What is going on at K-M?

We are right around the halfway mark of the new school year, and there have been a number of controversies taking place within the walls of Kasson-Mantorville schools.
As we previously reported, a longtime school board member quit the board in October, citing personal reasons. A few short weeks later, voters re-elected her.
In multiple front-page stories, we shared that the board member’s husband, a long-time teacher, had also resigned.
On Monday night, Superintendent Ted Ihns, who signed a three-year contract last July, resigned from his position, effective at the end of the school year. Board members also held a closed session to discuss allegations against the board member who resigned, a meeting that was supposed to take place days before she resigned.
To make matters worse, a divide within the school board was evident during that meeting. Not only was the selection of the school board chair and clerk a 4-3 vote, but officials also split over simple decisions, like who should be authorized to contact the district’s legal counsel.
For weeks and months, this newspaper has worked to uncover the truth, and we will continue to do so. We have submitted Freedom of Information Act requests for police reports, emails, and related documents and will continue to do so. Before Monday’s meeting, we had filed data requests with the district, and we have even more questions now.
Not surprisingly, some in the community, including district employees, are upset and disappointed and have expressed a host of other feelings to us.
Lost in all of this, unfortunately, is that the hundreds of kids who attend K-M schools have to deal with the consequences when the adults running the district can't get along.
The revolving door at the top has not stopped spinning: During the 2021-2022 school year, Mark Matuska was superintendent before resigning. For 2022-2023 the district had interim superintendent David Thompson in charge. Last summer, officials with a unanimous vote hired Ted Ihns to fill the post, and a year later, they're back to where they started.
Many open questions remain but count on this: We will continue to ask the tough questions and look into what is happening.
The truth matters and holding the elected officials responsible for educating the district's children accountable is more important than upsetting a few people along the way.