GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – One Green Bay Area Public School (GBAPS) District board member is not staying quiet about what she believes is a lack of direction in performance evaluations.
Superintendent of Green Bay Area Public Schools Michelle Langenfeld announced she’s retiring in June of 2020 and January 14 was her final performance evaluation with the Board of Education.
Board member Rhonda Sitnikau was willingly not in attendance.
“I wasn’t just a protest board member, I did share my concerns and I have made suggestions,” says Sitnikau.
The reason she declined to participate stemmed from her claims that the current evaluation process lacks accountability, objectivity, and transparency.
For Sitnikau, an accurate assessment can not take place without those various attributes.
“Right now when I look at it, there really is no rhyme or reason for what’s going on,” she says. “We can’t even have accountability in the process.”
In her mind, board members can’t fulfill their duties without a legitimate process in place.
“This is really the most important job that an elected school board member has, is to evaluate the Superintendent,” she says. “So, we have to get this right.”
And for Sitnikau, the power that GBAPS Superintendent has isn’t something to take lightly.
“The Superintendent has oversight of a school district with 40-plus schools, more than 20,000 students, and a budget twice the size of the City of Green Bay,” she explains. “I believe the Superintendent’s performance evaluation needs to reflect the gravity of the responsibilities involved.”
Sitnikau says she can only speak for herself presently, but does believe that other board members are less-than-satisfied with the current evaluation process.
“First and foremost, we have to come to an agreement, all of us, on the board that it does matter that we’re transparent,” explains Sitnikau.
She’s of the mindset that community input should be encouraged in the evaluation process.
“It feels to me like it’s an insult to the district and the community that that’s not what’s happening,” she says.
Her ideas of how to better evaluate a future Superintendent would include a series of changes.
“Any new process for evaluating future Superintendents should identify opportunities for improvement and growth, outline measurable goals, increase transparency, and encourage community input,” she explains.
