School Board eliminates 17 positions 2/26/2009 12:23 AM
By ROB NOVIT Senior writer
The Aiken County School District has released details of 17 district-level positions that will be eliminated as a result of budget deficits, but early childhood interventionists could be brought back in those roles through the federal stimulus package.
The position of secondary education director has been eliminated; the current director, Andy Reeves, a retiree, doesn't plan to remain with the district, said Superintendent Dr. Beth Everitt. Other jobs on the list include the high schools redesign coordinator, two Title I coordinators, two behavior specialists, one special education coordinator and one secretary.
The administrators and School Board also expect to eliminate about 90 teaching positions through an increase in classroom enrollment throughout the district. Displaced teachers and the district personnel would be given first priority for reassignment.
The district is also posting information on six administrative openings created when the School Board agreed not to bring back the retirees currently holding those jobs. They include special programs director Pat Silva and principals Dr. Angela Burkhalter, North Augusta Elementary School; Rod Greenway, Belvedere Elementary School; Bill Ward, Ridge Spring-Monetta High School; Eddie Watkins, Byrd Elementary School; and Chris Guerrieri, Gloverville Elementary School.
With several assistant principal positions coming open as well, the district is looking to reassign and promote people from within the district, Everitt said.
In effect, the district is dismantling its early intervention program, which includes the special education coordinator and 13 interventionists. The program initially was mandated through the South Carolina Department of Education, but has met requirements and is no longer getting federal funding. The district picked up the cost through the end of the school year.
At a School Board meeting Feb. 10, board members had agreed to eliminated 21 district-level positions, including the 13 interventionists. But four of them housed at Millbrook, Aiken, Clearwater and Redcliffe elementary schools are funded directly through Title I funding at the school level. Those schools could retain them at their discretion, said Associate Superintendent Dr. Kevin O'Gorman.
At Millbrook, interventionist Maureen Powell works primarily with at-risk kindergarten and first-grade students, said Principal Denise Huff, who wants Powell back in that role or one similar to it.
"She pulls them out for one-on-one and in groups to help them get the skills the need," said Huff. "It's a godsend to have somebody who can work with them like this. Our teachers are fabulous, but this is a way to get these students individual attention."
All the interventionists are doing a wonderful job, said O'Gorman. Until the budget situation deteriorated even further, district officials had planned to expand the program.
"It's tied into our literacy models," O'Gorman said. "These interventionists are a necessity. Should funding from the stimulus package come in, we hope to reinstate these teachers."
The stimulus will include funds directed at federal Title I and IDEA (special education) efforts. Either funding source might be used to bring back the intervention program, said King Laurence, federal programs director. "That would be a tremendous option for us to have," he said, but added that the district would need approval from the South Carolina Department of Education.
Everitt said duties handled through the eliminated administrative positions will be distributed elsewhere. The secondary education director's responsibilities will be divided between district-office personnel and area assistant superintendents Joy Shealy in Area 4 and Dr. Randy Stowe in Area 5.
The high school redesign position's duties will be handled with district staff and the Aiken County Career and Technology Center. The federal programs department also will absorb duties of the Title I coordinators. School psychologists will assume the responsibility of the behavior specialists.
Cutting positions like the two Title I coordinators "is difficult," said Everitt. "People may think we are top-heavy administratively, but we're not for these kinds of cuts. But the administration and central office must take cuts, too."
The district doesn't have any plans to bring back administrators to their current positions, Everitt said.
"We're trying to make cuts that don't affect the schools as much as possible," she said.
District-level positions to be eliminated by the Aiken County School District in response to budget deficits:
* Secondary education director
* High school redesign director
* Two Title I coordinators
* Title I secretary
* Two behavior specialists with the Department of Special Programs
* One special education coordinator, who oversees early intervention specialists
* Nine early intervention specialists, who help at-risk primary students with reading skills.
* All personnel in these positions, with one exception, are subject to reassignment. The intervention specialists might return to their current positions, pending the possibilty of funding through the federal stimulus package and with the approval of the South Carolina Department of Education and the Aiken County Board of Education.
Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.
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Posted by: On: Saturday, February 28, 2009 4:01 PM
Comment Title:
There is just to much fat in all these so-called administrative positions. Why five assistant superintendents along with individual principles at each school? Cut out the overhead these principals can certainly report to the superintendent directly.
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Posted by: On: Friday, February 27, 2009 8:43 AM
Comment Title:
I heard two days ago that the district flies in a consultant from Tenn. or Ky. (don't remember which) to observe/evaluate our schools. Isn't there someone a little closer that could do that? Why hasn't this position been cut?
