Mysouthnow.com is reporting Franklin Superintendent Steve Patz is retiring.
We thank him for his many years of service and wish him well.
It’s now up to the Franklin School Board to find and hire Patz’s replacement.
Here’s hoping the Board selects:
1) A superintendent who places student achievement ahead of building stuff.
2) A superintendent who is taxpayer-friendly.
3) A superintendent who grasps the concept that he/she works for the school board and not the opposite.
I would add this note to the school board:
Let’s not go hog wild on the salary for the next super. At one point Patz had the 4th highest salary in the state among superintendents. Higher than the MPS super who has a far more difficult job. A salary that surpasses that of Gov. Walker by a ton.
Our district has 35,000 people. School Board members, don’t break the bank!
This Just In... From Franklin, WI 
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100% agree with this article. Mr. Patz’s unwillingness to focus on achievement led to the current DPI audit of the District’s gifted and talented program, which the State found to be non-compliant. If the District does not comply by the end of the 2016-2017 school year, they could lose state and federal funding. I hope the next Superintendent is focused on education and producing the highest quality students by offering gifted students the gifted education they need and deserve. We could begin by allocating resources from Patz’s high salary to the gifted program that used to exist before it was cut from the budget several years ago.
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Let’s hope this means we have seen the last of disrespectful behavior on our school board meeting videos. I especially hope we’ve seen the last of a superintendent tell a school board member that he WON’T be answering her questions because he either finds them irrelevant or not asked in a timely enough manner for him. Outrageous behavior from a superintendent to say the least!
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I have seen that as well. And again, completely unacceptable behavior from someone in that role.
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When Steve Patz first arrived in Franklin another local blogger wrote that Patz had a record of pushing big spending school referenda. I can’t speak to Patz’s performance and priorities in districts other than Franklin, but when he got here Patz undoubtedly went on a referendum property tax increase spree, milking the taxpayers until he got his coveted YES vote.
If he had that same footprint before Franklin the Franklin School Board hired him regardless, or maybe because of it. It’s quite plausible they wanted a superintendent that could get referenda approved, unlike Patz’s predecessor who was dumped after a massive referendum went down in flames.
Whatever the case, those board members are responsible for inflicting the over-priced, over-paid, over-benefited Patz on us.
Hopefully the current board has learned its lesson. But I wouldn’t bet the farm.
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Could not be happier he was a very disrespectful man. Rumors are he was forced out and many teachers are wondering why.
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I’m not surprised at what is being said here. Just wish more of it would have come out earlier.
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