Re: A Letter to the MSD of Pike Township Community from the Board of Education - September 9, 2026
September 9, 2026
Re: A Letter to the MSD of Pike Township Community from the Board of Education
Dear MSD of Pike Township Families, Staff, and Community:
The Members of the Board of Education are writing to make you aware of serious challenges to the District’s culture and climate which the Board has been working to remedy over the past year. Because culture is at the heart of everything the District does and stands for, these are not minor concerns. Further, despite direct and repeated efforts by the Board to work collaboratively for improvement, it has not been met with a reciprocal response.
With rumors circulating, and the Board being accused by many of not adequately respecting the role of the administration, the Board has been responding behind the scenes to employee statements that their working environment under the administration has become a culture of fear and toxicity.
Last August, the Board, having heard serious concerns about the treatment of employees and others within the District, commissioned a confidential climate survey to more fully understand the culture of leadership within the District.
The survey was conducted by an outside consultant with significant experience as a superintendent and a deep understanding of the pressures and challenges faced by senior school leadership. All participants were assured by the Board of the strictest confidentiality and guaranteed against retaliation for their responses to and participation in the survey.
The results of the survey were shocking and distressing to the Board.
While the Board maintains its assurances to the survey participants that their individual responses have been and will remain entirely confidential, the Board wishes to share with the community the cumulative data that resulted.
Survey participants were asked:
- What leadership style is most prevalent in this school corporation?
The responses were overwhelming that the most prevalent leadership style is autocratic/dictatorial/authoritarian, with 93% of survey respondents saying so.
The survey participants also were asked:
- On a Likert Scale of 1-5 do you feel valued and respected at work?
- Strongly Agree
- Agree
- No Opinion
- Disagree
- Strongly Disagree
The responses showed that 50% of participants did not feel valued and respected.
While these results were less overwhelmingly negative than the responses regarding leadership style, the Board found it unacceptable that 50% of survey respondents felt they were not respected and valued at work, and that a further 10% either could not, or would not, offer an opinion.
As a group, the survey participants also reported a culture in which they worked under constant fear of making mistakes or failing, were micromanaged, and were called out and belittled in front of their peers.
In addition to the global concerns highlighted by the survey, the Board received direct complaints from staff members of bullying, hostility, retaliation, and toxicity from senior leadership.
While the Board cannot comment specifically on individual complaints due to the privacy of personnel matters, the Board has been responding to those concerns outside of public view.
In addition to the issues raised by staff, Board members themselves have directly observed conduct involving false accusations against staff, misinformation maintained against employees and potential employees, inappropriate favoritism, and other actions that do not embody the District’s Human Dignity Policy.
The Board has, on repeated occasions, privately attempted to resolve these issues and establish effective communication channels. For instance, the Board specifically requested that it be promptly and fully informed of matters that effect the governing of the District. Despite this directive, on numerous occasions, the Board only learned after the fact about potential safety issues, criminal matters, and pressing legal concerns – sometimes first finding out at the same time as the general public, through the news media. Such matters involve the legal governance of the District as a whole, and fall directly within the statutory, constitutional, and ethical obligations of the Board. The Board simply cannot adequately fulfill its role when such critical information is withheld.
The Board does not, and will not, condone a culture of fear, mistrust, or lack of transparency at any level within the District. The Board expects, and requires, that all staff, families, and community members are treated with respect and dignity by all representatives of MSD Pike.
As the Board looks to reestablish a culture of collegiality, collaboration, respect, trust, and positivity, it continues to consider all available options to achieve that result. The Board further expresses its ongoing appreciation for the exceptional work done by District staff on behalf of the children and community of Pike Township.
Sincerely,
Board of Education, MSD of Pike Township