Lake Geneva teachers who publicly resigned due to culture concerns return to former school for board meeting

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — Six months ago, a capacity crowd watched two Central-Denison Elementary School teachers step down in front of the Lake Geneva Schools board. Those teachers came back to Cen-Den Tuesday night to speak at another board meeting. Watch TMJ4 News reporter Taj Simmons' story about this meeting in the video below: Lake Geneva teachers who publicly resigned due to culture concerns return to former school for board meeting Demetra Condos and Stacy Smith both approached the podium and told the board of their continued desire for improvement within the school district. "I am requesting a district-wide review of teacher salaries," Condos said. "Why do administrators receive cost of living adjustments and salary schedule adjustments while teachers don't receive those same considerations?" TMJ4 "It's time for a change and this community is begging for it," Smith said. "I only miss Cen-Den when I'm out in the community and hear a squeal from a former student who embraces me in a hug or when a parent stops me to advocate for what's right." TMj4 Smith and Condos both announced their resignations during May's board meeting at Lake Geneva Schools' headquarters. To date, it is the last board meeting to take place inside of their administration building. The district is holding board meetings at its schools this academic year in commemoration of next year's school restructuring plan, in which Eastview Elementary will close and fifth-graders will instead attend Lake Geneva Middle School. TMJ4 Administrators spent much of the non-public comment part of the meeting talking about next year's transition. "Obviously we're not going to put a fifth-grader with an eighth-grader in an athletic setting, but we might have a fifth-grader with an eighth-grader where there's an opportunity for leadership or mentoring," said Lake Geneva Middle School activities director David Jooss. TMJ4 While administrators could not acknowledge Smith and Condos' comments while they were speaking, board member Carrie Spiegelhoff appeared to make a motion directly addressing Condos' main concern. "We've talked about teacher pay range and salary compared to surrounding districts," Spiegelhoff said to Lake Geneva Schools superintendent Peter Wilson. "Is there a way we can get a report on that potentially?" TMJ4 Lake Geneva Schools' next Joint 1 board meeting is set for Dec. 8. The board has not announced which school will host the meeting. Let's talk: Hey there! At TMJ4 News, we're all about listening to our audience and tackling the stuff that really matters to you. Got a story idea, tip, or just want to chat about this piece? Hit us up using the form below. For more ways to get in touch, head over to tmj4.com/tips. Name Email Phone number Story you're commenting on Message Verification: Submit It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device. Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more. Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip