A special meeting of the New Berlin School Board this morning resulted in the immediate resignation of an Elementary School Principal. Elementary Principal Casey Wills announced her immediate resignation after the school board voted 7-1 to accept Wills’ resignation agreement this morning. Wills has been with the district since August 2008. Superintendent Adam Ehrman gave this response after the meeting: “She left for her own reason and we accepted a separation agreement voluntary for her. We will be announcing that our assistant principal will be taking over principal duties at this time. We had a meeting take place last Thursday with the NBEA. Obviously, we had the action that took place here today. We hope to continue a dialog with the NBEA.”
Assistant Principal Brian Bishop will take over in Wills capacity as principal. Wills issued a written statement accusing the NBEA of not giving her due process to answer allegations of intimidation among other subjects. She said that she realized what her resignation would look like leaving at this time, but she was taking back her voice in the situation by choosing to resign on her own terms. The letter reads as follows:
Dear Dr. Ehrman and Members of the CUSD #16 Board of Education:
Throughout my tenure as a Principal, with New Berlin CUSD #16, I can confidently say that I have made all decisions through the lens of what is best for our students. Today, I must make a decision that is best for me and my family. For this reason, I resign from my position as Principal of New Berlin Elementary School, effective at time of mutual acceptance of the separation agreement.
I know there will be some who consider my resignation a victory. If there is a victory to be claimed, then it is mine to claim. I have chosen to leave and remove my myself from an environment in which I have no voice. Union Leadership can allege anything they wish, refuse to participate in appropriate procedures to establish a factual basis for their concerns, post their allegations on social media, and through this deny me my due process rights to answer their claims. By leaving, I am finally able to have a voice.
A building’s climate and culture depend on many factors. Each individual who works at NBE holds a responsibility for their actions and words. Nothing will change until each person looks in the mirror and takes ownership for their role, for good or bad.
I am proud of the accomplishments NBE has achieved over the past 11 years. Pulling together as a team, we have done great work for the students of this community. Going forward, I pray the teachers themselves are able to put aside their differences and find a way to mend the breaks between them.
Respectfully,
Casey B. Wills
The NBEA did not wish to issue a statement in regards to Wills’ resignation.