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BraveBots fate uncertain

Mentors recommend separating from Gladstone schools

By R. R. Branstrom 14 min read

GLADSTONE -- The fate of the BraveBots, the robotics team for Gladstone High School that has ranked on a global stage in recent years, remains uncertain after the coach’s resignation last month.

FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school-level competition that challenges teams of students to build robots to complete series of tasks, aided by the guidance of adult mentors. The season kickoff takes place in January, but preseason begins in the fall.

In Gladstone, however, there is no assurance that Team 4391 will even participate this year. It might continue as a community-led team instead of a school-associated one, but a decision has yet to be reached following a controversy that has shaken operations.

The team from Gladstone, assigned the number 4391 and nicknamed the BraveBots, was founded in 2012. Teacher Tim Barron started the team when his son, Ty, was a student. In the years that followed, the team grew; gathered sponsorships from community businesses and organizations; attracted mentors with expertise in engineering, coding and more; and gave dozens of students experiences that no other extracurricular activity provides.

Tim Barron remained the coach through it all -- including leading the team to the world championships -- until this year.

A few months ago, accusations emerged of misconduct from mentors, primarily about how the team's funds were used. But the allegations were fairly quiet, not widely known.

When a resignation letter from Tim Barron came before the Gladstone Area Schools Board of Education on Sept. 21, board members had no idea about the situation and the claims. It came out later that the superintendent had received allegations and been communicating with the robotics coach. Staff changes -- hires and resignations -- are not uncommon agenda items at board meetings, so Tim Barron's resignation was accepted without question, as were seven hires and one other resignation at the September meeting.

Only after the fact did details became public; the main party who had made the accusations, James Burch, spoke near the end of that meeting.

And it wasn't until the October meeting on Monday night that the school board learned the resignation had been suggested by Superintendent Jay Kulbertis.

Burch, a parent who had been involved with the BraveBots for a few months, addressed the board on Sept. 21, just minutes after Tim Barron's resignation letter had been accepted.

"There are some very serious issues with our robotics team that were not and are not still being addressed. I know you guys accepted Tim’s letter of resignation, but it wasn’t by choice. It’s because I’ve pushed this issue," Burch said.

"(Mentors) are using funds that are raised by these kids, donated for these kids -- from the school for these kids -- and they’re using them for their own personal trips down there," he continued.

When FRC teams perform well at local levels, they progress to higher-level competitions. As those larger events are held downstate and in other states, long-distance travel and hotel stays are required. Burch called out several wrongdoings he said happened on such trips.

"Coaches and mentors drinking in hotel rooms with students... Not paying for kids’ meals, but ...paying for mentors’ meals, while telling the kids they still had to provide their own. ...There was a mentor beer fund. ...There is a lot of cash unaccounted for from sales of chocolate. …Closed door meetings with students ...There was cash given to students as prizes for raising the most money, and yet there were still other students being harassed to raise money. There was a student who shared a room alone with a mentor for a whole weekend, and they thought this was appropriate."

After those statements were made at last month's school board meeting, outrage flared up across the community -- most loudly in disagreement with Burch. Students, parents and mentors passionately defended Tim Barron, calling the allegations false. Superintendent Kulbertis clarified that students were never put in harm's way.

The coaching position was listed as available at the end of September. The application deadline was Oct. 7.

Most of October has come and gone, and zero applications were submitted.

When this month's school board meeting rolled around, Renee Barron -- Tim's wife, 15-year mentor and head of finances for the BraveBots -- offered some information and rebuttals.

"Mr. Burch served as a lunch mentor on our team for approximately three months. He was not part of financial committee," Renee said. "Nearly all of the budgeting and financial decisions were discussed openly by committee in the robot room. The final decisions went through the coach. Our budget, revenues, and expenses are documented in a binder on the robot admin desk, accessible to any team member who wants to look at it. ...Rather than taking the time to understand our team structure and culture, (Burch's) actions have felt like an attempt to tear down what we built so that it could be controlled and rebuilt on his terms. His financial accusations demonstrate just how little firsthand knowledge he had of our actual operations. Even more troubling, his other accusations have targeted every one of our core mentors, undermining trust, fracturing relationships, and damaging the team dynamics that have made the BraveBots so successful."

On Monday evening, though robotics was not a topic on the agenda, about 60 people in BraveBots gear showed up to the school board meeting at the Gladstone Public Library. It was the board's first meeting since Burch's allegation went public and Tim Barron resigned.

