Wrong! The staff all quits the new board. The new board is incompetent leaders and was fired by their own staff. Dr. Wendt made too many improvements to quick in a district that was wAAAAAYYYYY behind. Ankeny will wake up and realize they made a HUGGGGGE mistake hiring the new board. Problems are everywhere!

Very true. Ankeny is still about 1 elementary school behind the times (between growth, projected growth, how long it takes to get something to vote and then building the complex). Dr. Wendt was a victim of his own success. Too many Ankeny residents with influence believe Ankeny is still at 18,000 without realizing it's at 48,000.

No thus he leaves

Ankeny schools is so much better. Academics are the best ever. New programs are in place. Taxes are going down. Class size and class rooms have expanded. The problem is all the leadership is quitting and running away. That is a reflection of the school board and their micromanaging, untrusting, and "my way or the highway" mentality. Although, this is exactly what the old school board said would happen. Shame on Ankeny!

Yes, Deb, he does leave our schools in a better state than when he arrived. He replaced a super who was quoted in the paper back then, saying he would drive around Ankeny, counting the number of basements being dug as his version of proof of the growth here-I'm sure the builders were happy to hear that weak justification. But, he had no action with his inaction, and just saying the above, was quite ridiculous for a super to say-driving around counting basements!
Dr. Wendt did provide that needed leadership so far, but apparently balancing all the factions here was too much. Especially since it seems now to be even more vicious than it ever was in 2007. Of course, I wish he had hung around for 2 more years, at least, to see the vision he was hired for through to the end result.

Jim R., enough of the "micromanaging" accusations placed to the new board, since some of the old board seemed to do just that to many here, with the united4ankeny platform, for example. You imply now that the new board is solely responsible for this "my way or the highway" mentality. But, shame on you, for saying, "Shame on Ankeny." And, in saying, "this is what exactly what the old school board said would happen." Yes, that was implied, but the threats of that happening, as it is now, should never have been presented to we voters as that-threats.That if we did not vote en-block on way or another, we would maybe regret however that election turned out. Goes both ways, by all candidates, in forming these blocks, and yes, I agree with this "Shame on Ankeny."

Marie, seems to me that it wasn't a threat after all. The worst case just happened even though those that just ran and won promised they wouldn't fire him or run him out of town. They weren't very truthful were they?

Mary M, who says "they" did or did not run him out of town? Certainly Wendt has been looking to leave for a while, perhaps for several months, as far back as the last school board election when the "united4Ankeny" did not get re-elected en masse. Too early to proclaim that the sky is falling, in my opinion

Anne, I would say that 7 directors leaving is the sky fallin. In fact, the Director of Operations just resigned today and he oversees foodservice, maintenance, and custodial work. When the whole staff is quitting or moving on en masse something stinks! The only good news is now that the entire staff has basically left, there isn't anymore left to quit.

NO hate Jess, Jess happiness. its a great day!

Jessica, re-read your first sentence here. I attended some of those meetings, and listened, too, but in doing so, I was only a concerned parent, and not as easily persuaded as you seem to have been, however long you have been here. Glad you feel your are such a martyr for even attending a meeting? I have a much more jaundiced eye, and yours in not, based on other comments of yours, worried about the lack of restaurant chains, malls, etc, we have here. Sports are your real concern, not academics. Sorry, but you need to realize that academics are more important. While Dr. Wendt tried to emphasize recently that academics are more important, overall, in advancing our kids here, in Ia., in the US, and world-wide...Hard to do so with those chasing dreams in athletics, with their parents pushing them, thinking their academic needs were secure here...Not so, Ankeny is catching up, but still behind other ciml schools after 5 yrs. Good luck going forward, but maybe pay more attention, especially now, with how your kids are learning, academically, not sports-wise, with wendt leaving. Sorry to preach, but you and yours are the new face of the arrogance that I found when I moved here.

