Raymond School principal, board votes to consider contract nonrenewal

RAYMOND, Wis. - A Racine County school went on lockdown as threats were leveled against a board member. This, as the school board met Wednesday, Sept. 27 behind closed doors to possibly fire the principal. The principal's attorney is threatening to sue for discrimination because the principal is gay. 

The board ultimately voted 4-1 on a motion to consider the nonrenewal of Principal Peterson's employment based on performance. 

Before the meeting started, some three dozen supporters lined the entrance to the school with signs reading, "Keep Principal Peterson."

"It really hurts me to think that he's getting treated this way when his heart and soul is in this school," said Jillian Berman, parent.

The district changed this to be a hybrid meeting after a board member got a threatening letter. While the board met in a separate room, a crowd gathered in the cafeteria.

A letter mailed to one Raymond school board member, obtained by FOX6, reads, "We are providing notice and giving you an option to correct your behavior before we correct it for you…You are receiving this honor because you have been an extreme bitch to Raymond school employees and others living in Raymond….You either stop the behavior now or you resign from the school board. If you fail to do either there will be consequences imposed…You can expect us to take action when you are least aware."

The Racine County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to FOX6 they are reviewing an anonymous letter sent to the board, a deputy was assigned to the case and the investigation is ongoing.

Raymond Schools Superintendent Michael Garvey on Wednesday placed the school on lockdown with no visitors allowed. He wrote to parents, "Out of an abundance of caution and to avoid any further distractions from learning, I placed the school in a modified soft lockdown for today. Students and staff will continue the instruction and learning as normally scheduled.   Students will be supervised as they move from class to class.   However, visitors will not be allowed inside our building today.  Our priority is student learning and all students will continue their learning today.   This soft lockdown is due to possible disruptions and is not based on a threat to our students."

People attending the school board's open session Wednesday had to watch virtually. District leaders said they were dealing with "several written threats of violence received by School District Officials…"

The original notice was slim on details, showing the board would consider going into closed session: "Specifically, to discuss and take action, if appropriate, concerning a complaint and threats of litigation regarding school district meetings, administrator employment/resignation, and issuing preliminary notice of contract nonrenewal of an administrator pursuant to Wis. Stat.§118.24."

Some parents worried the board would fire Principal Jeff Peterson. The principal's attorney, Ben Hitchcock Cross, sent a demand letter alleging discrimination due to Peterson's sexual orientation, threatening a lawsuit possibly seeking damages in the range of "seven digits."

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"It's about his gender. If Mr. Peterson conformed to their concept of gender, I think that he would not be in this position," Hitchcock Cross said. "The way that I think of it is, but for his gender, this would not be happening, OK, so if he was, for example, a female, then this, the issue of the sexual orientation would not be the same issue that it is here."

Peterson went to the school from kindergarten through eighth grade and also started his teaching career there.

"I told our graduating students two years ago that I sat in the desks of Raymond school dreaming to be the principal there, and my point was not that they're dreaming to be a principal someday, but that whatever they're thinking about in eighth grade is something that can be a reality. Again, it is my dream to end my career in education at Raymond School. It's where I started, and I'd like to end there," Peterson said.

This will be Peterson's third year as Raymond principal. His current contract runs through June 2025. 

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FOX6 News reviewed an education consultant's report the district commissioned for the hiring of a new superintendent. It found, "There were a few comments made that supported the current principal and felt he was doing a good job. However, the vast majority of the comments made referring to the current principal were negative comments."

"It was, quite honestly, shocking. None of the feedback or reception or conversations I've had with anybody on staff or in the community matched what was reported out," Peterson said. 

People that were surveyed included board members, board candidates and teachers, and the report included the following disclaimer: "It should be emphasized that the data is not a scientific sampling, nor does it necessarily represent the majority opinion of each respective group."

Some parents and community members urged the board to keep Peterson.

"You have a gem. He’s a gem. You can’t find principals like that, and you should hold on to that for dear life. He’s wonderful. My kids all love him," said Briana Fendt, mother of three Raymond students.

Fendt recalled how her son was sitting alone for lunch because he had a runny noise due to allergies during the pandemic. 

"Then Mr. Peterson came and sat by him at lunch, and, you know, instead of focusing on, ‘Oh, I was alone at lunch. Nobody wanted to sit by me,' he came home and was like, ‘I got to eat with Mr. Peterson today!’ And, you know, it just changed his whole outlook on the day," she said.

"It's humbling. I've had parents of students that I had 25 years ago in my fourth-grade classroom, supporting me, checking in on me, being active in terms of speaking their feelings about the situation," Peterson said. 

Concerned residents asked the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to investigate. In response to the complaints, the department's legal counsel wrote them: "The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has historically relied on the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development to conduct investigations into employment discrimination matters involving educators. The DWD has the infrastructure, training, and experience to best investigate and make determinations as to whether discrimination has occurred. The DWD also has the ability to grant relief to individuals that have experienced discrimination, whereas the state superintendent is unable to provide remedies to individuals. In order to ensure fact-finding is completed by the agency in the best position to do so and to protect taxpayer resources, the DPI has long relied on the determinations of DWD before taking any actions under Wis. Stat. s. 118.20."

FOX6 requested interviews with every board member and the superintendent. Instead, the district’s attorney responded in an e-mail, denying the requests. "Regrettably, we are presently dealing with written threats of violence received by school district officials in the last two days regarding this matter," wrote attorney Shana Lewis. "We are working with law enforcement in order to ensure their safety.  Indeed, the safety and security of the District, its students, staff, administrators, and Board members are our primary concern."

Those supporting Principal Peterson condemned the threats. "The Keep Principal Peterson movement does not condone the threats of violence described in the most recent Raymond School Board special meeting agenda. We are a peaceful group of Raymond School community members who pride ourselves on using proper and legal channels to support our cause. This type of rhetoric (insults and threats) has no place in our community and will not be encouraged, nor tolerated, by our group. I would like to add that there were multiple members of the Keep Principal Peterson group who were made aware of the letter sent to the board president. They promptly notified the Racine County Sheriff about said letter. It goes against everything we believe in and we will not give any validity to it."

During the school district's annual meeting, the voters decided the board could not use district funds to defend against Peterson's equal rights complaint, and they also voted that the board should fire superintendent Michael Garvey.

Letter to Raymond School parents, community members