Burnsville School Board and Administrators Payout

There was quite a crowd at the Burnsville-Eagan-Save school board meeting, with many people who were trying to get their message across. Over 150 residents of the area joined together at the Diamondhead Education Center to voice their own opinions, much of which were anger and frustration, about the payout that was made to Tania Chance, the former human resources director for the district. Tania Chance received a payout of more than $254,814.

The residents presented their arguments loud and clear, asking the question of why Chance received money in return for her resignation, especially since she just began with that position seven months prior and was actually signed into a two year contract. A lot of the residents also expected the school board administrator and the district administrator to resign. After the meeting was over, however, residents were still left with many unanswered questions.

One resident of Savaga, Mark Nesvig, says that he does not believe the payout to Chance was for the interest of the district because everyone is being so hush-hush about the situation, not saying why it would be in the best interest for the district. Nesvig also argued that it is hard for the residents to move forward because they feel as though the current leaders are not being completely open or honest about the situation.

The board members sat there and listened to an assortment of different comments made by the residents in the area. However, they were unable to provide any information about the departure of Chance and the payout she received for resigning from her position early. While the board members were unable to provide the public with the answers they wanted, Chance did break her silence, having issued a statement just the other day.

In the statement, Chance talked about how she believes the public deserves to receive the answer to the question. She also says she is not at liberty to give out details for her departure and that the leadership for the board should be questioned, especially as so much speculation is being made and as rumors are being spread.

The vast majority of residents that were in attendance of the board meeting said they do not normally attend these types of meetings but that after hearing about the expensive payout Chance received after resign, many of these residents felt it was absolutely necessary to attend the public hearing and ask questions to find out what is really going on. Of the many residents in attendance, Joel Smetanka was one of them, admitting that he very rarely attends public hearings but wanted to know more about what was going on with the costly payout made to Chance. He says that it got his attention, especially because so much public money was being handed over to Chance.