Marie, why was he given an extension. Why if he was doing such a horrible job was he given a raise? My concerns are broad, not just sports, the lack of true growth in Ankeny because with a little research our commerical property tax base is out of wack with residential or education but all. What CIML schools is Ankeny behind and please send me to that website where those facts are stated.

A college degree doesn't make you a more qualified person for the board. The board is voted in by the community did you forget that Tony? I didn't see your name on the election ballot.

We don't need to be reminded of the arrogance of those touting college degrees endlessly here (in our special "town"), or lack there-of, with our school administrators vs. the school board, then and now. We all know how this played out in a formerly small town who grew into a bigger city- overwhelmed, by their fortune to be growing, unlike so many other dying small towns in the US. Ankeny was lucky to have both the expertise of these many doctorates serving in our schools, plus the other kind of "expertise" of those less-educated, who just live here, in their "town". Sorry, to say, not a "match made in Heaven" when we look back, and studies and research are done...

Sorry, someone that is leading one of the largest school districts in the state and with the best academic results should have a strong educational tie. Some board members did not graduate high school much less college. What does that say when 90% of Ankeny's kids want to go to college?

Jim how can you run an buisness that is in the buisness of education without at least some edumification above the required high school GED or Diploma? If you dont have a edumifacation you wont value an education. That is why people without being learned after high school usually raise kids that never do much but get a GED or Diploma. youall want to have your elementary kids learned by a teacher that just completed high school? Y'all want a group of people making decisions for this much money and this many kids that only went to high school???? I be the people in WDM and Waukee are laughing at us. We must still be that hick town we were back in the 60's.

I just might. Just wondering how the school board plans to fill these positions. Didn't mean to offend anyone, just frustrated with the apparent backsteps we are taking in our district with the loss of these excellent administrators. We are in a team of fast growth and need professional administrators to lead the 9,000 students and ensure proper academic opportunities for all.

Joe, it may have been a blank check before, but at least there was money in the savings account. The new board has now spent every last dollar ($650K for construction consultant, $4M for athletic fields that still won't be complete, $1M for a new garage, $4M+ for the largest staffing budget in the history of the school district, $200K in severance packages, etc.). This is insane. Now they want us to pass a bond this fall and I hear they want another bond next spring. When does this end? In the meantime, all of the key leaders are all quitting!

If we follow your logic to conclusion, then whoever they hire as new Leader will freeze all new spending and hold expenditure to whatever they spent last year. I like the way you think Joe.

Hear, hear! Amen

Joe, see my comment above. The new board has put us in more debt and is deficit spending like crazy! The old board did build a lot, but the community did approve funding through two votes. The old board bulit up the cash reserve and asked the people to approve the key building projects. Not so for these tax and spend liberals! Ankeny made a bad mistake!

Joe- why are the new people spendin all the money? I bet the cool quarter of a Million they handed wendt in their rush to replace him would have wendt a long way to getting the High School fields finished. Wasteful spending. The old board didnt spend this money unless you are using the Obama defense.

it may not be a contest, but to those that have lived in the area a long time it does make a difference. Ankeny is not what it was 10 years ago, let alone what it was 20 or 30. I don't personally think it makes a huge difference, but it does truly matter to some. There have been some great folks leave this community because of all the new growth. Not everything that has happened to Ankeny is a good thing. i think we are all sadly going to find this out...

Fab who?????

This new patch of politician and Pat and George are honest as the day is long. They never tell little white lies and neither does Joe. Jack F.

Joe, the school board could never have built the second high school if the community didn't pass funding. So, you must be saying that all those thousands of voters didn't know what they were voting for? That sounds like Nancy Pelosi!

Oh, BTW Joe, George Tracy, Denny Presnall, Paula Pearson, and Randy McMahill were on the board back then. Are they all liars too? They all know what was said. Why don't you be honest and move on.

I bet it gets you going to know that ACHS is going to open in just over a year!

