By Steve Van Kooten
Clayton Ridge's Board of Directors and members of the administration face criticism from the community during the board's meeting on Thursday, Dec. 11.
The lion's share of the meeting highlighted the community's response to recent allegations involving members of the district's administration. Public comments included calls for the resignation of District Superintendent Shane Wahls and Middle and High School Principal Terri Thompson due to the recently revealed investigation by the Iowa Board of Education Examiners (BOEE) and a letter regarding the Iowa Virtual Academy (IVA) made public this past week.
"These distracted administrators are no longer capable of leading our staff," said Jason Reimer, a former school board member. "The community lost all remaining confidence and respect they once had."
The BOEE chose to proceed with investigations of Wahls, Thompson and Wade T. Marlow at their meeting in mid-November.
Wahls and Marlow have six potential violations listed on their licensure page, including failure to report suspected child or dependent adult abuse and failing to make reasonable effort to protect the health and safety of the students or creating conditions harmful to student learning. Thompson has four violations listed on her licensure page.
Another community member spoke, saying, "This is important. It's important that the board members see community support and people are concerned because everything in the news is embarrassing for our community."
Specific details involving the alleged violations are not public and will most likely remain out of the public's reach until the case is concluded, which could take months, years or even longer.
Nicole DeGidio, Clayton Ridge's high school English and technology coach, spoke during the meeting, urging the community to wait for more information.
"Concerns have been raised about administrators, and I believe in taking all concerns seriously; however, I also believe just as strongly in due process," she said.
"We have procedures for investigating concerns, and I urge you to let those procedures play out. Let facts, not emotions and not personal histories, determine the outcome. We can be patient and still be vigilant," she continued.
Neither the board nor the administration commented during the meeting. Previously, the district made a public comment via their social media page, saying, "A finding of probable cause means that a hearing will be scheduled regarding the allegations and is not a determination that any of the allegations are founded."
Virtual Academy
Administrators came under fire this past week due to an Oct. 1 letter from the Department of Education's Bureau Chief of School Improvement to Wahls about the IVA.
According to the letter, the district's Iowa Virtual Academy (IVA) has conditional accreditation for the 2025-26 school year.
For the online school to be eligible for accreditation in the future, the district has to provide "evidence of compliance" addressing concerns the DOE received regarding student attendance, records and communication to virtual students, parents, and resident districts.
Concerns in the letter included:
- A review of data submitted by Clayton Ridge revealed 1,747 of 3,028 students enrolled in the IVA at some point during the year exited; however, data submitted to Student Reporting in Iowa claims only 63 students exited the academy (a discrepancy of more than 1,600).
- During the fiscal year 2025, Clayton Ridge billed other districts for 143 special needs students, citing 10 examples in which billing for students appeared to be inaccurate.
- The district did not have a record of consistent communication with families and resident districts of students attending the academy.
- The documentation provided by the IVA was reportedly "unclear" on how the district verified that all attending students completed the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress. Clayton Ridge now has to provide data proving when students took the ISASP.
Clayton Ridge is expected to provide evidence of compliance in these areas either as a one-time verification or on a consistent schedule to remain eligible.
“The District takes all concerns from the Department of Education seriously. Since receiving the letter from the Department in October, the District has met and worked with the Department and provided the Department with student data and other information from the Iowa Virtual Academy to address the Department’s concerns. As a result, the District has been able to directly address many of the Department’s questions and concerns. The District also is committed to continuing to work with the Department throughout the school year to provide additional student data and other information that the Department may request.” read a statement from Wahls.
More information will be released as the story develops.
