Board President, Interim Director
Are Latest Resignations at
Troubled Mequon Library

Citing recent negative publicity about board-staff relations at the Frank L. Weyenberg Library in Mequon, Wisconsin, board President James Paschen resigned December 1, six months before his term was due to expire. His departure occurred less than two weeks after 23-year-staffer Gail Skiff submitted her resignation after serving as interim director for a month, telling the November 28 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “I would like a 40-hour workweek.”

In his resignation letter, Paschen hoped his leaving “might facilitate a fresh approach to the recruitment of a top-notch director that the Weyenberg Library has yet to find.” He denied any link between trustees’ expectations of staff and the nine staff resignations this year, the December 2 paper reported.

Skiff became interim director in October, replacing Vickie Chiappetti, who left nine months after taking the job, citing unrealistic board expectations and lack of “breathing room.” After Chiappetti’s announcement, all 18 Weyenberg employees signed a letter asking the board to address plummeting staff morale.

Posted December 6, 1999.