Stephanie, i don't know that we are all that far apart on what we want, but 2 points I have to make. The first is that your formula is not correct. You do not have to have physical growth to have progress. The kind of growth you are talking about equates to a higher tax base, which nesesarily doesn’t equate to progress. Look at Pella for instance. Great schools, huge tax base. great in sports, not growing in physical size. They have a tax base that is weighted more by commercial taxes than residential, just the opposite of Ankeny. Second, even if you don't respect the folks that have lived here their entire lives; you must concede that they have more vested in the community.

Jim, you believe former school board members are to blame for Ankeny's growth? Can you fault others that want to come to Ankeny because many leaders built a strong school system? We are lucky to have growth and all the economic benefit that comes from it over time. This is America and we can all choose were we want to live.

What is best for the kids, is a good question. Does it mean one has to spend the community in bankruptcy, drive property taxes throu the roof, force grandma and grandpa to hit the road like the beverly hillbillies? or does it mean using some common sense, some fiscal conservatism and some real planning to avoid the problems currently in front of us? What does , what it is best for the kids really mean?

Justin where did I say the board was responsible for any growth. I don't believe I said a thing about where you or anyone else should live. I totally disagree about how great the growth is. I have not seen the benefit, just the head ache.

You are correct, commerical needs to outweigh residential, hence the reason why Ankeny taxes are along the highest in the state. 10th largest city in terms of population and growing, but horrible in terms of commercial development.

The funding for the second high school came from state SILO funds, $58 million. The second vote, which did take place, was to allow the school board to figure out how to spend the money. The language of this proposal took up half of a page in the Press Citizen, and was full of things like new volleyball uniforms, upgrades to the kind of wax the housekeeping staff could use on the halls, expenditures for paint for curbs to mark no-parking zones, and, in one small little sentence, a second high school. Buried in the middle of the thing. And the letter that was sent out, that everyone received, explained that the board's plan, even though all the other things were listed, was always to use the money to build the second high school. This didn't cost taxpayers in Ankeny any money, because it was given by the state. I dare say the current board, given a windfall of $58M, could probably do some things too, but I bet one of them wouldn't be to ignore the bubble of kids in the pipeline in the elementary section and build the new elementary schools we needed back then. Now we're stuck with unfunded requirements for this bubble, a legacy directly attribuateble to Dr. Wendt, since he was that tail that wagged the previous board's dog. And he surrounded himself with other autocratic thinkers just like himself, so it's no great wonder the others quit as well. We're better off. Let's find a replacement that works well with others and has a complete vision.

Hi, Amy! Thanks for dropping by Ankeny Patch! We're definitely looking forward to working with Andre at Oswego Patch in the next month to make sure both towns get the best coverage of this transition. :)

Good luck with Wendt, he is a committed spender at any level.

Don't listen to Joe, he hates everything. Including his computer, the keyboard, the screen, these letters, those letters, .....

Amy, yes this "town" does complain as yours does about the school system. And, we should be able to do so-complain-if we are concerned parents, as you seem to be. Best of luck to your new superintendent..But,don't read too much into these comments you've seen here, btw, in being pro-active and moving forward. Many of us back then here in 2006-07 were trying to do just that-trying to find out any info. on our new super. No patch then. Big deal to be moving to a total 2-hs system-it had not been done in many yrs. in Ia., and we were reminded of that historical fact often.

The sky falls when the board of education is "shocked" that people are leaving. Yet, at least 7 directors have left their posts here. There is a reason for that Ankeny. The reason is that these individuals DO NOT want to work for this board any more. They are arrogant and condenscending across the board. They think their undeducated and new perspecitve should trup PhDs trained in the education field. Ridiculous! Any corporate boad that acted that way would be voted out by its shareholders and it is only a matter of time. In addition, why would any quality employee stay or apply for any position now. Things are complletely broken and the board must accept responsibility.

