Caledonia Argus

School approves job description for position of accountant

Posted: 5/14/02

By Shannon McKinney
Argus News Reporter

School board members of ISD #299 approved a two page job description for the position of accountant/controller Monday night, May 6.

The position is evolving from what it is currently referred to as the business manager position. Gretchen Anderson, whose contract will be terminated June 30, 2002 is the current business manager.

A board committee consisting of Chuck Schulte, Suzanne Roesler, Dave Klinski and Superintendent Percy Lingen worked together on developing the job description.

Schulte explained that they reviewed the accountant positions of eight different schools. He said they picked from those schools, did some brainstorming of their own and received input from Lingen.

Schulte said that finding someone to meet every single criteria in the job description is probably impossible. But added, ìBut itís better for them to find what the expectations are than to have to re-train someone.î

Board member Bruce Bulman commented that he thought the job description was thorough.

Lingen said there have been 26 applicants so far, and a few have requested the job description.

Board Chair Cheryl Whitesitt said this job description could easily chase away all 26 people. She suggested making sure the applicants are encouraged to apply even if the list seems intimidating.

Personnel items

The board approved the resignation of Kay Dahle at the end of the 2001-2002 school year. Dahle serves as a secondary counselor and grad standards advisor.

Becky Newgaard, who teaches fifth grade was placed on unrequested leave of absence. As a tenured teacher, she retains recall rights to her position for up to five years. She, however, has accepted the .6 kindergarten position for next year.

Julia Porter, secondary and elementary art teacher was placed on an unreqested leave of absence. As a tenured teacher, she, too, retains recall right for her position for the next five years.

She did not accept a .3 art position.

FFE & asbestos bids awarded

The board approved a bid for the asbestos and reinsulation project of the current high school for $145,000 and an alternate boiler room bid for the current high school at a cost of $25,000. The combined $170,000 bid came under the engineers estimate of $200,000.

The board also approved approximately $325,000 in bids for fixtures, furniture and equipment for the new middle school/ high school and elementary retrofit.

Since there are still more things to bid out, Lingen later told The Argus that an update for how these bids compares to the budget will be known later.

Doty recommends having Leadership program in-house

In an effort to save the district money and keep its students closer to home, Secondary Principal Brian Doty recommended creating a leadership program in-house.

For the past three to four years, the amount of money that the district has spent in sending students to the Leadership program in La Crosse has increased substantially. A full day of Leadership costs the district $90 a day, which is three times the cost of keeping the student in the classroom.

Leadership is a program for students who are in need of discipline. The program is one of the last resort measures taken for students who have difficulty operating in a classroom setting. A student must meet certain criteria to exit the program and return back to a regular school setting. The students are described as difficult to handle, said Doty.

Doty suggested using a shop room for the students. He said the program would need a minimum of 10 students to pay for itself.

Also, other school districts like Spring Grove could send their students to this program.

Doty suggested trying the Leadership program in Caledonia for one year.

Bulman commented, ìIt seems like itíd be worth a try.î

Lingen cautioned the board that the number of students who attend the leadership program fluctuates. If the program ran less than 10 students, there is the possibility of the program coming up short financially. ìThe numbers are fluctuating and that is a risk,î she said.

Roesler questioned whether hiring one teacher would be enough. ìOne teacherís not going to be able to handle all of that (paperwork, phone calls, disruptive students).î

Doty noted that teachers are required to handle all of those things anyway when a student is sent to leadership.

It was suggested that an assistant be hired to aid in the classroom.

Whitesitt noted that having leadership for students in school may decrease the recidivism rate, which is a savings in itself.

The board set May 21, for deciding on the proposal.

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