By Craig Moorhead
Special for the Argus
The ISD #299 Board of Education called a special meeting on Nov. 2. Directors met to discuss the district’s need for a superintendent when the post becomes vacant next summer. The board also tackled several other topics, including issues with the wrestling program.
“There are a lot of decisions to make,” Board Chair Naomi Fruechte told the directors, referring to the school superintendent job. “I’m thinking of the pros and cons of the various options. We need somebody by July first, 2010.”
Fruechte broke the problem down for the board. The options included hiring a full-time superintendent, using a part-time employee, or sharing the job with another school district. Other considerations are the hiring process, the timeline and the criteria that the applicant needs to meet.
Director Charlie Wray commented, “we’re entering more challenging times, with state (funding) forecasts, so a ‘pro’ would be a good experienced superintendent to steer us through.”
Director Matt Hendel said “you’re going to make better decisions if you’re there full-time, that can eventually save the district money.”
Director Spencer Yohe asked Interim Superintendent Bruce Thomas for his opinion. “I would say you see more and more joint efforts between districts of this size,” he answered. “If you’re full-time you’re probably more pro-active with certain issues, but you’re probably going to eventually end up with a part-time superintendent because of the cost.”
Several board members mentioned the dangers of having part time coverage on the job. Hendel said that if the opportunity for a grant was missed, it could cost the district a considerable sum.
Director Jean Meyer added, “a full-time superintendent would be dedicated during school hours to oversee the budget and the needs of the principal staff.” She said that the only downside was the added salary over a shared or part time employee. Board members agreed with her assessment.
“Our declining enrollment may not warrant a full-time position, we all know that. I guess my concern is can we find somebody to do it at half time or two-thirds time,” Director Michelle Werner pointed out.
Thomas said that there may be recently retired superintendents looking for part-time work.
Director John Klug asked Thomas if he could estimate the hours needed. “Can you do it at half-time, or three-quarters time?”
“You probably can, but that person probably has to be willing to do some other things,” he answered. “There’s really no such thing as a part time superintendent.”
The board then discussed the option of sharing the job with another district. Some directors thought that this may be the best option, but were not aware of any neighboring schools that would like to partner with ISD #299.
Directors asked Fruechte to contact other local school districts to see if the shared option would be possible. Wray asked for another special meeting on Dec. 7 to work on the issue. Board members agreed.
Thomas said that he knew of at least one “search firm” that could make a presentation to board members. He explained that there would be no cost for such a meeting.
“It would basically be a sales call,” Wray asked?
“Yes, but you could get some information from them on shared and part-time superintendents,” Thomas replied. Directors asked Thomas to arrange the meeting.
Wrestling program issues
The meeting was opened up for public comment. Parent Dan Goergen, who served as junior high wrestling coach in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, appeared with concerns over the wrestling program.
“I speak for quite a few parents that are frustrated with a lot of the issues that went on last year,” Goergen told the board. “A lot of kids are choosing not to go out for wrestling this year due to the fact that the coaches could get back in… they’re frustrated, the kids are, the parents are.”
Goergen called for coaches to be “sincere and informative…a coach first and a parent second, and responsive to other coaches.”
Klug asked how school board members could get the information needed to “make these decisions.” Goergen suggested a meeting with parents of wrestlers.
Thomas told the board, “I met with some parents about a month ago, and listened to their concerns about the wrestling program last year and interaction with various coaches.” He called the issues both “philosophical” and “based on various behaviors that were exhibited. The philosophical part of it is a bit difficult to weigh as to where the program should go. From an issue perspective, inappropriate behavior or un-ethical behavior, those kinds of things can be addressed. You’d want to deal with that quickly, fairly, and move on that.
“The issue of how you interact with kids is part of the district’s philosophy in the handbook as to how we want to treat kids,” Thomas explained.
Thomas said that parents’ concerns had been communicated to the athletic director and the head coach. “When we look at the head coach, or assistant coaches, they all have to subscribe to the board’s and the district’s philosophical bent, philosophical views as to policies and procedures, and subscribe to that. Either that, or you shouldn’t coach here, you should go someplace else.”
Werner asked if the coaches would be required to “sign off” on the coaches handbook. Thomas said that they would. Wray confirmed that the athletic director would keep a signed copy, indicating that coaches agreed with the handbook.
A motion was made by Wray to ratify contracts for Mike Stemper and John Pitts as junior high coaches. A third coach will be provided at a later date by the Houston School District. Prior to the vote, Fruechte said, “I want to see equality for all participants, I want to see the coaches model appropriate behavior including language, and I want them to know that they will be watched and if there isn’t improvement there will be some consequences.”
All directors except Yohe voted to ratify the contracts. Thomas told the board that a parents’ meeting would be held for wrestling prior to the start of the season.
In other news, the board voted to increase Laura Eglinton’s teaching contract from .3 to .50 FTE for the remainder of the school year. The increase is due to a title grant adjustment.
|