Agreed, Dave - and just as some of these administrative leaders that are leaving were highly competent, skilled, and educated professionals - there are many people out there (competent, skilled and educated) that want to work for our district and will apply for the vacant positions. This may be a time of transition but it is also a time of opportunity.

We want to blame the new board for all the depertures maybe the people leaving did not want to work for their direct boss. Ben did you ever think of that? there are numerous senerious that could lead to people seeking employment elsewhere and unless you have proof to why these people relocate you should keep to yourself and quit throwing people under the bus. Henny penny left long ago.

Tim, it is no secret that everyone is bailing ship because they don't want to work for our school board. When 7 directors or higher all quit and run away there is no other explaination. The board is supposed to govern and provide vision. Instead, they criticize all of our leaders in public and some demand to place their own knowledge over the staff's educational expertise. What employee from ANY business would EVER want to work in that enviorment. Our bigger problem is that most of the education community in Iowa knows Ankeny is not the place to work right now. Maybe our board will get its wake up call.

Tim if these people left last year or 2 years ago or 1 year from now I could see your point. The problem is they left immediately after serving/being under this new board. Where there is smoke there is fire and that many heads don't up and leave around the same time for no particular reason. Superintendant Sebring left Des Moines and you don't see other department heads leaving, same thing in WDM a few years ago.

4:55 pm on Friday, June 1, 2012
I'm glad some of you know all the reasons why people have accepted new positions. Have they told you such? By the way, according to Dr. Wendt, the BOE has only ONE employee and that is the Supt.
Rumor, speculation, innuendo, hearsay - that is really what 90% of these comments are. Thus, they should be for entertainment purposes only.

Jeff, do you include teachers in saying "everyone" is bailing ship here, not wanting to work for this new school board? It seems to me they-the teachers-are no.2, behind our no. 1 focus-the students. How many of them are leaving, those left here in the trenches, and not moving on to administrative greener pastures. Oh, I know these teachers are a dime-a-dozen, easily replaced with much less $$...But, if we have a mass exodus of teachers resigning here, bailing ship as you say, I will truly be worried.

Dr. O'Donnell did not "Retire again" he resigned and will look for work again. Get it right!

Must be nice to have a community vote and then have government officials use the money differently. That is a big integrity issue in my book.

Joe, that tax increase occurred because Chet Culver made a 10% across the board cut. It was the only major decision made through a split vote specific to finances. So, what was Cahill's, Tracy's, and Shafer's plan? Let's see, go bankrupt and / or cripple our education system! That is not leadership. BTW, the new board just approved the same tax decrease plan that the old board voted in. They did nothing different except spends millions more on construction consultants, severance packages, olympic athletic field upgrades, fat staffing plans, and now they want to host two bond referendums? No way. Everyone needs to vote no.

It actually was $225,000 plus benefits, just to clarify. :)

@ Megan what's 25k among friends. I'm mean from our school district. And he gets a up to 10k in moving expenses. I hope to hell it does not cost that much to move here from Iowa. I know it did not cost my wife that much to move here (Illinois)

@ Russ Harrison you and I both know our school board should have told the consulting firm to pound it and finding someone for that kind of money. We have a spend happy board, and if the facts are true that Dr. Wendt spends like a man with no arms ( sorry if I offend those who do not have arms) then he will fit right in here over at 308. Since the board over spent money already and paying this guy what they will, is another example of over spending. Brilliant, just Brilliant.

Richard R. - Dr. Wendt is not the spend happy here. The community voted to spend the money. More recently, it is our school board that has spent every dime in the coffers for glorified athletic fields, super sized staffing plans, and now gigantic severance packages. It is our board's fault now!

I worked with Dr. Wendt on multiple committees and always found him to be professional and focused on what is ultimately best for STUDENTS. He's a well-qualified leader who can prioritize projects, hire talented staff, and move an academically stagnant program forward. If these are important to Oswego, then you've hired the right person. And yes, he's worth the price you paid.

