School Board eliminates 17 positions

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.