With a three-year employment contract secured, ISD 166 Superintendent Beth Schwarz moved forward on March 11, 2013 with recommendations to the school board for administrative restructuring. She called for “systemic change” and “doing things differently,” a process she believed would take about six years.
Enrollment has not dropped as quickly as expected, Schwarz said. In a document describing her vision for the future, she said, “Administrative reductions have been too deep. …Overwhelming research indicates the principal is critical in high-achieving schools. …The K-12 principal position without additional support will not allow the district to achieve its mission” – “success for each, respect for all.”
Schwarz proposed either adding an assistant principal or dividing K-12 Principal Gwen Carman’s position into a K-5 position and a 6-12 position.
“I agree that my responsibilities as preK- 12 principal are too large,” said Carman. She said she works evenings, weekends, and school vacations and still can’t get it all done, although she loves being a principal.
On behalf of the Cook County Education Association, Mitch Dorr recommended that the district go with a preK-5 principal and a 6-12 principal, acknowledging that adding an administrator would affect the district’s finances in other areas.
Dorr, for the union, asked for three things:
. Firm, fair, and consistent discipline that is enforced and communicated to students, teachers, and parents. “If the discipline piece in the school doesn’t work,” said Dorr, “then it’s hard to achieve anything else”;
. Well-defined responsibilities among administrators to create a healthy chain of command. Having two separate principals would avoid problems with going around one administrator to get a different answer from the other one, Dorr said; and
. Ongoing dialogue between faculty and administration. “We want to be part of the solution,” Dorr said.
“We really appreciate, respect, and need this open communication,” said board member Jeanne Anderson.
Schwarz estimated that the cost of an entry-level principal would be about $75,000. She said next year’s budget already has $55,000 set aside for a third administrative position. She told the board she would put together some suggestions for how it could be funded.
“This isn’t going to be without pain,” said Anderson. The board took no action on the issue at this meeting.
Grievance
After unsatisfactorily appealing to Principal Carman and Superintendent Schwarz to remove a disciplinary action from his or her personnel file, an unidentified member of the teaching staff brought a grievance to the school board. At the meeting to support the grievance was Kathleen Adee of the Education Minnesota teacher’s union.
A letter from Adee to Board Chair Jeanne Anderson stated that the grievant had no prior discipline, followed the grievance procedure according to state law, and did not disobey a directive made by his or her superiors and that the district did not have just cause to discipline the employee.
Schwarz handed out a letter she had written to the employee regarding the disciplinary action, which the board members read silently. She said that she believed she did have just cause to discipline the employee. “This would go under job description and reasonable responsibilities,” she said.
Schwarz said she talked to the school’s attorney about the matter, and the attorney sent up an associate who investigated and wrote a 45-page report that concluded the discipline was appropriate.
“I think the evidence is pretty clear,” said board member Ed Bolstad.
The board passed a motion denying the grievance, which means that the disciplinary action will remain in the employee’s personnel file. The employee has the option of arbitration if he or she wishes to pursue the issue further.
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