Many of those posting here are angry about our rapidly growing community's decision to build a second high school, and Dr. Wendt arrived at the beginning of that transition. Unfortunately, there's a contingent within the community focused on having only 1 football team -- forever, thus 1 high school. However, if you read nearly ANY white paper on the subject of school size, it's clear Ankeny made the right decision. We are 15 months away from opening high school #2, and not everyone is happy about the decision....except the students. The overwhelming majority of kids have embraced the changes and are excited for new opportunities.

With the turnover of 4 board members in Sept 2011, the current 7 board members have made it clear they do not wish to work with Dr. Wendt, nor his staff and are exceedingly disrespectful in board meetings -- I've seen them in action. Who in their right mind would work in this untenable environment. Wendt made the right choice to find another job. I would, too.

Ankeny is losing a talented leader...and Oswego is gaining one.

Elizabeth, that is great feedback. Would you mind sharing the same comment on this article over on Oswego Patch for their readers to see? http://patch.com/A-tJh2

Thanks!

Russ, Dr. wendt is worth every penny of the salary he will earn. He and the administrative team he helped to form provided the most competent leadership our school district has seen to date. It will be interesting to see if our school board will step up and provide the leader ship they now need to.

Russ I believe it is. Please keep in-mind that the current board voted to give him a raise, voted to give him an extension and he still left. He wasn't doing a bad job, he just didn't want to work with our new crock of board members. Cost of living is higher so I believe the increase in salary, from here, is justified. I'm sad to see him go

No Russ he is not worth it. I wouldn't want the leader of my children to have character issues and lack one of the most important traits needed through out the history of mankind, honesty. I wish you the best. You seem like a very caring individual to inquire.

Russ, just a note from the other side of the house -- Be careful with Dr. Wendt. He wants to be in charge. He wants to dictate what the school, the school staff, and the school board will do. He does everything he can administratively to squash any opposition to his dictated path. If his vision is the one your community needs, then you made a good choice. If his vision and methods are not in sync with what your community aspires to, get ready for a bumpy ride. It's not so much that he spends beyond your means (although he does do a bit of that), it's that he spends for what HE wants, not necessarily what the community wants. He's a great politician with people he can manipulate (witness our previous board), but not so good with people that give him push-back and don't knuckle under just because a Dr. is talking (witness the current board, and his leaving Ankeny). He does have the degrees, he is a professional, but he definitely wants to be the one to set the agenda. I know that not having Dr. Wendt around isn't going to make the vast majority of our feet-on-the-street teachers upset (oh, and by the way, they're professionals, too). Just my opinion.

Elizabeth L., I remember reading this comment of yours, thinking that you gave a very good summary of events here since Wendt was hired. Even though you slanted it towards pro-wendt, from the beginning to this sad end for his tenure here. Me and mine, I just wanted to be objective, and really give him a chance. Hopefully Oswego 308 residents will do so for him, despite having their new patch site up and running and seeing all these comments. We didn't have that, for better or for worse.
But, in being objective, I never wanted to be placed in a corner of picking one side or another. I'm not alone, by far. It was clear here 1 side would be old-town, sports-only as their main concern, since academics, or their definition of it, was just fine- as we newcomers were so often told by realtors, for example. While having to rush off to their kids' sporting events. Wow! I had no idea of my kids' potential back then, but it was clear to me what was no.1 here, while saying Ankeny had "good schools."

