District's human resource director, a retiree, staying for her experience

Faced with the kinds of funding cuts that the Aiken County School District has faced in the past year, no private business would move out the person in charge of human resources, said Superintendent Dr. Beth Everitt.

Everitt said it was essential to keep personnel director Joyce Stanley, a working retiree, in the position. Other retirees still working as teachers and administrators were told in early spring that their contracts might not be renewed because of severe budget cuts.

Some of those retirees have found jobs in other counties in South Carolina and Georgia. To date, no retirees have gotten new contracts in Aiken. However, district officials said Tuesday that retirees would be invited to apply for some critical needs positions this summer once they are advertised.

In recent months, Stanley's work status has led to complaints from some teachers and parents at a time when veteran teachers weren't returning. But Stanley is the only certified person in her department, said Everitt, and, with her understanding of human resources procedures, needs to remain in that position. The superintendent said Stanley has the knowledge of personnel within the district that's critical at this time of cutbacks and faculty shifts.

"There's no one else with the degree or experience in human resources at Brookhaven," said Everitt. "If we so choose, we will advertise the position, but we'll need someone with that experience, along with experience in public education."

In interviews this week, School Board members Ray Fleming and Levi Green said they supported Everitt in retaining Stanley.

"With all the personnel decisions we were dealing with, it's extremely important to have an experienced person in human resources," said Fleming. "All the personnel matters had to be done extremely accurately. We owed that to our people, and Joyce has done an outstanding job."

A Savannah River Site retiree, Green said he recognizes that the human resources director plays a critical role.

"You don't move that person, especially when there's a reduction in force," Green said. "We'll look at this again down the road to see if there will be some changes. Initially for this time, it's the right thing to keep (Stanley) in place."

Contact Rob Novit at rnovit@aikenstandard.com.