UPDATED: Faced With Termination, Cedar Falls Superintendent Mike Wells Resigns

Updated 7:15 p.m.

Mike Wells, superintendent of Cedar Falls schools, has resigned, effective July 1.

The move came at a school board meeting called Wednesday specifically to take action on his employment contract.

Of the seven school board members, five voted to accept Wells’ resignation. Board members Deon Senchina, Joyce Coil, Jenny Leeper, Susan Lantz and James Kenyon voted to accept his resignation. Board members Dave Williams and Jim Brown voted not to accept it.

On Monday, Wells had given notice via a letter to school district staff that he intended to resign. However, he withdrew that resignation at a school board meeting that night, saying he had been led to believe he had the full support of the district and the board.

On Tuesday, the school board issued the notice of the special meeting.

Once the Wednesday night meeting began, it quickly became clear the board intended to terminate Wells.

The room was packed with what appeared to be mostly Wells supporters, including many holding pro-Wells signs. The board room was standing-room only, with parents, teachers and community members spilling into the hall.

Board president Senchina started the proceedings by telling those present that though this was an open meeting, it was not an open forum.

"The audience is not allowed to speak to the board," she said.

Kenyon then submitted a motion to terminate Wells when the superintendent’s one-year contract expires at the end of June. Coil seconded the motion.

At that point, Wells had a chance to speak.

He said he acknowledged he ruffled feathers and had not been good at communicating with board members, but he did not believe he should be fired.

“I pushed too hard, without bringing others along, to make change,” he said. “I’ve been very honest and upfront with people to the point of being blunt. I definitely have to learn tact, and that’s a weakness.”

Some of the changes Wells have pushed for include either renovating the high school or replacing it with a new building and increasing bilingual education efforts. The high school project ranged in cost from $52 million to $73 million.

Whether the board agreed with his methods or not, he said he believed termination was going too far. He said when the board hired him, they should have known they were getting someone who would push for change.

“I didn’t do anything that deserves to not have a renewal on my contract,” he said. “I had no fatal errors.”

He said what hurt the most was that he uprooted his family to move to Cedar Falls.

“You guys selected me. You made a commitment. You knew what you were getting when you hired me,” he said. “I think of this as a marriage. I’m glad my wife didn’t kick me out the first time I made some errors.”

He sought to clear up Monday’s events, saying that at the time the board had made it clear to him he should resign.

On Monday, Senchina had told Patch and other news outlets that she was surprised by the resignation letter.

“I thought there was a change of heart,” Wells said. “I should have taken the time to sit down with the board and say, ‘Do you want me here or not.’”

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He said he would continue to work with the board in a professional manner until his contract expires, saying he knows the board is acting in what it believes is the best interest of students.

“Whatever your decision is I can accept it,” he said. “I have nothing but positive things to say about our school or our community.” 

He also said he takes at least partial responsibility for the week’s events.

“I’m a man with many flaws, and I’m at least half or slightly more than half responsible for this happening,” he said.

When Wells stopped speaking, he got a standing ovation from the community members in the room.

The school board members then had a chance to comment.

Brown and Williams spoke in Wells’ defense.

Brown said the district hired Wells to make changes but now was firing him for doing just that.

“Your focus has always been on the kids,” he said to Wells. “It would be my recommendation that we vote to reject this motion.”

Kenyon, Leeper, Coil and Lantz also spoke, though on the other side of the issue.

Leeper rejected the idea that Wells was being asked to leave because he pushed for change.

“I think we do want change, and we are wanting to move forward on the ideas that were presented this year,” she said.

Kenyon and Coil said their issues with Wells centered around his process for dealing with change and the board.

“I never doubt that you have the best intentions,” Coil said. “I just think there’s been lack of process and lack of inclusion. I thank you for coming to Cedar Falls.”

Before the board could vote on his termination, Wells asked if the motion could be amended so he could resign instead of being fired. The board agreed and voted, 5-2, to accept his resignation.

The whole meeting lasted less than an hour.

Afterward, Wells quickly left while the community members in the audience filed slowly out, many expressing their dismay.

Dawn Ask Martin, whose son previously went to Price Laboratory School before it closed and now attends a Cedar Falls School District school, said she was angry.

“I thought he was going to be our catalyst for healing our community after the Price Lab debacle,” she said. “Shame on those who accepted his resignation.”

Randolph Bryan, who has children at North Cedar and Cedar Falls High School, said he was having trouble not crying.

“This is a sad, sad day for the 5,000 kids of this school district,” he said. “I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, I can only speak for what I observe. And that’s someone who cared about our kids. I’m sure he doesn’t know who I am, but he knows my kids’ names.”

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