Wednesday, May 7, 2003
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Wednesday, May 7, 2003 |
More school transfer coming MondayBy J. FRANK
LYNCH
The next round of teacher transfers within the Fayette County school district will be announced Monday at a called meeting of the Board of Education. Last month, board members approved a restructuring of personnel and responsibilities starting at the top, naming Fred Oliver to the new position of Deputy Superintendent, answering directly to schools chief John DeCotis, and consolidating positions for curriculum and operations at both the elementary and secondary levels into just two jobs. Pam Riddle will be the new Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum,overseeing all grade levels, while Wayne Robinson is Assistant Superintendent for Operations. DeCotis said as many as seven high-paying administrative jobs have been eliminated in the past year due to retirements, resignations and reassignment of duties among the three new assistant superintendents, representing savings of hundreds of thousdands of dollars in salaries and benefits. "We recognized that if we were going to be tightening staffing at the classroom level, we needed to start in the central office," he said. The school district, faced with a revenue shortfall because of the slow economy and cuts in education funding at the state level, is trying every conceivable method to come up with a balanced budget for the next school year, even though it will open two new schools in the fall. To make ends meet, the system is trying to limit the number of new, outside hires and make the most efficient use of the teachers and administrators it has, board members have been told. But that often means uprooting longtime favorites and breaking up principal-teacher relationships. DeCotis said all of the transfer possibilities are looked at closely by administrators before decisions are made to move teachers. In the first round of moves last month, which included more than 110 transfers many teachers to new openings at Whitewater High and Crabapple Lane Elementary there was little grumbling. Most principal transfers were also handled last month, leaving just East Fayette and North Fayette jobs open. The superintendent's office would not comment on whether those jobs will be filled next week. The personnel moves to be considered Monday should represent the bulk of transfers mandated by the new school openings and tightened budgetary needs. The meeting is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at school board offices on Stonewall Avenue.
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