West Bend Superintendent Lectures Reporter for Asking Questions

This really pisses me off.  Here is an email that the West Bend Superintendent sent to Judy Steffes in response to an inquiry.  Herdrich copied everyone and their dog, including the media, so I think she meant for it to be public.  It also went from her public account, which is subject to public record requests.  I won’t tell you where I got it. 

rom: Pat Herdrich

Subject: response to Judy Steffes for my W2
To: “Deb Roensch”

, “Pat Herdrich”

, “judith steffes”

Cc: “LeadershipTeam”

, “Board_Members”

, “Jason J Penterman”

, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), “Steve Ciccantelli”

, “Bob Bonenfant”

, “Shelly J Krueger”

, “Kim Will”

, “Wickland, Jeff”

, “Joe Donovan”

, “Mark Lustig”

, “Craig Farrell”

, “Jim Hodges”

Date: Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 11:12 AM

Judy,

My contracted salary is $147,347.

The administrative team as a whole recommended to the board that our salaries be frozen for the 2009-10 school year. And they were. Therefore this is the same contracted amount as the 2008-2009 school year.  The administrative team also recommended to the board the higher level of co-pay for insurance based on the budget recommendations we framed for the current year.  So we did.  The entire leadership is working with the same pay and higher health care costs as they did in the 2008-09 school year.

On my W2 you will find an amount of $152,206 and here is the difference

Less the tax sheltered annuity dollars I set aside annually
Less the flexible spending dollars (medical) I set aside annually
Less Health Insurance Dollars I pay pre tax
Less Vision Insurance I pay pre tax
Less Cost Health Insurance paid
Less the taxable fringe benefit of the car lease through the school system

Thus resulting in the total taxable compensation level of $152,206.

I would be happy to share with you also the amount of taxes I pay state and federal every year once my returns are completed by my tax adviser should you be interested in that information as well.

The lease of the car for my role has been assessed as less expensive in comparison to paying me mileage on an annual basis.

You asked on the phone for my W2 questioning a compensation rate you were stating was $168,000.  I stated to you that was inaccurate.  You asked me how you got that amount and I responsed [sic] I did not know. The W2 record has been printed and redacted for confidential information (social security numbers etc) that would not be accessible through open records.  You may pick that up with Deb Roensch, my assistant to verify the information.  She will charge you for the open record request.

You asked me if I had been contacted by recruiters for other positions.  I indicated that I had, but I have not submitted any resumes and I am not pursuing any employment opportunities other than my current job as the Superintendent of the West Bend Public Schools.

You asked if the evaluation process also results in conversations of pay raises.  I stated to you that I do not ask the board independently for compensation during my evaluation process that is conducted annually.  We have an administrative compensation process for the entire leadership team that examines the benchmark data for positions in the market as well as performance.  We freeze the salary of administrators who are not performing to their job expectations.  We will also shorten the number of years a contract will be issued in accordance with their performance.  We examine the benchmark data for the number of administrators we employ in comparison to the benchmark districts and the job scope and responsibilities to ensure the span of control is appropriate.

Our focus is to sustain a balanced budget and sound fiscal decision making for team compensation for retention and replacement.

You asked if you may quote me.

I indicated yes as long as the responses are accurate and used in context.  I am sharing this with the board, the leadership team and our Citizen’s Financial Advisory Committee, prior to your article, so they inturn [sic] may understand the context of our conversation.  

I would expect that your reporting follow the ethical standards for appropriate journalism which I have forwarded to you in the past which is provided by your national association.

If they are not Judy, I am indicating to you now that as a leadership team we will no longer respond to your requests other than the public information requests specifically required by law.

I work regularly with reporters from print media, TV, and the radio and have for decades.  I have always been committed, and remain committed, to strong working relationships.

I expect the same, however, when I work with media representatives and writers who publish their work within regular media venues.  Fair reporting on hard issues I will never debate.  Skewed reporting is a concern I have discussed with you prior.  I recognize you are a freelance writer and do not represent the West Bend Daily News.  I am copying their leadership, however, as they are the entity who inturn pays you for your work.  I want everyone to understand my position with respect to our ongoing working relationship.

My concerns continue with your focus of reporting Judy.  And here is why.  At no point in time has your work focused in the same way on the other leadership teams in the region, or school boards, that the newspaper covers.  At no point in time has your work focused on the other municipal leadership teams or boards in the same way as you have the public school system of West Bend.  Yet, the West Bend School are recognized for being more fiscally responsible and higher performing than our counterparts.  Our team and our results are nationally recognized as programmatically strong, financially sound and we are ranked in the top 7 percent of all school districts in the state for sound fiscal management.  At no point have you covered that information.  Rather your work has repeatedly targeted this team, this board, this district negatively.

This leads me to conclude that the specific elements framed within the ethical standards for journalism are compromised within your current focus.

I have stated to you directly that we will continue to work well with each media representative.  We remain committed to the community and families we serve.  We face hard issues on a daily basis head-on.  This leadership team is recognized collectively and individually.  We have strong work ethics and serve with a strong code for professional conduct.  We have actively worked to better the context of funding for this system with the state while sustaining strong programming for our students.

I would again ask that you too engage your work on the issues, the critical issues, facing public schools and this community.  Your work has not represented that to date.  We would be happy to work with you if that in turn is your focus.

Short of that, if your articles focus on responses inaccurately, continue to focus solely on this system, and in a skewed manner; we will respond solely to the open records required by law.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding my email or the information you requested.

Sincerely,

Pat Herdrich

Deb please copy to CFAC as well.

Superintendent of Schools
West Bend Joint School District #1
735 South Main Street
West Bend, WI 53095

With all due respect… WTF?  I have sent countless requests to Herdrich and district and NEVER received such a condescending response like this.  Is Herdrich berating Steffes because she’s a woman?  Because she reports regularly on the district?  I don’t know.  I think the entire response is condescending, bullying, and downright unprofessional.  For a public official to lecture a reporter on journalistic ethics and the focus of their reporting is utterly unethical and unprofessional. 

Is this how Herdrich treats all inquiries?  Not to me, but is this how she treats other folks who ask questions?  Didn’t the district just make a stink about bullying in the schools?  Did Herdrich not attend these sessions? 

This kind of behavior by the Superintendent is utterly unprofessional and condescending to a qualified reporter who was asking relevant questions about how the district spends our money.  I hope that the school board takes proper corrective action regarding their out of control superintendent. If this is how the Superintendent responds to a mild request, is Steffes on to something?