Teacher

By Jade Bolackjbolack@lakegenevanews.netWILLIAMS BAY — Recently released records show that the fifth-grade teacher who resigned after a Facebook post, did not resign because of “misconduct.”After more than a month of closed session meetings, the Williams Bay School Board accepted a resignation agreement from Breann Vogt July 22.Vogt had posted that she’d like to “go on a short but effective killing spree” on Facebook in early June. She received a one-week paid suspension, and the board met several times to discuss other disciplinary action.The resignation agreement, obtained through an open records request, states that the school board and Vogt “agree that employee’s separation from employment by the district is not for misconduct connected with her employment” or substantial fault.Vogt is eligible for unemployment compensation through the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.The agreement also states that Vogt “did not voluntarily leave employment with the district,” though she signed the agreement July 21.During a phone interview July 22, District Administrator Wayne Anderson said he would give Vogt a letter of recommendation. The resignation agreement states that if Williams Bay Schools are contacted as a reference, “all communications concerning employee’s employment with the district shall be consistent with the letter of reference.”Vogt agreed to not apply for or accept another job in the future with the district.In the July 22 interview, Anderson said that Vogt’s children attend Williams Bay Schools, and she retained all the rights of any other parent to be on the school grounds for or with her children.Along with these stipulations, the agreement also eliminates Vogt’s right to sue the district because of the termination. The postAfter the post was made public at a June school board meeting, both supporters and opponents of Vogt came forward.Supporters created an online petition and eventually had 171 signatures. Parents, fellow teachers and some of her students signed with comments saying she was a fantastic teacher and didn’t deserve the treatment she was getting from the public.Opponents said that similar comments from a student would have been taken much more seriously by the school board. Parents questioned why the police didn’t consider the post a threat.Williams Bay Police Lt. Laura Washer said there wasn’t an ‘overt’ threat in the Facebook post, so Vogt was never charged with a crime. Washer said after the June 9 school board meeting that the Williams Bay police and the sheriff’s department had investigated the matter.During the last week of the school year, during Vogt’s suspension, many parents contacted the school when they saw her picking up her children.Anderson said Vogt wasn’t allowed in the school during that week, but she was allowed to pick up her children.