Superintendent plans to step down

I know he says that, but he also spoke of the negative emotions the "no" vote evoked in him. I believe he is saying that for the benefit of those who worked so hard to pass the levy and bond so they won't feel responsible for his leaving. That said, it sounds like the Chris Lind issue was paramount in his decision. That is very unfortunate because the board voted for Chris Lind's firing, so ultimately any voter backlash should have been directed at the board. If a plurality of people felt strongly that the firing was wrong, why didn't they unseat more incumbents? I guess it goes back to the cronyism that is fairly typical in local elections.

Whatever the case, this loss is huge for the school district. I wish Dr. Westerhaus nothing but the best.

Quite frankly, we don’t blame him for resigning. The situation our community has put him in is deplorable.

While our exposure to Dr. Westerhaus has primarily been through committee work, we have the upmost respect for him as an educational leader, facilitator, human being, and role model for our children. Not only do we believe his departure from this school district will be a huge loss, replacing him because of the election results will be a greater challenge. We cannot imagine a Superintendent wanting to come to our District after the position in which this community has placed our present Superintendent.

The termination of Chris Lind was reviewed by legal experts and School Board officials. Having worked in government, I cannot begin to share with you that the process to terminate an individual is not easy. It can only occur after sufficient documentation and evidence has been obtained.

We have been blessed with great teachers, principals, and administrative staff that listen to our concerns. Dr. Westerhaus’ departure is a huge concern to us as parents and home owners. We see the problems mounting for us in the coming months and the potential for further impact on issues outside of education such as home values because of a community unable to support their School Board and Superintendent.

We can only hope the community will carefully review the long term impacts of our decisions in the coming months. It is more than just a $1,000,000 in budget cuts this year.

Well C Whitehair, again, you illustrate your lack of understanding. I suppose for you it might be better to be stuck in a home with a declining property value because any parent that does their homework won't move to a district that can't even support a basic like education.

Excuse ME Cindy, but research does not support your position. Below, for example, is a statement from research sponsored by the Union Pacific Foundation that indicates...

"Surprisingly, the most research available was on how a quality educational system affects property value. A study of the relationship between housing values and school performance found large effects of school output on housing values. Good schools have drawing power in revitalizing both urban and rural communities and increasing property values."

Your view simply does not reflect reality..

As an employee of the PL-S district I think the world of Tom. He is a fair, decent man with intregrity, intelligence and compassion. Did you know that at the beginning of the school year, he draws a few random names of district employees and will do their job for 1 day so that he understands what their job is like? What CEO or company President does that? He attends almost every event in our schools, he puts in an amazing amount of time to do this job. A dark cloud is hanging over our district. As employees of the school, we were finally moving forward after the lose at the polls and then we recieved that email. No one in the school blames him. Infact as a voter, I want more info, how else can I make a good decision. Lind is not well liked by school staff, he overstepped the line of what is allowed in the school. I don't know what else is all said, but he was told not to do something in the school and he continued to do so fully aware of the consequences. What is done is done, but we must convince Tom not to leave us in our darkest moment. We need him now more then ever. Now that Lind is a Board Member he must comply with district rules of conduct and he will be in the spotlight at all times. He claims that he will not only balence the budget, but create a surplus and add new course without cutting costs or raising taxes. He says so in his website (chrislind.org) He is about to get an education in school fianances and who better to teach him that lesson then Tom. We have the most qualified Superintendant in the State of Minnesota working for us and we can not let him leave. We are all entitled to our opinion about Tom and his reason for leaving is about Chris Lind, not about the failed referendum.

EMBARRASSING LOSS FOR PL-S

I appreciate Dr. Westerhaus' honesty and directness for stating his unwillingness to work with/for Chris Lind. Given the circumstances, no one can fault him. It’s a testament to his consummate professionalism.