Getting Dr. Wendt here made progress on the academic front, but he was never really hired for that issue. I heard very little back then on why we needed to split based on academic needs, but plenty on why we needed to do so to handle "this growth", and for other "opportunities" for our kids. Fine, my kids have been in sports, but it was clear from the get-go what "opportunities" were meant. Kids sitting on the bench, with no hope of playing, well, that was fine for so many here. Builds character, while still being able to say these kids "were on the team." Not fair, and a 2 hs system gives more chances for kids whose potential couldn't be known, due to the vast numbers. I just hope these kids, going forward, can still take pride. Elizabeth, I don't know how long you are looking into the future, in saying "The overwhelming majority of kids have embraced the changes and are excited for new opportunities." That is a vast overstatement, while hopeful. But, if slanted towards the elementary and early middle-schoolers, of course they would say this. Not so for those older, who'll be the firsts, the guinea pigs...And, of course, we are not just talking about sports, but also other "opportunities"...

Dr. Wendt could not balance those other "opportunities", meaning not sports, or at least those sports NOT being football, for example, the major point of pride here, drawing in the most $$. Ok, I realize that, same here as with any other "town" big and small. How many of us have seen this path forward, well, that huge disparity in these "opportunities" is too much. But, maybe that is ok, I could see that, but not in how other activities with big nos. were, and are, being handled. Of course, now, we have that dire need for improved sports facilities, as ever here, with the "solution" in the mega-sports complex. Wendt did comment in the past on our lack of sports facilities, in saving face here. Old board, well, seems however clueless the new make-up voted recently, the old would've faced the same "needs."

There are other extra-curricular activities here that draw big nos. students, other than those sports-related, and others not so large. Disparity, fairness, again...Oh, one last question about sports-how are those sports teams' uniforms paid for, especially in the doubling of sports teams? I've never heard of a fund-raising activity to pay for any of those, unlike marching band, for example. Marching band has large nos., 150 or so, and they have had to beg, borrow- but NOT STEAL- from we citizens in their fund-raising campaign. Which, apparently, is still-ongoing in their quest to have new uniforms for both hs. Of course, we all know the music programs here do not get the respect they deserve, not just band, but choral, too, with their large nos. Opportunities; never created equally, but most here do not care, maybe? And, there is debate, speech, and oh-drama, too. Seems drama pulls in large nos. of students, too. I could go on and on...But, since I am sad about sports, I really am, by the way, I will not.

Lastly, Elizabeth, in my rant, you are so right in mentioning the academically stagnant program issues here, and how Dr. Wendt helped to move us forward with this most-important issue. Problem was, many here refused to believe they were academically lacking in any way, and by hiring more "high-priced administrators" after Wendt, well, that was not $$ well-spent. For me, while I couldn't keep up sometimes with some of those rapid hires, let alone in trying to really see why they were needed, well, I'd give them a chance, just as with Wendt. Growing district on the path to a total 2 hs system, of course, this was ok. But, for those hired to move us on academically, not enough was done, soon enough. Unlike here now, I was never one to complain except for a very good reason. I'd seen that enough on the old dsm register blogs. When I had my 1st concern academically, well, I'd had concerns all along, but finally, my spouse and I had to speak up on behalf of our child. Not a good time to do so on my spouse's part, not a good time or place to approach an admin. Tried to tell my spouse that afterwards-pick your event, since most likely this admin. does not know you from Adam. Not resolved well.

But, despite emails back and forth, and not in our child's favor at that time, changes were made for students like mine, going forward. With legitimate academic concerns, however well they did in that way, btw...Our next concern was in hearing how a new program, while highly touted here, was being started, and how students would be chosen. How this was done was totally irresponsible. Luckily, my student was chosen, but after that start, well...In the end, the teacher was vague as he should be, but the admin.lead on this had no clue, while implementing this program, what it meant for the future of my child, like in college. Changes were made, new parameters were placed on future qualifications for students; not sure on the college part still.

Lastly, and the worst, is how we followed that chain of command, again. We were told here by Wendt to do that, not in a bad way, though. We know that is what most of us have to do in our private workplaces. For us with our kids, teacher first, principal next, etc. While my spouse jumped that with my 1st concern, with the next and the last, we did just that, and the results were not any better. The teachers were afraid, we could see that, and they just hoped we would not pursue anything further. Oh, the last also involved a ms/hs counselor, and we had no help there, either. This took several mos, bridging one school to another, and the admin. at that next school was totally clueless as to our concerns (except 1 who left, but he should've been hired over the other), academic or otherwise, which were both, in trying to fit both in. Oh, of course, we wanted to go directly to Dr. Wendt, and bypass the channels, or at least go to the asst. super. of c&i, or the one for secondary education, but we didn't.

My problem is, I don't think it would've made any difference in my children's lives, then and now, if we had gone directly above, beyond those channels.I think my kids would've succeeded, then and now, despite those teachers and admin. As I said, we were not ones to complain needlessly to our admin. But, it seems many here felt they could do so, in becoming friends and supporters of them, bending their "ears". With inside info., then and now, as we have seen on patch and the old dsm register blogs-you have given us others just that-the insiders' view. Thanks. Not sure how this insider info. was ever good moving forward being one-sided, or so it seemed. But, the other main side did the same, in their equally shameful way. Oh, I know I'm making too much of this situation here going forward, being too dramatic, since we will all be ok-and especially our main concern-our students, right? Never in doubt?

You're also mad Ankeny is going to a 2 high school system, will have 2 sports teams at every level and blame Dr. Wendt for that. Please give examples of how he's a classless act. Was there something I missed in the paper over the past 5 years? Something he was arrested for, cited for, mismanaged? Was there not a vote of confidence from the current board to bring him back?

Why doesn't the board ask for the $650,000 they blew on the construction consultant for Southview? We already had district staff and an architect paid to do that work. This waste of spending and bad decision making is over 3X the severance debacle.

Do you have a clue about the $650k? It is actually the fee being paid to the construction management firm. That being said it is NO different than paying a General contractor to do the job. One way or another that fee is part of the construction process whether you use a GC or a management firm. With a management firm it is a set fee with no additional costs for change orders.If you were at the meetings when these firm presented their presentations you might be able to understand this. From what I am hearing the management firm is actually saving us money on the Southview project from what the original cost projections were. If you know different and if you understand the construction process better than most let us all know?

I have been to plenty of meetings over the last couple of years. Administrators were hired to do a job and be held accountable for their jobs. Your opinion is that Rooney and Scafer are not professional, My opinion is that the new board was elected by an overwelming amount and they are trying to do the job they were elected to do and they are not afraid to hold these administrator accountable for the job they were hired to do.

I agree with Tim on these two comments to Elizabeth- check your facts Elizabeth, Tim is correct here.

Tim is not correct. The architects at both Southview and Prairie Trail will tell you that a the construction consultant was not needed and was a tremendous expense. In addition, the school district has a full time director of facilities that oversees these projects. The $650,000 consultant fee was mostly additive and all the experts and school administrators told the board that they work they were trying to hire for was already paid for. The board went forward anyhome. There is a reason why MOST school districts do not use this model. The other big factor is that places the entire legal risk on the school district which is terrible. This was a big blunder and waste of taxpayer monies.

Is this the same architect firm that signed off on projects that were not complete? Is this the same firm that was hired to design a project that was not designed to completion? Or did the director of facilities have input in these items that were presented to the board?

False Bard. Your facts are flat out wrong and you can find all of the board approved minutes with these decisions on the school district website. The board made it clear BEFORE the SILO vote that the monies would first be used to construct the 2nd HS. The vote passed by 76%. You can ask former board members McMahill and Pearson if this is true and they will tell you YES! It was a unanimous vote by the board at the time.

You are either lying or not informed. Not to mention, who cares. SILO paid for the 9th elementary, the 2nd HS, and completing Southview. Case closed.

