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Merrill board authorizes preliminary nonrenewal notices for teaching positions after special-education teacher’s appeal
Summary
The Merrill Area School District board authorized administration to issue preliminary notices of nonrenewal to teaching positions listed in a staffing-reduction plan and moved to closed session to consider personnel matters after public comments from teacher Heather Klemick and a former board member urging reconsideration.
The Merrill Area School District board on April 15 authorized administration to issue preliminary notices of nonrenewal to teaching positions identified in the district’s 2026–27 staffing reduction plan and moved into closed session to consider personnel matters under state law.
Superintendent Murray told the board the motion concerns positions, not individual employees, and the list includes 1.0 FTE encore (middle-school electives) and 1 special-education teaching position. The motion, made by John Smith and seconded by Amber Derizo, was approved on a voice vote; the board later convened to closed session under Wisconsin Statutes §19.85 and discussed personnel and contract matters pursuant to Wisconsin Statute §118.22.
Before the vote, Heather Klemick, who identified herself as an IDCD special-education teacher at Kate Goodrich Elementary, asked the board to reconsider a decision not to renew her contract. "I humbly ask that you take the time to review [my letter] and reconsider the decision regarding my nonrenewal," Klemick said, noting she had submitted a written appeal and parent support letters.
Former board member and district alumnus Ronald Behm also addressed the board in public comment, urging the board to consider corrective steps if nonrenewal resulted from disciplinary or procedural issues and warning that past separations of long-serving teachers created operational gaps the district struggled to fill.
The superintendent and board noted that specific personnel discussions and any actions regarding individual contracts would occur in closed session. Following the motion to adjourn to closed session, the board conducted a roll-call vote; members present were recorded as voting in favor and the room was secured for closed deliberations.
The board did not act publicly on any individual contract at the meeting. Any final employment decisions or formal notices issued after closed session will be announced according to district procedures.
