda.