State Board of Education is Railroaded by a Consultant

An Interview with Elizabeth Tegtmeier

On March 30 and 31, 2023, the Nebraska State Board of Education convened a special meeting to interview and vote on the final three candidates for the Nebraska Commissioner of Education position vacated January 3, 2023, by Matthew Blomstedt.

Elizabeth Tegtmeier, State Board of Education representative for District 7 emphasizes that she is speaking for herself, and not the entire board. She was dissatisfied with the process the board used for choosing the new Commissioner.

“Throughout the entire interview process the residents of District 7 were at the forefront of my mind as I worked to make a decision in keeping with the qualities of honesty and transparency that our district values.”

—Elizabeth Tegtmeier

The State Board of Education currently has 5 liberal members and 3 conservative members. Elizabeth, Kirk Penner and Sherry Jones would be considered conservative. These 3 conservative members began their term in January of 2023. Last year, the majority of the board voted to use the search firm of McPherson and Jacobson, led by Dr. Steve Joel, who was once a Superintendent at Lincoln Public Schools and is a Senior Advisor for ERDI (Education Research and Development Institute). Elizabeth made a note of the fact that the consultant and one of the candidates, Dr. Brian Maher, had been colleagues at ERDI.

An ad hoc committee was chosen by Board President Patti Gubbels to lead the Commissioner Search. None of the conservative board members were on this committee. They were told to “trust the process”, and that everything would be transparent.

Board members were expected to submit questions by Jan 23. They were told the questions would be compiled, and then the board would be able to fill out a survey to rank them. That never happened.

In fact, says Elizabeth, all board members submitted questions for the interview, but they didn't see the finalized list of questions compiled by Dr. Joel until the day of the interviews, which occurred on Thursday, March 30. 

“When I questioned why we hadn't seen the list earlier, Board President Patti Gubbels said the ad hoc committee didn't want the questions getting out before the interviews.  The ad hoc committee didn't trust fellow board members and withheld information from the full board. Futhermore, board members were not allowed to ask any additional questions of the candidates.”

Coincidentally, Elizabeth noted that Dr. Maher had a prepared booklet that addressed topics from 8 of the 19 questions on the list.  

“Fellow board members said those were just basic topics and anyone in education would know to address them. If so, why were the questions so top secret that board members could not be trusted to have them in advance? Both of these things cannot be true -- either the topics are common knowledge or the questions need to be kept confidential until the interviews.”

A month before the interviews occurred, when the board voted to extend the consulting firm's contract and have them attend the interviews, Elizabeth objected to the potential for an outside influence to insert itself into the selection process.  The board was told that the firm would only be present to assist candidates. 

“My objection was defeated by a 5-3 vote.”

“My exact concerns came to fruition when the board was told that after the interviews were complete, each member needed to debrief with Dr. Joel.  I objected because I saw the process being compromised by outside influence.  I was overruled by the board president as she had unilaterally asked him to do this.  My concern about this debriefing and how it compromised the selection process was not supported by anyone on the board Thursday morning.”

On Friday morning, board member Jacquelyn Morrison quickly made the first and only motion. – to offer the contract to Dr. Brian Maher.  Elizabeth suggested that the board should pause the process as she did not feel it had been open, honest, and transparent up to that point.

“Because of my belief that the process was compromised and, thus, rendered invalid for a fair and equitable outcome, I voted against the contract offer to Dr. Brian Maher.  The final vote was 5-3 to offer a contract.”

“I also declined to read a motion moving the board into executive session “for the protection of public interest” and was the first “No” vote against this motion.  I believe board discussions held in public best protect the public's interest.”

“As I have traveled through the 44 counties that comprise District 7, many constituents have expressed frustration with the manner in which the previous board operated and expect me to shed light on the board processes and decisions.  My objection before the full board and my “No” votes reflect the desire of District 7 voters.” 

Elizabeth Tegtmeier

Elizabeth Tegtmeier is an educator and a mother who also represents District 7 on the Nebraska State Board of Education