Principal

replacement

process

mapped out

Air quality

improvements OK'd by District 88 Board

By KREMENA TODOROVA

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- The District 88 Board of Education on Thursday authorized posting vacancies for full-time secondary principal and assistant principal positions, to replace retiring High School Principal Richard LaPatka and Assistant Principal Dave Schmidt.

The two will retire at the end of the school year.

Before making up their mind, board members considered two other options: hiring a full-time principal and an intern assistant principal, and replacing the principal full-time and combining the jobs of Middle School principal and assistant principal at the High School.

With 950 students projected at the high school next year and in the near future, it is justifiable to have two full-time administrators, said Superintendent Harold Remme. With the state Department of Children, Families and Learning recommending no more than 450 students per administrator, local schools are actually understaffed, Remme said. He did, however, point out that with enrollment falling, the assistant principal position might not be warranted five years from now.

Remme said that hiring two full-time people would come closer to meeting recommended administrative patterns and prevent realignment of duties. The work load warrants two people, he also said. On the negative side, it would cost more than other options.

In contrast, hiring an intern -- a person in the process of obtaining an administrative license -- for a year at a time, would cost less and bring an annual infusion of new ideas. But, by law, such a person would be unable to supervise staff. That option will also involve annual turnover. The intern will be unavailable for about 30 days during the school year when required to attend university classes. Prospects for that job would be fewer, and would offer limited help for special education staffings.

The third option, sharing responsibilities between two school sites, would reduce the chances of overstaffing a few years from now, said Remme. But it would raise concerns about "never being at the right place at the right time" -- and of espousing different education philosophies.

During a discussion of the suggested possibilities, board member Susan Nierengarten pointed out that recruiting an intern assistant principal for a year or two, instead of a permanent person right away, might give the board time to find out what the new principal's strengths and needs are -- and then hire a permanent assistant who would complement the principal. It would also allow the principal to be part of the process of selecting a permanent assistant, said Nierengarten.

Others, like board member Brian Wieland, pointed out that the element of uncertainty involved may outweigh the advantages of the move. "We'd be losing a year in which they (the new hires) should be learning together," Wieland also said.

In other action, the board:

* Approved a four-year schedule for removing mold and improving air quality at school sites, following the discovery of mold growth last fall.

Some $600,000 in levy-generated health and safety funds, on top of about $120,000 already spent, are estimated to be needed for projects this fiscal year, according to Facilities Director Scott Hogen. Some $80,000 in capital improvement funds are also available. The investments in air quality projects will slowly decrease over the following three fiscal years.

The idea is to do the most serious projects this school year and next summer (which is part of the next fiscal year), said Hogen.

He also said the estimates were "inflated", to stay on the safe side.

Projects include carpet cleaning and removal, cleaning up and reconstruction of sheetrock and pipe insulation, improving ventilation systems, etc. A large proportion of the work will be done during the summer because the work will render portions of buildings unusable.

* Discussed a set of criteria for adding an subtracting activities, returning the draft to a special committee for some extra work on the wording.