Janesville Superintendent of Schools Tom Evert is retiring immediately, rather than staying on until June 30th as originally planned. During a news conference the school board said communication with Evert was breaking down.
"I wanted to see the spread sheet of the wages of all administrative personnel. Dr. Evert . . . tried to convince me that I didn't need to know that information," said Commissioner Kevin Murray, who said his response to Evert was "do you have something to hide?" Murray said Evert then provided the requested materials.
Tuesday's announcement came after a series of closed door meeting at the school board's attorney's office, including one Saturday night. "Both parties agreed this was the time (for Evert) to go," said Commissioner Peggy Sheridan. "The communications had broken down. If he had not said he was retiring . . . I think we would have made an effort to get things resolved."
Sheridan said Evert's responses to school board requests weren't timely. Other commissioner said they had similar communication problems with Evert for months, even years. Commissioner Bill Sodeman said it was difficult for the board to meet to discuss the topic since the meetings had to be noticed. He didn't mention whether communication problems were addressed in Evert's annual evaluations. Evert had been scheduled to retire June 30th, he will still receive his salary until then. Director of Student Services Karen Schulte will be splitting her time between her regular duties and acting as interim superintendent.
