Mr. Mike Raether must resign as principal of DC Everest Senior High School. His reign of denigration of the institution has been marked by a number of serious missteps, appearing either wildly misguided or purposeful in seeking to harm the once-sterling reputation of the school.

The actions Mr. Raether has taken as principal have been deeply troubling. His tenure has been marked with a massive wave of retirements on the part of veteran teachers, teachers who dedicated themselves to learning, shared their newfound knowledge with the students, and strived consistently for excellence in their profession. What was once a deeply desirable district with very few openings has become a district where talent flees and where perpetual understaffing is a serious issue. 

Teachers who haven’t retired voluntarily have been forced out, whether through dubious complaints allegedly made by students or through other means of manipulation to ensure resignation or retirement. This is an obvious attempt on Raether’s part to “clean house,” substituting his own choices for these positions. The latest victim, Officer Frank Wierzbanowski, is yet another example of this attempt by Mr. Raether to radically reshape the hallways of the once-admirable institution. 

Mr. Raether has further eroded teachers’ ability to manage their classrooms, to conduct their business in line with preparation for collegiate and professional environments, and to exercise discipline when necessary. These changes are at the peril of the student body’s success and the school’s reputation. These changes have been catastrophic to the school’s ability to facilitate the learning process. Given this loss of structure and appropriate instruction, the community can likely expect falling statistics of aptitude and a subjective decrease in student satisfaction in school. Left unchecked, this will have a disastrous consequence on the health of the district and the health of the community at-large.

As such, we, the undersigned, demand that Mike Raether resign, effective immediately, and leave the duties of his position to an individual more capable of leading the school back to its former excellence. In the event that Mr. Raether refuses to tender his resignation, effective immediately, we, the undersigned, call upon Superintendent Casey Nye and/or the duly elected members of the DC Everest School Board to demand his resignation and to replace Mr. Raether with a candidate more capable of rebuilding DC Everest Senior High School to its former excellence.