Is Karen Acres Principal Being Forced Out of Her Job?

l Principal Patty Schlottterbeck told teachers at the school on May 11 that she is leaving and some Karen Acres parents say they are concerned that she is being forced out.

Schlotterbeck did not return a phone call from Patch asking for comment, but Superintendent Doug Stilwell said the school board on May 14 accepted Schlotterbeck's request for retirement at the end of the school year. 

"That’s about all we typically share about anybody who has retired or resigned," he said.

Kim Knoll, a parent and volunteer at the school, wrote an email to Stilwell and the school board members praising Schlotterbeck and suggesting that she is being forced out.

Schlotterbeck is in her mid-50s. On May 9, the school board held a closed meeting at the district administration office to discuss the performance of an employee and. Stillwell on Monday confirmed that the board, which cannot legally vote in private, voted to authorize him to talk with Schlotterbeck. Knoll said Schlotterbeck submitted her request for retirement two days later.

Knoll, whose youngest child is in fifth grade at Karen Acres, posted an encouraging Karen Acres parents and Urbandale residents to attend the school board's next meeting on June 11 to get more information.

Knoll said she believes that some Karen Acres teachers may have complained about Schlotterbeck or the decision involved the fact that in December legislation for yearly improvement in students' math and reading proficiency.

Whatever the reason, Knoll fears that Schlotterbeck's departure is the latest in a series of events that have hurt the small elementary at 3500 74th St.

Knoll said the school lost its principal and several of its best teachers and staff when that principal was tagged to run the new

Converting nearby to an open-enrolled, year-round school took some of Karen Acres students (and their active parents as well) and changes in the elementary school district boundaries has increased the number of poor, minority and immigrant students at the school, she said.

Karen Acres outgoing PTA President Brad Ortmeier also is encouraging parents to attend the June 11 school board meeting. He said as PTA president he has pushed strongly for equality of resources among all Urbandale elementary schools

"Unfortunately, I don't know all the details around why Patty is leaving, but my daughter has gone there for five years and Patty has definitely been instrumental and a great driving force for bringing not only the school together, but also the community around the school together," he said. "I really can honestly say that I don't know or haven't seen another person in her position who cares about the students as much as she does." 

"As a concerned parent, I would like to understand what is going on," said Ortmeier.

"This is a public school. We do have a right to know more than a private school," he said.