Moore resigns as G-E-T school board president

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School Board President Larry Moore has conceded his seat as the board’s leader, and the former teacher cites his working relationship with district administrator Michele Butler as his reason for leaving the job.

Moore will continue to serve on the board for the remainder of his term, set to end in 2025. Moore said in his resignation letter last Tuesday that leaving his role as president “pains me a great deal.”

District Administrator Michele Butler “mismanaged” the handling of the district’s book review committee last month that temporarily removed the book “Queer Ducks (and other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality” from the G-E-T Middle School library, Moore says in the letter.

“The board president needs to work closely with the district administrator to ensure that the business of the district is open, transparent, and efficient. I can no longer work in that manner with DA Michele Butler,” Moore writes. “Despite a past history of working well together I no longer can do so.”

Moore confirmed in a phone call on Tuesday that his resignation is related to the handling and fallout of the book.

“My resignation is based on an analysis of the public record of Michele’s handling of the situation,” Moore told the Times.

Moore also told the Times that Butler used the word “scapegoat” in an email to board members while referring to her role in the book fallout, which has included an illegal vote and citizens asking the board at every meeting since to keep the book.

“The events surrounding the book review controversy, which in my opinion, was mismanaged at the highest level, trouble me deeply. DA Butler’s explanations and excuses are, to me, unconvincing and self-serving,” Moore wrote in his letter.

“I still have trouble understanding how someone so smart and so well paid could have made a series of decisions which resulted in unintended but painful consequences to so many. Michele has at the time I write this taken insufficient responsibility, in my opinion, for the mess she created.”

Moore followed the statement by saying Butler cannot be “thrown under the bus” for the fallout because she was “driving the bus”.

Moore closed his resignation notice by thanking fellow board members for their support, saying they had nothing to do with his resignation.

Butler responded to Moore’s resignation letter with a written statement to the Times on Friday.

“On behalf of the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau School District, I thank Mr. Moore for his service as president of the school board,” Butler wrote in an email.

‘This is not personal’

Moore sent another note to members of the school board after his resignation letter, saying he wanted to be transparent about why he went public with his reasons for leaving the head chair.

“You can disagree with what I said and some of you have. I have the right to explain to former colleagues, administrators I have known for years, friends and neighbors and people who have supported me through two elections why I resigned as President,” Moore writes in the follow-up.

“It’s no secret that handling of the book controversy is an issue. I have reread the letters from residents who were appalled, for various reasons, about the issue. Whether I resigned or not, it is still an issue.”

Moore said he would not have released a statement on his resignation if he were not the board president, adding that he has supported Butler many times in his tenure.

“As board President I had supported Michele on some difficult personnel issues which cost me credibility with many of my former colleagues. Michele and I worked very closely on some contentious issues. My support for her was not appreciated by some in the G-E-T community but I did it, because I agreed with her point of view,” Moore writes.

“This is not personal.”

“I intend to continue to work with Michele and will agree with her when I think it is right, which in the past is something I always did. I have defended Michele many times in the past and will continue to do so in the future.”

Further conversation expected

A new president will need to be elected at the school board’s next meeting, currently set for Monday, Aug. 14.

“I intend to serve the rest of my term as a regular board member, sadder but wiser,” Moore writes. “I continue to believe in the mission and vision of the district.”

The board will also likely meet in closed session to discuss Butler’s evaluation at its August meeting after an approximately 90-minute conversation on the same topic in closed session at its July 10 meeting.

No action was taken when the board returned to open session in July.