Troy School Board to hire HS principal

The Troy School Board voted Monday to vacate a proposal to cut one of its three administrator positions, choosing instead to move forward in hiring a replacement for resigning high school principal Jeff Ralston.

In light of receiving information that Troy schools would not meet state accreditation standards with less than the equivalent of 2-1/2 administrators, the board chose to continue the format as-is.

The original proposal involved elementary school principal Lance Pearson filling the high school principal position, and Superintendent Brady Selle delegating some of his work so that he could take on both the superintendent and elementary school principal roles.

Approving additional office personnel hours or assigning a teacher a leadership role to pick up the slack would have cost considerably less than a principal’s salary and benefits at $83,000 per year. However, the superintendent cannot take on more responsibilities, the state said, because Troy schools exceed 30 full-time equivalent employees.

“It was a moot point after we found out we have to have 2-1/2 administrators,” Trustee Darren Coldwell said. “We’re six teachers over.”

The board discussed other ways to reorganize administration positions, since the equivalent of only 1-1/2 principals is required to lead the two schools. Trustees entertained the idea of appointing Pearson as principal of both schools, and assigning someone to assist him – a part-time vice principal or a lead teacher at both schools.

“I guess I like the idea of Lance bouncing between both schools and having a dean of students at each school because we’re going to save quite a bit of money by doing that,” Trustee Steve Garrett said at Monday’s meeting. “The bottom line is that it’s easier to do this now than later.”

A lead teacher, or dean of students, would not meet the state’s requirement of an administrator, however, unless the individual was certified and licensed to be a principal, Selle said.

Hiring a part-time principal in place of a full-time one wouldn’t save nearly enough money to justify the switch, Coldwell said, especially if money must be spent elsewhere to make up for the cut.

“When you throw in benefits, retirement – I mean, unless you get rid of one whole person, which was our original thought, then we could save $50,000 or $60,000,” Coldwell said. “If you can only save $10,000 or $20,000, that’s not worth it in a $6 million budget. I think it’s better to have a full-time principal.”

In a 5-1 vote, with Garrett opposing, the board chose to hire a new full-time high school principal. The hiring committee is in the process of paring 16 applicants down to four or five, Selle said Wednesday. He anticipates commencing interviews early next week.

In other news at Monday’s meeting:

• The board voted 3-2, with Garrett recusing himself, to enter into a contract with NAPA Auto Parts of Troy. Heather McDougall and Connie Hand opposed the measure.

Troy schools have historically purchased items from NAPA, which is owned by Garrett, without a contract because it is the only auto parts store in Troy. McDougall has argued that in order to fall in line with the law the board must list the availability of each item purchased from Garrett’s business to prove that it is the most convenient source. After consulting an attorney, Selle suggested entering a contract with NAPA to safeguard against an appeal by McDougall.

• The board accepted speech therapist Al Matsushita’s resignation. Matsushita taught in Troy for 34 years.

• The board approved Cory Andersen as the head boys basketball coach, Neil Newton as the head girls basketball coach, Destinie Meyer as the assistant softball coach and Courtney Fisher as the assistant volleyball coach.

• The board approved the 2010-11 school calendar, in which school begins Sept. 1 and ends June 3.