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In what was a surprise to most in attendance, the Albert Lea school board on Monday essentially voted to part ways with Superintendent Ron Wagner.

After a motion from Chairwoman Kim Nelson, the board voted to place Wagner on paid administrative leave through June 30, at which time his contract will expire without being renewed.

We have heard rumblings over the last few years regarding morale in the district, but we did not expect this action.

Even some of the board members and administrators in the audience after the meeting were in shock at what happened.

The item wasn’t on the agenda until the start of the meeting, so we were lucky we make it a priority to always attend meetings to find out the happenings of the district. And when Nelson motioned at the start of the meeting to amend the agenda to add an item regarding the terms of Wagner’s contract, we didn’t realize what was coming.

When it came time for the agenda item, Nelson read aloud a statement regarding her motion, stating that it supported both the district and Wagner’s ability to move forward.

After the meeting she said she could not provide any additional information about the action other than that both the district and Wagner are going in different directions. She cited private personal data because Wagner is an employee.

Minnesota law (Chapter 13, Data Practices Act) requires disclosure of the reasons for dismissal of a superintendent. However, in this case the Albert Lea school board isn’t dismissing him — they’re just putting him on the sidelines and letting his contract expire, which is an effective workaround from disclosing to the taxpayers what actually happened. This is common in Minnesota when a superintendent isn’t disciplined and dismissed — the contract is just not renewed.

Without stating any more about the decision, it leaves taxpayers to wonder whether there are issues being swept under the rug and their minds immediately jump to the worst.

Especially considering taxpayers will continue to foot the bill for Wagner’s salary for the next six months (his annual salary is $191,609), we believe the taxpayers deserve more information.

It could be as simple as a personality conflict or that the board and the superintendent have different goals or expectations — we just don’t know.

It reminds us of the separation of former Administrator Tom Jensen with Freeborn County in 2022. In that instance, the separation agreement stated the board determined Jensen’s performance as administrator did “not fulfill the current views and desires of the board” and that the board had expressed an interest in separating his employment from the county.

Jensen was given a lump sum payment of $74,890, which reflects the equivalent of six months of regular wages, as well as 100% of his accrued PTO up to 480 hours.

These types of decisions are costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars and lead to a feeling of uncertainty amongst taxpayers. We implore the board to provide additional information about this decision.

More information can help dispel rumors, educate and build trust.