Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — After a discussion of more than 30 minutes, the Steamboat Springs School Board voted, 3-1, against naming an interim Curriculum and Instruction Director during Monday's meeting.

Steamboat Springs Middle School Assistant Principal Jerry Buelter stepped forward and said he would be willing to serve as the Curriculum and Instruction Director for the remainder of the school year, but board members John DeVincentis, Denise Connelly and Jeff Troeger questioned the necessity of an interim director and said they did not believe it was in the best interest of the district for Buelter to vacate his position at the middle school.

"You have more impact on a daily basis in the position you are in now than you could possibly have in three months in this interim position," Troeger said to Buelter, who was in attendance at Monday's meeting. "Who picks up for the things you won't be able to do anymore? The Dean of Students position is extremely important, and you are extremely good at it."

Board member Pat Gleason expressed a desire to fill the position because the School Board made a commitment to fund the Curriculum and Instruction Director, and because he didn't believe the district had the staffing to pick up extra responsibilities.

Board member Jerry Kozatch did not vote because he said he did not feel informed enough on the position's job description.

Kelly Stanford, former Cur-riculum and Instruction Director for the district, resigned effective Friday, leaving a vacancy in a position Superintendent Donna Howell called "important" because "there is so much that needs to be done."

Several board members did not agree with Howell.

"For me, I didn't support it before. I don't support it now," DeVincentis said. "I've never thought an interim director was a good way to spend that money."

DeVincentis said Howell and the district's four Instruction Support Specialists, who work in each building, could pick up the most important tasks for the remainder of the school year.

Troeger agreed the 16-point bulleted list of responsibilities for the Curriculum and Instruction Director could be pared down in the interim because of the extra work.

Buelter said one of his wishes was to have the support of the board if he was to step into the interim position, which he did not receive. But, according to several board members, it wasn't Buelter who they did not support. It was the position, particularly on an interim basis, they did not support.