After a brief business meeting during which Carrie Boudreau and Jared Demeuse were hired as aide and coach, respectively, attendees were given the opportunity to address the board.

Tim Barron himself, still a middle school teacher at the district, spoke first.

"I'm proud of what we have built. Our program has been about much more than building robots. It teaches teamwork, technical skills, leadership, perseverance, and gracious professionalism. We have also developed a dedicated group of mentors whose experience provides continuity as students graduate and new students join. We support our mentors not to place them above students, but to empower students. Experienced mentors provide guidance, knowledge, and encouragement that help students develop confidence, solve problems independently and take ownership of their work. Our goal has never been to do the work for students, but to give them the tools to succeed," Barron said, stating that students' future was the most important concern.

"I stepped away from coaching because I hoped it would protect the program from further controversy. Unfortunately, mentors have been lost, sponsors have withdrawn, and the program’s future is uncertain. My greatest concern is that students will lose opportunities because of an adult dispute," he continued.

With no applicants for the coach position through the school, he suggested an alternative route -- a community team.

"FIRST in Michigan has expressed a willingness to work with us as we explore establishing a community-based advice organization. Our core group of mentors is prepared to help. We hope to work cooperatively with the school on orderly transition involving equipment, existing funds and continued opportunities for students," said Tim, noting that there was about $40,000 is a fund that had been raised over the years for the BraveBots. "A nonprofit community organization could provide independent governance, fundraising, financial accountability and managed support while extending robotics opportunities to teens throughout the Upper Peninsula."

A mentor named Jay Barron agreed that separating from the school would be the best way for 4391 to continue: "With the obvious lack of support from the school administration, the only way we can move forward now is to move our resources to a community-based team," Jay said. "Remaining as a school team would result in 4391 devolving into a shell of the great influential organization it has grown into. We need to become a separate team with all of our equipment and funds the kids and mentors have worked hard for, so we can continue to turn students into productive members of society."

Of the many others who spoke up that night, several tearfully, different perspectives were shared, but all spoke with gratitude towards the longtime coach and of the benefits of robotics.

"Without Tim Barron, there would be no robotics program up until now, and there is no future without him. And depriving upcoming students of the potential options, whether it be STEM or anything else that they can learn about potential future careers or about themselves, is a detriment for society and the town that we live in," said Thomas Claycomb.

Peyton Rohr, who had captained the BraveBots for three years and now attends the number one Nuclear Engineering program in the country at University of Michigan, defended the coach and the use of BraveBots funds. The usual mentors donate 30 hours a week for three months, she pointed out, so paying for their hotel rooms at competitions isn't abuse or a handout -- "I think it's totally fair," she said.

She countered another one of Burch's claims, saying that while she paid for her own food on trips because she could afford it, others with different financial situations were given money for food.

"The Barrons made that possible," Rohr said. "The Barrons made it possible for everyone on this team to be there, regardless of financial burden. Nobody has to worry. Mentors don’t have to pay because they give up literally years of their lives to this team."

Mothers cried, saying that their children had been shy, bullied, lost or in a bad way mentally until finding robotics.

"I got to see how this program worked day in and day out at robotics," said Sandy Lynch, "and if it was at all a problem then, or a problem before, this program wouldn't have grown the way it’s grown."

She said that her son earned a job at Lockheed Martin because of his robotics experience.

"These kids all recognize true leadership when they see it, and we saw it with Mr. Barron and all of these mentors here. They put all the time and energy into them," Lynch added.

Former BraveBot Dylan Messina shared that he had gone on to be a mentor in Marquette. "I came from this team, so I knew how to run a team by watching the other mentors," Messina said. "Mr. Barron helped us out, and I became a great mentor."

One parent who did not identify herself by name scolded the members of the Board of Education, saying: "You should be embarrassed and ashamed. ...You didn’t stand behind this team. You didn’t stand behind Mr. Barron. Where’s the investigation?"

According to Renee, "Approximately 20 percent of (Team 4391's) annual expenses go towards the robot tools and supplies and equipment. Another 20 percent goes towards entry fees, while travel accounts for about 60 percent of the budget. Most downstate teams have the opposite expense structure because they don’t incur significant travel expenses until they get to the world championship, leaving them to prioritize the majority of their budget on the robot itself. Many teams require students to pay to participate. We have chosen a different path through fundraising, grants, community service, and sponsorships. We work to ensure that a family’s financial situation does not prevent a student from participating. We cover most student expenses and some mentor expenses, but not everything."