On the other hand, one has to be extremely naive to believe Chris Lind's motivation is anything but spiteful, contentious, and counter-productive. I doubt Mr. Lind would have ever considered running for school board had he not been terminated. I'm shocked that others are willing to entrust him with this role. His past history within the district is an obvious detriment to his leadership ability and offers concerning insight into his decision-making capacity.

This is an embarrassing lose-lose situation for Prior Lake-Savage.

PL Employee
"When welcomed to the Board by Ziemen, he commented that he doesn't even know what he's doing."

How do you know this? If Diane Ziemen told you this, then she is gossiping, and you are a blabber mouth. Who is the one being spiteful here?

I hate to see Dr. Westerhaus leave, but obviously everyone leaves at some time. I mean him no disrespect, nor do I trivialize his abilities, but when people leave the world doesn't end, and the sky does not fall. Everyone is replaceable.

Quotes you won't see from great leaders

Winston Churchill: Surrounded and defeat almost certain. "I'm going to resign, this job is too difficul. I'm handcuffed."

Abraham Lincoln: Slavery & civil war. "I'm going to resign this job is too difficult. I'm handcuffed"

The list of great leaders goes on and on showing that when everything was against them, they rose to the challenge and found a way to overcome. I am not aware of the day to day qualities Dr. Westerhaus exhibited. I'm sure they were exceptional. But the legacy of his leadership will not be the respect he had for others but rather what his leadership accomplished and that at the time of great need sacrficing his pride was too great a cost.

Handcuffed = excuses. Leaders lead when times are most difficult. Leadership implies that things are difficult and someone is needed to navigate through them. However much respect his co-workers had for him it should be greatly diminished based on the fact that when leadership was most needed he left. I am sure the next superintendent the district hires will be based on all the difficult times he DID NOT lead through.

I am not surprised Dr. Westerhaus stepped down. He clearly feels unsupported by the community, namely people who voted for Chris Lind. I am willing to bet that when he was informed Mr. Lind was running for school board (which he has every right to do) he probably had it in his mind to leave if he was elected. This is just speculation, of course, but how would you feel if a dude you fired was now on a school board that gives you reviews? And the crushing blow of the levy also gives the impression of a community that does not care about the local public schools. And please, no lectures about: Running a school district and it's budget is like running a home or a business because it is not the same at all. Schools have a legal obligation to educate everyone in the district.....homeowners can cut out cable tv and vacations, schools can't just tell students to go elsewhere. And for all the folks who say "Well I didn't need any of that stuff back in 1972 (or 1965 or 1981) I say this: The next time you go to the hospital tell the staff you want to be treated with all the equipment available back from 1972 (or 1965 or 1981.) Times change, technology changes, educational needs change. And no I am not a teacher, just a mom. And even when my kids are grown I will vote yes on the levys and the bonds. People with grown kids or no kids have supported the schools w/ their taxes and I intend to do the same in 10 years when my kids are grown.

Prior Laker do you believe the crap you type? Tom and the School board put us in this situation not the citizens. I cant count how many referendums I have voted yes for in the 15 years I have lived in Prior Lake, I even again voted yes for this one but Tom crossed the line when his Liberal Lips started flapping about how the No voters dont care for the kids. As far as Chris Lind goes he ran for a public office and won end of story , hey at least he is the only one on the board that is willing to fight the state to try to get that $500 dollars a kid we are being shorted. Now who was the Wonder Twin who was opening their trap about living beyond your means? Oh yeah Laker_Time Do you understand the economy right now? Do you understand that the Board of Bumblers decided to ask for money when my home
Electric bill has gone from $100 to $198 a month, My gas Bill went from $104 to 164 a month, Hey pal Gas is $3.09 a Gallon, my Water bill went from $120 every 3 months to $298 City,County and State taxes are going up every year. So dont go preaching to people that they need to rethink their home purchase. Now I agree a good school system is a nice thing for resale value but im sure all those millon dollar homes on the lake were built because of the wonderful school system living on the lake had nothing to do with it, your theory is flawed by one small factor my property values have increased every year I have lived here and guess what every year I have lived here we have one of the worst run school districts.