Unsigned letters scare, anger Muncie School Board
MUNCIE, Ind. — Robert "Andy" Warrner, a member of the Muncie Community School Board, plans to offer a reward for information leading to the identity of the "coward" who has been "trying to terrorize" board members.
In the latest incident, board members were mailed copies of the first three pages of Lisa Scottoline's novel, "Every Fifteen Minutes," which starts out, "I'm a sociopath."
"When we get these kinds of things, it's scary," board member Bev Kelley said at a school board meeting on Tuesday night. "When I got this letter I felt somebody was stalking me, and that's scary."
Board members began receiving typewritten, anonymous letters after hiring Steve Baule as superintendent in the summer of 2015. Many of the letters are critical of Baule. One read, "We have made a very bad hire. This must be recognized and remedied." One asks for an apology from the board.
Other letters "call us liars and crooks and accuse us of taking bribes," Warrner told The Star Press. Most of the letters arrive through the post office, but some have been left without any postage in mailboxes and even at Warrner's front door.
A retired social studies teacher, Warrner lamented during the board meeting on Tuesday night the fear this has prompted in his grown children. "They are afraid to let my grandchildren visit me. My son living in Wisconsin was talking to his neighbor, who said, 'What kind of town is Muncie that you are afraid to take your son to visit your dad?' "
MORE: Read Robert Warrner's letter to the editor
Saying that he is "tired of these bullies, these cowards, these people with no integrity who are trying to terrorize me and my family," Warrner announced plans to "dig into my money and put up a cash reward" for information leading to the identify of the author or authors. "We are going to find out what kind of town Muncie is. We're going to find out who is going to hide this coward, who is going to hide this scum … I don't expect this vermin to give up … But surely there are decent people in this town who are sick and tired of these other people who are trying to bully us whose crime it is that we tried to stand up and do what we thought was right for the schools and the city."
The financially unstable MCS system is facing pay cuts and more layoffs and school closings due primarily to declining enrollment. The school board and the Muncie Teachers Association are locked in a collective bargaining impasse that has landed them before the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board.
Kelley addressed some of her comments to the anonymous letter writer(s).
"I prefer you come to me and tell me what you don't like …instead of making me feel like there is a sociopath out there stalking me," she said. "Maybe this is somebody out there that maybe they've been hurt and we have not done anything about it, or maybe they want us to feel the same way you've been hurt … If I've hurt anybody I want to apologize right now, but please don't send any more letters like that."
She quoted the sociopath character in Scottoline's novel as saying evil can live in "normal people" who reside on your street, work in the next cubicle, chat in the line at CVS and run on the treadmill at the gym. People who send hate mail are often friends, family members, co-workers, neighbors, and people in the same organizations. "I've read that one out of every 24 people is a sociopath, and if you ask me, the other 23 of you should be worried," board members read in the excerpt.
A couple of the letters are signed "Invested stakeholder" and "Concerned fellow stakeholder."
RELATED: 'We have been harassed,' board president says.
Board member Jason Donati "encouraged the community during these difficult times to practice civility and respect. I think about being a parent, being an example for our children, especially our students … I echo some of what's been said."
Warrner said he would announce details of the cash reward at the next board meeting after consulting board President Debbie Feick. She quoted postal inspectors as saying it's illegal to place items in a mailbox without paid postage. Local police also have been contacted. Feick said she believes the letters are the work of a small cluster of people.
On the advice of the postal service, she placed stickers on her mailbox reading:
• "Warning: Willful damage to mail boxes, theft of mail, or tampering of mail in residential mailboxes are federal crimes (felonies) punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. (18 USC 1705 &1708)."
• "Report Mail Theft, tampering, or vandalism of this mailbox 1-877-876-2455"
Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.