MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — In an interview only seen on NBC 26, Manitowoc Superintendent Jim Feil spoke about his decision to resign with years still left on his contract.
- Feil says it was time to hand off the position and the district is in a "good place."
- He cited several differences he had with the board, such as a new curriculum and expensive, needed facilities upgrades.
- Feil will be paid around $100,000 in a contract buyout, several board members say
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
A change in leadership shortly before the first day of school. The Manitowoc school board has accepted superintendent James Feil's resignation.
After a board meeting thursday evening, Feil sent out a letter announcing his resignation to parents and staff.
"Now is a good time and that was a struggle,” Feil said. “There's been differences with the board, but I don't think that's bad necessarily."
Differences, Feil says, like implementing a new curriculum, a temporary opt out of free lunches and how to address more than $100 million in needed upgrades for school facilities.
"Well it was a distraction,” he said. “Clearly I recognize that we are talking about things that shouldn't be the dominate point of discussion."
The board voted 5 to 2 to accept Feil's resignation. Board member Kerry Trask, who we spoke to after the meeting, voted to accept.
"We couldn't agree on how to move forward,” Trask said on Thursday night. “I think there was a real difference in style."
Board member Tony Vlastellica voted against it.
"I felt personally that he did a good job considering all of the obstacles that we had,” Vlastelica said. “It was no small feat to raise the reading scores like we have here in the district."
Friday is Feil's last day at work, his last day in this office.
I asked him if he would still be leaving if there was no friction between himself and the board.
"I would've loved to see the facilities all the way through,” he told me. “You know, my sense is that the report card is going to be really good. It’s wonderful to ride a winning team but everything is in place for that.”
Feil did have two years left on his contract. Multiple board members tell me his buyout agreement is for around $100,000.
