Antigo School Board Elects Officers, Fills Vacancies, and Postpones Highly Anticipated Aquatic Center Vote

Highlights from the Antigo School Board Meeting video recording found here: YouTube Recording

Meeting Date: June 15, 2026

Executive Summary

During its lengthy June 15, 2026 meeting, the Antigo School Board completed its annual leadership reorganization and executed a comprehensive multi-round voting process to fill two vacant board seats. Due to the extended duration of candidate interviews, the board voted to defer all remaining agenda items—including critical deliberations regarding the future operation and funding of the Clara R. McKenna Aquatic Center—to a rescheduled session the following week.

The factual reporting below outlines the official actions and discussions documented during these proceedings, referencing data from the Antigo School Board Meeting Transcript. Please excuse any misspellings, as this was taken from audio transcripts.

Board Reorganization and Leadership Elections

The meeting opened with the annual restructuring of executive positions. Glenda Ojinsky was unanimously chosen to serve as Chair Pro Tem to preside over the initial leadership votes. Daniel Nicholson read the district's mission statement, noting that the institution remains "driven by purpose guided by integrity and defined by success".

The board then cast separate, formal verbal ballots for its primary officer positions, yielding the following leadership structure:

• Board President: Danny Pyeatt was elected president, receiving 4 votes to defeat fellow nominee Mike Parizek, who received 3 votes. (Kristen Mattmiller was initially nominated but declined to seek the presidency).
• Board Vice President: Kristen Mattmiller was elected vice president, securing a 4–3 majority over nominee Jean Adams.
• Board Clerk: Mike Parizek was elected clerk following a 4–3 vote over nominee Angela Schreiber.

Public Outpouring Over Aquatic Center Operations

A large contingent of community members attended the meeting specifically to advocate for the preservation of the Clara R. McKenna Aquatic Center. Four residents registered formal public comments, urging the board to treat the facility as an essential civic asset rather than a financial liability.

Tom Cost, representing the center's supporting foundation, asked the board to facilitate a joint working session between foundation members and district administration. Cost stated that the core objective must be to "hammer out a good budget... so all parties can have confidence in what is needed for successful operations". He highlighted major inconsistencies in recent financial reporting, pointing out that the projected operational deficit provided by district staff had fluctuated by $238,800 within a mere two-month window.

Former district employee Mary Joe Philbrand provided historical context, reminding the board that the center was built as a unified community project via $4.3 million in private donations from 573 local businesses and individuals. Philbrand recommended utilizing "Fund 80," a state legislative community service fund currently utilized by 83 school districts across Wisconsin to successfully maintain local public pools and childcare programs. Community members Paula Royce and Maya Kilman added emotional testimonies, speaking to the facility's vital role in physical education, special education, competitive athletics, and lifesaving water safety instruction.

Procedural Shift and Candidate Evaluation

In response to the high turnout of citizens waiting for the candidate interviews, Mike Parizek introduced a motion to amend the agenda and bring the board vacancy interviews forward. A brief debate occurred; some members questioned whether it was fair to potentially force newly selected members to vote on massive financial issues later in the evening without proper preparation time, particularly since some expense reports were delivered only moments before the meeting. The motion to advance the interviews passed in a 4–3 vote.

To fill the two vacant board seats, the board evaluated an initial pool of nine applicants: Randy Myers, Jeremy Hanky Senior, George Jenners, Bob Wilson, Beverly Cry, Carol Barnau, Melissa Cornelius, David Debru, and Donna Smith. Following a motion introduced by Angela Schreiber, the board voted 7–0 to utilize a structured elimination framework provided by legal counsel, dictating that all elimination and selection rounds occur strictly via public roll call voting to preserve institutional transparency.

Each applicant addressed the board individually, responding to seven standardized questions evaluating long-term educational visions, institutional indicators of success, and appropriate boundaries between board members and district staff.

Filling the Vacant Board Seats

Through four preliminary voting rounds designed to contract the candidate pool, the board established four definitive finalists: Randy Myers, Carol Barnau, Donna Smith, and Melissa Cornelius. Formal selection for the two open positions then proceeded as follows:

• First Vacancy: Randy Myers was appointed immediately in the first round of voting, securing a clean 4-vote majority from the sitting board.
• Second Vacancy: The remaining pool required a more complex process. An initial vote failed to yield a clear 4-vote majority, triggering successive runoff rounds. Melissa Cornelius ultimately emerged as the top vote-getter, defeating Carol Barnau in the final head-to-head runoff.

Following the final selections, Deyonna Shannon administered the official oath of office to both Randy Myers and Melissa Cornelius, formally restoring the school board to its full nine-member capacity.

Deferral of Unaddressed Business

Acknowledging the late hour and the exhaustion of the assembly following the extensive interview process, the board assessed the remaining agenda items. Administration confirmed that no pending matters carried mandatory, unalterable statutory deadlines for that specific night.

Consequently, Danny Pyeatt introduced a motion to postpone all remaining business—including the approval of the standard consent agenda, monthly financial reports, personnel changes, and the highly anticipated discussion and possible action regarding the aquatic center. The board voted in favor of the postponement, electing to transition the unaddressed items directly to an upcoming special session.

Key Action Items & Directives:

• Board Orientation: New members Randy Myers and Melissa Cornelius will coordinate with Glenda Ojinsky and district administration this week to receive their official technology devices and complete a fast-track orientation program.
• Rescheduled Workload: All unaddressed items from the June 15 agenda will be handled in a dedicated follow-up meeting with no new items added.

The meeting officially adjourned at 10:40 PM. The next special meeting to resolve the remaining items is scheduled for June 22, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the same room.