Damakant Jayshi
Weeks after the Wausau School Board withdrew approval for the administration’s restructuring plan, Superintendent Keith Hilts announced he will retire in June.
Hilts’ decision comes after the board nixed a plan to merge the district’s two high schools and also paused a plan to eliminate five elementary schools. According to a statement release by the district on Tuesday, Hilts gave a notice of his retirement during a closed session of the special meeting of the board that was agendized as “approving Administrator Contracts.”
Since his 2018 appointment, Hilts’ tenure has been marked with controversies – from his handling of the district’s restructuring to allegations of racism in the district, accusations that were related to his decision to reinstate a music teacher accused of harassment of an Asian student.
Some parents and teachers had also complained about the way he pushed for the district’s restructuring plan and the way district surveys were conducted. Critics said the restructuring plan was rushed, and community reaction was strong. A petition asking for an advisory referendum on Hilts’ vision for the district garnered more than 2,000 signatures. Hilts termed the advisory referendum idea a mistake.
The secondary plan was to be implemented in the fall of 2025. That was before glaring gaps in the restructuring process came to the fore, the most prominent being the apparent lack of foresight by district officials to plan for a science wing at Wausau West that the merger would require. That resulted in an ask of an additional roughly $6 million for construction. Some board members balked at the huge sum.
Hilts service in another district, Ashland, was marked with controversies too. In Ashland, where Hilts served from 2010 to 2018, the district was criticized after a homecoming float included white students dressed as illegal immigrants. Hilts then apologized for “poor taste” in the senior float, which consisted of a flatbed trailer with a banner that read, “Trump the Birds,” a reference to the Homecoming high school football game pitting the Ashland Oredockers against the Lakeland Thunderbirds, the Ashland Daily Press reported.
In the email sharing the news release of Hilts’ retirement announcement, Wausau School District Communications Coordinator Diana White said Hilts would not address any questions right now.
Wausau Pilot has reached out to White, along with Board President James Bouche, with some specific questions related to the announcement, including whether Hilts had lost the confidence of the majority of the board.
“First and foremost, this was an extremely hard decision for him to make,” Bouche told Wausau Pilot. “The deadline to retire from the Wausau School District is quickly approaching. That means now is the time for notices of retirements to be submitted and approved. The superintendent position is no exception.”
Bouche, who did not respond to some specific questions, added that Hilts felt that now is the best time to retire. “The last thing he wants to do is step away during the middle of any project and not see it through,” Bouche said.
In a prepared statement issued by the district, Hilts thanked the staff, students, families, community and board members he worked with during his time in Wausau.
“My commitment will continue to be doing everything I can to lead this school district effectively and keeping our collective focus on student learning and growth,”Hilts’ statement read.
Bouche also issued a brief statement to all media on Tuesday.
“On behalf of the board, I want to thank Dr. Hilts for his outstanding leadership of the Wausau School District over the past six years,” Bouche said. “His steadfast commitment to our students, families, staff, and community have led our district through some difficult times, and he has always kept the focus on student learning and growth.”
Hilts who was appointed to the role in 2018, will step down as superintendent on June 30, 2024. According to the district’s announcement, the board will immediately begin the process of searching for and hiring the district’s next superintendent. Data obtained by Wausau Pilot & Review through an open records request shows Hilts’ total compensation for the last school year at $246,006 including salary and benefits.
