(Griswold) This week the Griswold School Board put the finishing touches to a new Superintendent Sharing Agreement with Lenox.
Shared Superintendent Dave Henrichs admits the two sides came to an agreement this winter, but wanted to wait until later in the school year to finalize things. It’ll be a two year extension. “Their recommendation was a $5,000 salary increase and that amount will be the same for both years so in essence it’s a $5,000 raise for one year and zero the next. They’ve also agreed to set aside some money for health insurance upon my retirement.”
The Board of Education also had a pair of discussion items in regards to personnel vacancies. The first was for a shared Vocal Teacher. “We have shared that position for three years with Villisca. SW Valley has elected to re-align their staff and they hold the contract for this person. They’ve decided they need her full-time and have decided to end the sharing agreement.”
That role is typically a half-time position which can be difficult to fill. They will explore combining it with another opening and/or sharing with another school.
The other personnel discussion was in regards to a K-12 Principal instead of having an elementary and a middle/high school principal. This comes on the heels of Middle/High School Principal Billy Hiatt’s resignation which leaves Elementary Principal Nigel Horton as the lone Principal coming back for next year. “We had a meeting with all of our teachers and asked them to put together a list of pros and cons. The administration sat down and did the same thing. That was just an opportunity for the board to sit down and talk about those pros and cons and then coming out of that the decision was not to pursue a K-12 position.”
There are 18 applicants for the middle/high school principal position. They hope to narrow that down to two or three finalists by the end of April.
Meanwhile, Transportation Director Jeb Peck is receiving an increase to his contract due to filling in for over 350 routes this year. Peck’s original contract was for $48,685, but he’ll now receive a base pay of $54,000 which could increase to $59,000 next year if he has to fill in as driver on 90 or more routes.
Elsewhere, the board approved an upgrade to the auditorium. The original floor was showing wear and tear. The back half will be replaced and the front half will be re-finished. It’ll come at a cost of $17,000.