MERRILL, Wis. (WSAU) — Merrill School District’s top two administrators have resigned. School Board President Jen Seliger confirms that the board has received the letters of resignation from Superintendent Wally Liepart and Assistant Superintendent Michele Jahnke. “What I can tell you about today’s developments is that Mr. Liepart and Ms. Yahnke both resigned from the district effective immediately. Tomorrow (Tues.) night, we will accept their resignations at a special board meeting.”
The President would not comment on the reasons for the investigation, and would not confirm or deny what WSAU had heard from another source. Seliger could only say that Liepart and Jahnke’s resignations change the board’s course of action.
Seliger confirms that the district’s investigation into the alleged inappropriate activities of Liepart and Jahnke comes to a stop because of the resignations.
Both were on paid leave pending an investigation into alleged actions at the school. School officials had previously stated that the investigation did not involve actions with students and did not involve law enforcement, but even now, they are not providing details about why they two were placed on leave. “At this point in time, the board only has allegations that we were looking into investigating, and there has not been an investigation completed. No decisions were made, and being as they submitted their resignations prior to that, this is where we’re at.”
Part of Tuesday night’s special board meeting will be to discuss how to search for two new administrators. “The board is going to discuss that tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, as far as next steps for replacements.”
The Merrill Board of Education issued a statement Monday announcing they have received the two administrator’s letters of resignation. In that statement, Seliger said, “The Board of Education would like to thank Mr. Leipart for his service to the Merrill Area Public School and the students it serves. During his time with the district, Mr. Leipart has moved forward on a number of important efforts, including successfully advocating for the district, acquiring millions of dollars of district donations, leading the implementation of a 1-to-1 technology plan and personalized learning effort while still balancing the budget, and bringing stakeholders together around shared values for our students and our schools.” She also said, “The Board of Education would like to thank Ms. Jahnke for her 32 years of service to the Merrill Area Public Schools and the students it serves. Her dedication and service has been instrumental in moving the district forward in a variety of capacities. We wish her the best as she moves on to other opportunities.”
Director of Pupil Services John Sample is serving as the acting superintendent for the Merrill schools during the investigation.
