Cook County Schools will go back to having two principals instead of one next fall, but this could have an impact on whether the district has a guidance counselor.
At the March 21 ISD 166 school board meeting, Cook County Education Association representative Jana Larson informed the board that the teachers’ union was recommending that the district return to having both an elementary principal and a secondary principal. “We’re very aware of the financial implications,” she said.
Superintendent Beth Schwarz suggested that “it might be wise” to consider the teachers’ recommendation and to assign current PreK-12 Principal Gwen Carman a preK-5 principal position since she has so much experience and expertise in that area.
“…Can we afford what we want?” school board member Deb White asked. “…Money is a huge thing.”
Board Chair Jeanne Anderson said the recommendation from a 2008 professional review of the district’s staffing was to have a K-8 principal position and a combined superintendent/high school principal position. She said she would feel “very fiscally irresponsible” if they neglected to consider whether the district could afford three administrators.
Regarding another round of administrative restructuring, White said, “We want to be done with it, so we have to do it right.”
The school board is elected to do what’s best for the community, school board member Ed Bolstad said. They need to balance the budget and avoid going into statutory debt, he added.
Superintendent Schwarz estimated that $99,987 (including salary, benefits, and district tax contributions) might interest an entry-level principal who would want to live up here or a principal who would want to move up from southern Minnesota where salaries are lower.
Schwarz said that given the population of the student body, “we should have approximately eight or nine people on our staff who are Native American.” She suggested that they try to find a Native American principal.
Schwarz presented a financial scenario calling for two principals and an additional K-2 teacher but for the elimination of the K-12 guidance counselor position. The two new positions would potentially cost $157,272, and eliminating the guidance counselor position would save $71,100.
Eliminating the guidance counselor position would have a significant impact on the principals, Carman said. It would put a lot of responsibility on the secondary principal when the district would be trying to make more room in that job for the principal to do things that have not been getting done, such as spending the 15-20 hours a week needed to adequately address discipline issues. Mental health and behavioral issues often go hand in hand, she said.
Sissy Lunde said she did not want to have two principals at the expense of a school counselor.
At this point in the meeting, the board passed a motion by a vote of 4-1 to reassign Gwen Carman to a preK-5 principal position for the 2013-14 school year. Sissy Lunde cast the nay vote.
“We are very, very confident in Gwen’s leadership—totally,” said Jana Larson, who teaches fourth grade.
Later in the meeting, the board unanimously passed a resolution to discontinue the guidance counselor position along with the following: one section of Spanish (Spanish III and IV will be combined because of low enrollment), nine sections of sixth grade classes in different subject areas (because next year’s class will only need one section in each subject area), half of a position in the district office, and a half-time K-2 math/ reading instructor (to be replaced by a fulltime K-2 teacher since all three grades will have two sections next year).
Faculty who are currently in the above positions may be able to move into different positions depending on their licensure and seniority.
“People assume that if I recommend a position be reduced or eliminated that I have something against the person in the position,” Superintendent Schwarz told the Cook County News-Herald. “This is simply not true. My responsibility as a superintendent is to take the personalities out of the equation, look at the enrollment, listen to the concerns of everyone – parents, students, board members, community members, faculty and other employees – weigh all the options and then come up with a recommendation for the board to consider.”
The resolution to reduce positions is part of a multi-step process carried out in order to allow the district leeway without getting into legal trouble. “Positions can always be added back,” Schwarz said. “We can always add back, we can’t always reduce. …Further discussion regarding the 6-12 structure is being planned.”
In other business
Former Schaumburg, Illinois special education administrator, speech language therapist and school board member and ISD 166 volunteer Sandra Taenzer spoke during the public comments portion of the meeting. She made numerous recommendations to the school board, such as that they support a strong early childhood program, collaborate with charter schools to leverage special education funding, hire a school psychologist, and have adequate administrative staffing to allow principals to be in the classroom supporting teachers and students. . Safe Routes to School Coordinator Jerry Hiniker and Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Coordinator Kristen DeArruda-Wharton reported on the activities of the Cook County Active Living Steering Committee.
Hiniker said he has been talking to ORB Management, which is overseeing the construction of the Cook County Family YMCA facility attached to the ISD 166 complex, about making the YMCA grounds safe for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Hiniker and DeArruda-Wharton showed a video of last fall’s Active Living Summit at the Arrowhead Center for the Arts. In it, Great Expectations Charter School Director Peter James states that some parents drive their kids to school because streets are lacking sidewalks and snow piles are too high for their kids to reach school safely on their own.
DeArruda-Wharton said the Active Living Steering Committee started working with MnDOT on what could be done to make Highway 61 safer in downtown Grand Marais. She said MnDOT has adopted a Complete Streets policy promoting street designs that are safe for multiple user groups, although this policy has not been implemented in all areas.
The board passed a motion supporting an application for a grant to help Grand Marais develop a safe streets design and help communities throughout the county develop active living policies. . The board approved the purchase of a new phone system at a cost of $33,402.12. . Principal Carman reported that 54 of the 61 members of the Class of 2013 are on track to graduate in June. Four are planning to graduate later in the summer or next year, and three have quit school. . The board authorized Superintendent Schwarz to approve a settlement with Energy Services Group/Honeywell regarding the monitoring of the school’s HVAC system. The school was five years into a 15-year contract in which the service would provide data on how much money the new HVAC system was saving the district.
Schwarz said the school wasn’t getting the services it was supposed to get, but there is no doubt the school is saving money on fuel with the new HVAC system. The contract is no longer in effect, releasing the district from about $200,000 it would have paid over the next 10 years. They hope to get reimbursed for some of the payments they have already made, she said. . The board voted to start meeting twice a month as of August (with some exceptions). Meetings will be the first and third Thursday of the month. This will allow them to address issues in a timelier fashion and avoid having so many special meetings.
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