Jennifer, hate to take exception with what you slid out there, but all the lead-up to the SILO funds use INCLUDED discussions of a 2nd high school, but there were many more topics. I never felt the vote on SILO was for a second high school only. The verbiage of the proposition voted on certainly didn't indicate the vote was only for a 2nd high school. The letter that "everyone" received isn't anything I remember getting or reading. No one I've ever talked to says they voted for/against a 2nd high school. As far as I can see, Barb is right -- the community was tricked. What is interesting is that all this SILO subterfuge (instead of a straight up/down vote on using the SILO funds for a 2nd high school and only that) coinsided with the arrival and investment of one Dr. Wendt. Up till then, the board was pretty open and above board about what was intended. Don't believe me? Go read the back issues of the Press Citizen. It shows the view of the everyday citizen, not some obscure school board notes (and were they online when the SILO vote went down?). My issue all along with the whole process has been that what was said and what was done are two different things. And before you jump on me being a hater about the second school and sports teams and such, I did support a 2nd school, just not the methods that got us there. And, as the Fab 4 know, LOTS of people care, and the case isn't closed.

Dr. Wendt is very charismatic and will tell you what he thinks you want to hear. He does involve the community, but mostly those he knows agree with him, then touts that as what the community wants. He is very good with children....I believe he really loves them and when I have seen him addressing honor students, he is very complimentary about their accomplishments, and reminds them of the responsibility they have to other students, the community and to themselves. He does know what he wants and will go to all extremes to accomplish his goals for your district.

He is an excellent leader and stretches an organization to become more than what they are. In the education world, that isn't always welcome. In fact, our teachers union has been very unsupportive here in Ankeny because they want to slow everything down and they are frustrated because we all have to do more with less now. However, education needs to evolve and do things different. He actually does it and that is why some people do not like him. For me, I like that he pushes things forward even if they aren't always popular.

Joe, I know you supported the new board. However, when are you going to hold them accountable for bad decisions they make? I wish you would be more consistent in all of this. The new board needs to know that spending all this money on severances, construction consultants, athletic field upgrades while at the same time wanting us to approve one or two more bonds is not acceptable. Where do you stand?

As an educator that worked in the school district for 5 years, I know for a fact the teachers in Ankeny held their students accountable and they do it with hard work, long hours, love, and expertise. Teachers have to work within the constraints of laws, parents, test scores, and much more...I know when I had a student who was not meeting grade level expectations, myself and the staff I worked with would do everything we could to help that student, except go home with the student and make sure they were getting adequate sleep, nutrition, and academic help at home even though I would have done that if I could. If you really want to discuss why Americans are behind, look at the environment in which a child grows up...very telling of how a child will do in school. Also, we have kids in grade levels because of their age so many kids waste a year of their life learning stuff they already know. If we really want to be "world class" and have kids excelling greatly, this has got to change.
I could go on and on and I have the experiences and research to back me up as I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Elementary Education and hold Masters degree in education as well. Regardless of administration leaving and new people coming, Ankeny will be fine because of the AMAZING teachers that work their tail off every year despite being thrown new things by administrators every year.

I don't agree with all of Jessica's comments, but I do agree with holding this new board accountable for its poor decision making. I am hopeful that the new board does listen to the entire community and not just listen to their supporters.

Now I know why Peter Brady never got married! No one like to listen to a glass half full or someone who twists things.

suzie, you are so right. Teachers could not effectively speak up in any way over these last 5 yrs. or so. Wendt made it clear teachers were expendable. I remember him saying in the press, something like, if they (the present teachers) were not in favor of this path, well, they could be easily replaced when we split into a total 2 hs system. Despite somewhat agreeing with him on that, it told me little value was to be placed on those teachers who resisted these changes, while they continued to teach our students, whenever they were to leave eventually, and with little value to their tenure, however long.
But, of course this is not so with the newer teachers, especially those in the lower grades. They have no idea, maybe, why our schools are where we are, and they probably don't care. Don't blame them, that is the attitude of those their age these days. Of course, they would not question.
BOTH groups of teachers are expendable. You need to see our administrators are not so expendable, and if one or a group leaves, this spells trouble...