Curler, Simon resign: Adequacy of district tech support questioned

January 27, 2010 • Ramsey Statz and KaDee Ellis  
Filed under Local, News

Shortly before winter break, Business and Information Technology (BIT) teacher Lynda Curler announced that she would be resigning her position.

This move came abruptly and caused many rumors to fly around  about her reason for leaving so suddenly.

“There are two basic reasons that I resigned from my teaching position. The first was the lack of follow-through from a variety of departments and the second was the ongoing technology issues,” Curler said.

Curler refers to many incidents in which she feels she did not receive adequate technical support.

“Mrs. Curler did express her frustration with technical difficulties and the length of time that it took to reach a solution.  We shared that same concern and worked with the technical support in district and with outside vendors to remedy the situation,” Principal Dr. Jeff Zaspel said.

However, Curler recounts one instance that pushed her to her “breaking point.”

“The projector from the cart was mounted on the ceiling and did not work, causing me once again to be unable to teach the content for the first hour Dig Org class as I had planned,” Curler said.

Curler believes that as a result of technology issues, the quality of education that she was able to offer to her students suffered.

“Between the projector issues and the ongoing technology glitches, I was losing class time on an weekly, and at times daily basis. Basically, I was often not able to do the job I was hired to do,” Curler said.

In the time between when this issue went to press and Curler’s resignation, Bill Simon, the only other BIT teacher, decided to resign his post as well.

Simon denied the possibility that his resignation is also related to technology problems.

“I am switching careers.  There’s things I would like to provide for my family and the way for me to provide the things that I would like to provide for my family is to, at this point, switch careers,” Simon said.

However, two resignations within the same department hardly seem coincidental.  When asked, Simon was quick to dispel this rumor.

“There is no hidden or secret agenda or plot.  I think the correct term is a confluence of circumstances.  She didn’t leave because of me.  I didn’t leave because of her,” Simon said.

However, the Curler resignation could call into question whether there is a larger issue to explore.  Is the tech support in the Fort Atkinson School District adequate for the purpose of assisting teachers in effectively educating students?

There are certainly two sides to this argument.  Even if they were not a driving force behind his resignation decision, Simon pointed out what he perceived as flaws in the organization of the Technology Department.

“Up until this point, we’ve basically relied upon college interns.  Each year, those college interns are landing new jobs and new people have to learn the same things over again,” Simon said.

Simon suggested that a more permanent staff could solve this problem.

“I believe that it’s time for the district to see if they need to change the way that they provide tech support.  We’re at the point where we need to spend the money on full-time support people as opposed to interns,” Simon said.

Curler also expressed discontent with the way that the department is managed.

“The problem is not that the technology department is not doing their job, but more the way the department is staffed, and organized,” Curler said.

In response to the situation, John Ottow, District Director of Computer Technology, responding specifically to the suggestion that a full-time support staff would better suit the district, recognized the validity of that idea.

“Mr. Simon and Ms. Curler are 100% correct when they say technology would be better supported with a full time technology support person at the High School,” Ottow said.

However, Ottow acknowledges the sobering fact that improvements on this scale always mean more money need be spent by the school district, money that is not always there.

“I will make sure [Simon's] suggestion is passed on to Dr. Fitzpatrick and the School Board.  However, I know the request for more money for technology support has to be balanced against all of the other needs of the school district.  It would be nice if we had full time people at the high school all the time, but, however, because of how budgets are I don’t think that will ever be the case,” Ottow said.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. James Fitzpatrick shared the same thoughts concerning the way staffing is handled in that department.

“I think [Simon] shares some views we ought to review.  However, like all needs and wants this must be evaluated amidst all of our district needs,” Fitzpatrick said.

It is apparent,though, that not all teachers are as dissatisfied with the way that the department is staffed and with its ability to service technology-related issues.

“Whenever I encounter a computer issue, regardless of its magnitude, I get immediate response and help fixing the issue within hours.  Whenever I tell my husband how quickly computer issues are taken care of (he teaches in East Troy) he shakes his head in disbelief. Fort is not the norm.  Our techies are great!” FAHS Science teacher Sabine Bottum said in a letter to Superintendent Fitzpatrick.

Bottum’s assessment of the district support staff is consistent with the majority of teachers’ in the district.

“A recent feedback survey I reviewed this past Sunday from staff members reflects that while our Technology Department could improve in some communication areas, however, the the vast majority of our staff feels they are supported by our technology staff and in most cases in a very timely fashion,” Fitzpatrick said.

Despite problems and frustrations encountered during her employment in the district, Curler says that resigning was not her first decision and not one that she came to easily.

“Leaving Fort Atkinson High School was not an easy thing for me to do or a decision made lightly. I didn’t leave for another high school and for another teaching position, which made the move even more difficult because I do love to teach and I feel it’s something that I’m really good at,” Curler said.

Fitzpatrick expressed similar feelings concerning Curler’s resignation.

“I felt very badly that she felt her only recourse was to resign. I tried to convince her to rescind her resignation, however by the time it came to my attention she could not be persuaded to change her mind,” Fitzpatrick said.

Even with all of these frustrations, Curler remains fond of her years teaching at FAHS.

“I made some good friends among both the teaching staff and the support staff, and I formed some great relationships with the students that were in the classes that I taught,” Curler said.

Concerning the department and the students that will be left in his and Curler’s wake, Simon does not find any reason to believe that there will be any negative repercussions due to the quality of the teachers that have been found to replace them.

“With the quality of people they have, there’s not going to be any letdown in this department.  When you do have two brand new people, they can make things happen for the better, sometimes a lot quicker,” Simon said.

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