UPDATE: Resident Speaks Out to Ankeny School Board; Outgoing Superintendent Wendt Not at Meeting
At least two school board members have told the media that Superintendent Matthew Wendt should give back his transition pay after he accepted a new job.
UPDATE: 5:15 p.m.
It was a packed house tonight at the Ankeny school board meeting, an audience including some Ankeny taxpayers hoping to learn more about the severance package paid to outgoing Superintendent Matthew Wendt.
The administrator was not at the meeting, but Ankeny Patch was later told Wendt is currently using some vacation time, which is why he was not at tonight's meeting.
Wendt resigned last week and received one year's pay in return, with Ankeny school board members saying they believed he did not have another position to go to. However, the next night he signed a contract with the Oswego, IL, school district for an annual salary of $50,000 more than the roughly $176,000 he earned a year in Ankeny.
At least two board members told the media over the weekend that given his new job, Wendt should return the severance money to Ankeny.
Longtime Ankeny resident Joe Morr spoke during the public comment portion of tonight's meeting. He said as long as the board approved the severance package and Wendt took the money honestly, he did not have a problem with what happened.
However, if it wasn't taken honestly, Morr said the board would hear from him "now and until hell freezes over."
He closed by asking board members to do something about the payout if they can.
"If he hoodwinked the board members and me ... if it wasn't taken by him honestly, I have a problem," Morr said. "Whether you voted for or against it, I could care less.
Our earlier story:
The Ankeny school board will meet for the first time tonight since the district superintendent submitted his resignation last Wednesday, took a $176,000 transition allowance and, one day later, accepted a new job with a school district in Illinois.
At least two Ankeny school board members have told local media outlets they believe departing Superintendent Matthew Wendt should give back the transition allowance.
On Friday last week, board member Dustin Graber told the Des Moines Register he believes Wendt should give back the money to the taxpayers of Ankeny because it could be used to pay the salaries of at least two teachers.
Board president George Tracy also went on the record with KCCI Channel 8 last week. Tracy told the television station he and the other board members were under the assumption Wendt did not have another job lined up when they offered him the transition allowance.
"At that time, we did not know he had another job or was even interviewing for another position. We would have made the stipulation that if he had another position, we would not have paid him the transition severance we paid him," Tracy told KCCI.
The board will meet at the school district office at 5 p.m. To see the full agenda, check here.
Ben N.
5:13 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
George is lying. He knew and should have told the board that Dr. Wendt was interviewing for another position. Do we really expect the community to beileve the board offered severance on their own and without any knowledge 24 hrs before he accepted another job? Give me a break. Tracy and school board, take accountability and show some leadership!!!!!
Joe Morr
8:07 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Ben N. Make sure you know ALL the facts before you speak. If what George told KCCI is true I hope you have to eat your words. Joe Morr
Charlotte G.
12:16 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Ben,it is fishy how this came down. But, why would the school board president be privy if Dr. Wendt was interviewing for another job, let alone turn out to be a finalist for that job? Is this required of public school officials to be so upfront with their board? How things are done behind the scenes is another fishy matter...I'd like to know, too. But, especially in remembering a statement made by a current board member before this last election, after being outraged at said severance pkg. Am I wrong that this was a priority to get rid of, at their first chance? So, Wendt gave that up, good, but, really how did we get to this point, $176,000 poorer?
Jessica Henderson
9:53 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Ben why and how would George know? As I stated below, if you were interviewing for another job that either pays more, is comparable, is with a competitor, etc would you tell your boss(es) about what you're doing? I doubt it.
Nick Berry
7:18 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Maybe they're going to hire Sebring.
Gary Osterkamp
7:52 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
who cares. the tyrant is gone. long live the king
Jack F
8:53 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Ha joe. I have some ocean front property in Ankeny to sell you if you believe that. Where are all of the cool saying about you and your family living here longer than me or mine so Wendt owes you more back than me. Their silence tonight shows how they have politicized this. Why didn't they adopt a resolution tonight telling him to" give it back?"
Jack F
8:56 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Way to go patch. Way to dig deep. "crickets chirp". Oh ya Joe Morr speaks once again about how he no longer has his name on a " SPECIAL" seat at basketball game. Very sad really.
Megan VerHelst
10:38 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
This is what happened at the meeting. Not sure what exactly it is you want me to 'dig into' when reporting on what was said during the public comments portion of a school board meeting.
Jack F
8:07 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Megan- you speak about all the taxpayers at the meeting and then spend all the time reporting on Joe Morr ramblings. He is in the paper weekly writing negative things about people no longer around when we really need reporting about what is happening behind the scene in politics. Why didnt the community have some input into our new super?? Over they years we have always had a committee of buisness and community members sit in on hiring a new super and the board just does this and all you write about is Joe Morr speaking for the taxpayer????
Megan VerHelst
10:40 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Just a heads up — past school board members are no longer public officials, therefore what they do in their personal time is not relevant to this story and won't be allowed in these comments. Thank you.
Bruce
10:46 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Megan, why aren't you asking this board why they met 1 1/2 hours to discuss Dr. Wendt's contract terms WITHOUT Dr. Wendt? Why don't you ask the current board members and school district attorney if they were informed that they may be references for new positions? Ask some hard questions Megan. I don't care what the truth is as long as it is reported. The problem here is the board or some of them are lying about not knowing his intentions to take employment elsewhere.
Megan VerHelst
11:07 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
We'll take your questions into consideration for future stories. Thanks.
Charlotte G.
12:23 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Bruce, educate me since I am not the only one here who is questioning this-When a new contract is being drawn up by a school board with all the important terms, especially $$wise, does that school official, namely superintendent, know ahead of time what those terms are/may be, for him/her to consider before making the final decision whether to accept or reject said contract?
Bruce
10:48 pm on Monday, June 4, 2012
Megan, why don't you ask every board member for any email with the words Osewgo, Chicago, Illinois, new job, resignation, etc. so you can verify IF they are lying or not? You have the right under the law. Help us out!
Barb
9:34 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Dr. Kemptom was vetted by community members before he was hired.
Gina
9:36 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Megan, thanks for reporting on the board meeting. I think you guys do a great job reporting what goes on and you always have. As far as investigative reporting, Bruce, that takes a lot of time, more than just someone letting you know what happened at a meeting. Megan was covering a meeting, not investigating the background story. You, of course, have the right to ask for those emails yourself.
Megan VerHelst
9:45 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Thank you, Gina. I appreciate that very much. :)
Jessica Henderson
9:50 am on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Bruce doesn't want to because a) he's not really "bruce" b) he will have to come up with a fake e-mail address c) they may ask to speak with him on the phone d) they may ask to meet him in person or e) all the above the board might realize who he actually is. Think on this, if you worked at Wells Fargo and a higher paying, higher level and easier working environment job opened at Aviva, would you tell your bosses you're searching? Would you put your bosses on your reference list? You wouldn't for a variety of reasons, naming because you might not get the job and you want one to at least come back to! Think about what YOU'D do for a moment, put yourself in a similar, not same, but similar situation and see how much "information" you'd throw out there.
Here you go http://ankeny.schoolfusion.us/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=64632
Ask them yourselves. If you have enough time to post on here I sure hope you have enough time to copy and paste and ask each board member some hard questions.
Peter Brady
6:38 pm on Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Wents legacy will live on and on around here and thats not good for him or us :(