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:51 PM
Comment Title:
I read up on Dr. Everitt when she was just a candidate for the job. She left the Albuquerque school district which apparently was not exactly sad to see her go. Google her name and read up on her NM days. It will give you a better feel for the chaos that is about to burst to the surface. She came here to be closer to her family. All of this nonsense convinces me I need to homeschool my children.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:19 PM
Comment Title:
If you can't cut any of the area superintendents out, you can at least cut their salaries. They should not be paid any more than the principals of the counties largest high schools. They do not put in as many hours as the principals and do not work as hard as the principals and teachers during the day. The high school principals are away from their families most nights with all the sports, band,chorus,academic clubs, booster clubs, and various other recognitions for students that they attend. This does not even count the area and board meetings that they must attend.They are under much more stress because they are in the trenches making many split second decisions during the day. Start considering the area superintendents as lateral moves and do not pay them more than the principals.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 8:15 PM
Comment Title: Football Coach
How about cutting coach's salary he's making to much for doing nothin.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 7:53 PM
Comment Title: Education as a Student
I am an Aiken High School alumni, and let me say this: 1. the IB program does give college credit. I am in my first year at Clemson University, but hold sophomore standing, in part due to IB. The admissions directors credit several of my academic scholarships specifically to my participation in the IB program. 2. What people don't realize is that teachers were ENCOURAGED to go on TERI, some before they would have ordinarily. Nobody saw this economic crisis coming- the district assumed the teachers would continue to teach as before. Remember, this was also around the beginning of the decade, when the Board had taxing authority. 3. Are you blind to the student support for these teachers? Read the papers- has a student written in yet to say the teachers should go? I know of several who have written to support them. Some of the most eloquent and powerful speakers at the last meeting were students. I believe that students know what they want in a school more than anyone else.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 6:06 PM
Comment Title:
Mrs. Stanley does not plan on working the entire year. She will work long enough to process the paperwork for the retirees, check certifications as teachers are switched from P.E. and driver's education into more academic teaching positions and also help with scheduling interviews for the principal and directors applicants. Her position will probably be the last to be filled and hopefully they will allow at least a month's overlap for the person to learn the job.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 4:02 PM
Comment Title: What no Administrators going!
It seems rather strange that the administrators are always saved from cutbacks. One of first thing a competent management team does in business is to look at the good old SG&A. A equates to administration costs!
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 3:48 PM
Comment Title: retiree
Is Dr. Everitt a retiree from another state ? Why are out of state retirees given continuing contracts ?
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 3:38 PM
Comment Title: salaries
you can go on "The State" newspaper website and look at all state employees salaries that earn over $50,000 a year.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 3:36 PM
Comment Title: IB Program
hate to tell you, but the European-based IB program does earn college credit in the states. My child earned credits at USC Aiken. Others have earned them at Clemson, USC, etc. It's an excellent program. Not to say that the AP program is bad; they both earn you college credits.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 2:57 PM
Comment Title: NO IB!
Getting rid of the European-based IB program was the smartest thing the school board has ever done. Now let’s replace it with USA-based AP courses that offer college credit w/in the states!
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:57 PM
Comment Title: Salary Information
As a parent, I would like to see some information on what our administrators are making and to understand what say we citizens might have.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:56 PM
Comment Title:
Watch poor little Ridge Spring get the short hand of the stick as always.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:44 PM
Comment Title: Protect the 3 R's
If we come to the point where teachers must be laid off, my hope is that the district would consider releasing peripheral subject teachers long before acting upon core subject areas, such as the so called 3 R’s.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 12:33 PM
Comment Title: FOIA ACPS Salaries
School district employees’ (and SRS) salaries should be public knowledge under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Aiken Standard should post ACPS salaries so everyone knows what is going on and who is playing the system. For example, Lexington and Greenville counties are posted on the web.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 11:44 AM
Comment Title: Why hire some back?
I want to know why some people are being rehired when they are passed the TERI program...why is Joyce Stanley being rehired? Surely someone else is qualified to do this job! Why is the secondary education director going to be reassigned? He's been through TERI; it's time for him to go as well. Come on Aiken County School Board...treat everyone fairly and quit playing political games!
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Posted by: Area II Parent and Tax Payer On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 11:27 AM
Comment Title: Explore other opportunities first
My understanding is that research shows that there are only 2 things that really positively impact the quality of our children’s education – (1) involved parents and (2) low student-to-teacher ratios. Cutting classroom teachers should be the absolute last resort. Instead, we should start by cutting heavily over at Brookhaven, to include: 10-20% reeducations in salaries (especially Dr. Everitt, to lead by example) and at least 10 day furrows during the summer and when students are not in school. In addition, the School Board should not receive any allocations from the education budget. All TERI’d personnel should be released. However, as obviously not done in Area II, quality individuals should be allowed to continue as regular employees. For example, note that Rod Greenway at Belvedere will be forced out while there are other principals in Area II that don’t even come to work and have not for years. Moreover, the practice of paying principals based on their subordinate teacher’s pay should be abolished. For example, in Area II, the PKMS principal makes in the $90s while the NAMS principle makes only in the $70s - simply due to the fact that one has PhD on their staff and policy dictates that the principle should make more than their highest paid subordinate. As further evidence to the insanity of this policy, note that the PKMS teachers are required to be mentored by NAMS teachers due to the inadequate test scores and job being accomplished under the PKMS principle’s direction. Seems to me that there are lots of opportunities before we even consider cutting classroom teachers!
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 10:24 AM
Comment Title: Pay cuts
Why not cut some of that $166,160 dollars Everitt earns, as well as some of those others bringing in ~$100k. Cut the soldiers necks and no one will be left to fight the battles.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, February 26, 2009 4:02 AM
Comment Title: Not Top Heavy....
Give me a break- you are not top heavy. The coordinators are the little people at the top. Why don't you look at all the wonderful suggestions that have been suggested to save money and not eliminate jobs.
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