Former BraveBot Sara Seymour, now a teacher at North Central Area Schools, expressed her disappointment with the district she'd graduated from.

"My ultimate goal becoming a teacher was to one day work at Gladstone schools," Seymour said. "The way this situation was handled really makes me question whether or not working at Gladstone is a good move, because how are you supposed to feel protected when one person comes up with something like this, and the school isn’t fighting for somebody with years and years at this building?"

After twenty public comments on Monday night that lasted almost an hour, the Board of Education commented on the matter. It was then that parents learned that the whole situation had blindsided most of the board.

"I guess I’m just kind of getting up to speed. ...It’s like I’m missing 99% of the problem here," said board member Jesse Seder. He noted that he sees the value in robotics and has witnessed the founder of FIRST speak about the program, but in Gladstone, "I don’t know what transpired. ...I don’t know the allegations."

He also remarked that if he were coaching a sport and had to travel for a game, he would expect the school to cover the hotel.

Other board members echoed Seger's comments, saying that they had had no idea of any accusations before they took a vote to accept Tim Barron's resignation.

"We literally had his resignation in front of us, but I was thinking he’d been here 15 years and was ready to retire. And then it wasn’t until we got to the comment section and this all came out," said board member Mackenzie Pfeiffer. "I wouldn’t have probably accepted a resignation had I known any of this background until finding out more of the story."

Pfeiffer said she had reservations about the BraveBots moving to be a community organization, because finding a place to operate could be tricky and potentially be hard on a team.

"My question is: does Gladstone want the team? Is there a problem with the team? Is there a problem with Mr. Barron?" asked Seger.

Kulbertis announced that he had recommended that Tim Barron step down as coach because corroborating accounts came from additional people, not just Burch. Some may have been untrue, but some had basis, and errors couldn't be overlooked, the superintendent said.

"When you run a program for 15 years, there are imperfections. There are little mistakes that get made. Over time, some of those mistakes get repeated and get bigger," Kulbertis said. "Mr. Barron’s been great for the program. He’s been great for the schools. I’m a fan of his for what he’s done for all of our kids and for this community. But taken together, I couldn’t recommend he continued to coach because there were some errors that were repeated enough that was a pattern that was on purpose."

Again, he pointed out, "There were no kids that were ever harmed or in danger. There were just some processes that made me question if I could trust the decision making."

Upon learning that Kulbertis had asked the coach to resign, one angry parent flared up: "Is it typical policy that (the superintendent) can just recommend (resignation) without going to the board or without performing an investigation?" Brittany Rohr asked. Upon receiving an affirmative, she continued, "Would you feel comfortable doing that still if somebody was recommending you terminate yourself? ...There are allegations against you all the time," she said, still addressing Kulbertis.

Referring to the fact that the school board members had been under the impression that Tim Barron's resignation letter was a routine line item, board member Joe Huber said, "For future things, I’m definitely going to ask more questions. But I think there needs to be some more information shared ahead of our board meetings," Huber said, to audience applause. "I was asked a lot of questions the following days, and it wasn’t until I made some phone calls that I was able to get some background on some things that made me a little bit more prepared."

Kulbertis apologized, acknowledging that Board President Steve Tackman had been in the loop while the other members were not.

Though the evening was full of impassioned comments, it ended with the understanding that the school and people involved with robotics would have to consider how transitioning the BraveBots to a community organization would work.

"I'm not asking this board to take sides in a personal dispute. I’m asking to look beyond the controversy and consider what is best for our students and our community. Fifteen years of relationships, resources, and experience are worth preserving," said Tim.

"My hope is that going forward, we can have some open, honest conversations of what does it look like for us to partner. Can that happen?" said board member Andrew Sturdy. "I think for the sake of the students and the program and the city, that there ...should be a give and take on both sides. There has to be a middle ground somewhere that we can come to a conclusion that benefits the program, honors what has been done, and provides a path forward for students to continue to be a part of this program and continue to represent the city, the high school, and... the U.P. in competitions and in other areas."

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Staff Writer R. R. Branstrom can be reached at rbranstrom@dailypress.net.

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