Freeburg’s elementary school district board has voted to accept its superintendent’s resignation “immediately,” so Melanie Brink won’t be returning from the holiday break as many parents had expected.
Board member David Stein, a Brink supporter, described the vote on Thursday night as a “firing” because, he said, she was willing to stay until the end of the school year before starting a new job.
Last month, the board for Belle Valley School District 119 in Belleville voted to hire Brink as its superintendent, beginning next fall.
“It’s clear that there are massive issues at Freeburg,” Stein said, speaking of recent controversies and challenges in Freeburg Community Consolidated School District 70, which includes the elementary school and primary center. “
This (vote for Brink’s immediate departure) is an attempt to blame somebody, Dr. Brink, and by firing her now, they can say, ‘She was the guilty party. We eliminated the problem. We fixed it.’”
On Friday, Brink didn’t characterize the vote as a termination.
Brink said she could have stayed until the end of the school year, but an early exit will allow her to prepare for her new job by spending more time with Belle Valley superintendent R. Dane Gale, who’s retiring.
“It’s all good between me and my district (in Freeburg),” she said. “We’re working on the transition. I’m still going to go back and see my teachers. Everything is positive moving forward.
“I’m very grateful to the students, staff and community of Freeburg, and I look forward to the opportunity that lies ahead at Belle Valley.”
Brink sent her resignation letter to Freeburg officials after the Belle Valley vote on Dec. 17. It didn’t specify an effective date, she said.
The Freeburg board called a special meeting Thursday night during the holiday break instead of waiting until its Jan. 27 regular meeting to consider the resignation. After discussing it in closed session, all six members present (out of seven total) voted to accept it.
“Dr. Brink resigned, and the board just voted to accept her resignation,” school board President Michelle Foppe said on Friday morning. “We accepted her resignation immediately.”
The board will conduct a search for a new superintendent, she said.
Foppe declined to answer questions such as why the board didn’t ask Brink to stay until the end of the school year, what were the requirements of her contract and who would be handling the superintendent’s duties temporarily.
On Friday evening, the board released the following statement:
“The board and Superintendent Brink are working out the details of her transition from the district. The board thanks the superintendent for her services, and the parties wish each other the best.”
Brink has been serving her fourth year at Freeburg. Her contract runs through the end of the 2025-26 school year.
In the past two years, the district’s issues have included staff resignations, board infighting, lawsuits and other court filings, a police investigation and heated debates among local residents. Brink tendered a resignation in August 2023, but the board voted not to accept it, and she agreed to stay.
Stein said he didn’t vote at Thursday night’s meeting because he attended remotely and lost his online connection.
In November, district officials obtained a emergency workplace protection restraining order from a St. Clair County Circuit Court judge, prohibiting Stein from attending meetings in person. They maintained that he had threatened to run them over with his vehicle. He denies the allegation.
“I support Dr. Brink because the teachers support Dr. Brink, and I unequivocally support the teachers,” he said. “That’s what makes a school district.”
Stein said he ran for school board two years ago because he got a “world-class education” in Freeburg and he wants that quality to continue and because some people in the community were “maliciously attacking” Brink and other school officials without cause.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat. Teri Maddox is a reporter for the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
