Caledonia Argus

New principal offered contract at District 299

Posted: 6/8/04

School District 299ís new high school principal is likely to be Ron Helmers, the current principal at Winona Senior High School.

He has been offered the position, and has signed a two-year contract, according to interim Caledonia superintendent Jim Tool.

The school board has not approved it, but is expected to do so at its meeting on June 21. Formal parts of the contract have to be negotiated with District 299ís principalsí association.

Tool said that Helmers, who has worked for 11 years as principal at Winona High School, is the least senior principal in that district, and was put on unrequested leave due to $2.4 million in budget cuts there.

Helmers recently was named high school Principal of the Year by the Southeast Minnesota Association of Secondary Schools.

Itís unusual for information on the hiring of a new principal to be made public before a board approves the decision. Helmerís acceptance of the job came to light after the Winona Daily News published a story on June 3 stating that he had dropped his request for a public hearing on his layoff notice with the Winona School District.

Present Caledonia High School Principal Cory Klabunde who started in Caledonia last fall, is taking a 6-12 grade principal position at Buffalo/Hector Lake School District next year in order to be closer to his and his wifeís families.

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