Steamboat Today: Strawberry Park principal applicants to visit

Archive for Thursday, June 14, 2007

School officials to meet with candidates

By Mike McCollum Thursday, June 14, 2007

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Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs School District administrators may have found the next principal of Strawberry Park Elementary School.

Two applicants for the position are visiting with school staff Friday, Superintendent Donna Howell said.

"They are going to be meeting with staff as a second interview," said Howell, who would not reveal the names of the applicants. "I'm checking references, and we are bringing them back in to see if they are a good fit."

In May, then-principal Mark MacHale announced he'd leave the district to become the superintendent in Dolores. He rep-laced John DeVincentis as the school's principal two years ago.

Howell said she wanted to withhold the candidates' names because she did not want to put them in an uncomfortable work situation with their current employers.

"I'm not sure whom they have told," said Howell, who confirmed the applicants are considered finalists. "We'll release the names Friday after we have a face-to-face."

The principal position isn't the only opening in the Steamboat Springs School District. As of Wednesday, the district had more than 25 available jobs, and many more had already been filled.

Anne Muhme, assistant to the superintendent, said the district does not have as many vacancies as last year, when more than 70 new staff members were hired.

"We still have quite a few positions open, but these things come in waves," said Muhme, who noted the district has hired three gifted and talented program teachers, along with Joanne HiltonGabeler, the district's new director of curriculum and instruction.

"We got a good jump on our hires this year," she said. "We've been working on hiring for months now. As soon as a vacancy opens, we try to jump on it. It's just that with so many positions, it takes a while."

Soda Creek Elementary School Principal Judy Harris said she receives the bulk of applications in June.

"Usually, teachers who work in other districts know on June 1 if their contracts are up," she said. "Also, June follows college graduation for new teachers."

Harris said Soda Creek's only full-time vacancy is for a special needs teacher, for which she has already conducted interviews.

Steamboat Springs High School leads the district with 12 vacancies, and five of the openings are athletic coaching positions. An art teacher, Spanish teacher and a biology teacher also are among the vacancies.

Muhme said committees composed of principals, teachers and parents conduct the interviews for the district.

"We try to gather everyone's input, but the (Steamboat Springs School) board approves all hires," she said. "Even down to the substitute teachers."

stillinsteamboat (anonymous) says...

It seems SSHS has a huge turnover.Why? Maybe they should question what leads to the high turnover rate and fix the problem. It's not just the money. Be open to suggestions from peers and parents SSHS. Do what it takes to provide the kids with a quality education. There is room for improvement!

June 14, 2007 at 7:31 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

gwendolyn (anonymous) says...

Um, what leads to the high turnover is the "leadership" at that school. Pretty obvious. Apparently not to those who staunchly support that good ol' boy network of "leadership" in Steamboat, though....

June 16, 2007 at 7:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

stillinsteamboat (anonymous) says...

my kid had afabulous ed. @ the middle school, not so @ SSHS

June 16, 2007 at 9:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kielbasa (Matthew Stoddard) says...

Gwen- would that have anything to do with people "so afraid" of another Dr. D that they made contracts for principals year to year instead of multi-year contracts?

No, it has to do with lack of pay and the high cost of living in Steamboat more than anything. If you weren't too frightened to live here any longer, as you stated in another thread, you'd see what has been the case for decades: most people in Steamboat earn crap and pay exhorbitant prices for their living arrangements. It's not just teachers, it's cops, housekeepers, grocery clerks, etc. The "leadership" of the schools has nothing to do with the rest of them.

Someone's still salty, and it ain't a Sailor.

June 16, 2007 at 9:25 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

gwendolyn (anonymous) says...

Matt,

You bore me. You have no children and little first hand knowledge or experience with the schools in Steamboat AS A PARENT. Gotta have kids in the school system before you can even have a clue on this one.

Salary packages for principals and vps is NOT low in Steamboat. In fact, it's a very nice income. I just finished a review of the high schools in Denver and Colorado Springs and was surprised to find a very high number of h.s. principles earning 5-20k LESS than what Steamboat pays it's own principles. While the teachers may earn crap, the admin staff at the schools make a helluva lot more -- principles and vice princ. are not 'poor' little babies in Steamboat at all.

I know what the 'average' person earns in Steamboat, Matt. Like, DUH, like, I lived there dude. But no one working within the top tiers of the school system is suffering from a lack of income. And what does any of this part of your post have to do with jack anything on this discussion?

The ONLY thing I was afraid of in Steamboat was some jackass in the school system there putting up MORE road blocks to my son's education and college aspirations. It's not about the kids at all, to SOME of these people. It's about politics and ego and pushing people around.

Now go away Matt. You are truly clueless.

gwen

June 16, 2007 at 6:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

beagle (anonymous) says...

Gwen, well that was rude and unnecessary. You moved away from Steamboat, so why are you still on here being angry and blogging with everyone? If you don't like it, stay away! And teacher salaries are an issue in a town like Steamboat with a very high cost of living. That was what was being discussed, not principal or vp salaries. Sorry you had a problem with someone at the high school, my kids aren't there yet so I wouldn't know. But don't link whoever that was with everyone else. All the principals are not in a "good ol' boy network."

June 16, 2007 at 9:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kielbasa (Matthew Stoddard) says...

Maybe I should fear reprisal from you, Gwen? Good thing your post is anonymous and therefore private, so nobody digs up your verbal tirade and hangs onto it until it's advantageous to hold it against you, eh?

June 16, 2007 at 11:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

gwendolyn (anonymous) says...

1. Moved away. Did NOT drop lawsuit. Ties to the community are still there.

2. Won't be private once the lawsuit moves forward. While the school board talks about a lack of willingness to "settle" issues peacefully without a lawsuit (to the Pilot), they have no qualms whatsoever about stonewalling any sort of peaceful settlement at all with students/parents. And I'm not even writing about a MONETARY settlement.

3. Since you don't have children Matt, I sincerely doubt that reprisal is of any concern to you at all.

4. Doubtful anything I've written at this point could be "held against me" -- or my son.

5. Takes a lot of money to live in Steamboat, no doubt about it. Takes even more money to defend your kid's rights when they are abused.

Question for you Matt: How do you feel about unsolicited religious recruitment of students ON CAMPUS and the distribution of unsolicited religious material to same students?

June 18, 2007 at 9:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kielbasa (Matthew Stoddard) says...

Okay, Gwen, I'll answer the deflect question first:

I feel just fine about religious or military recruitment on the HIGH school campus only. At this age, everybody seems content teaching kids proper birth control methods. I would assume that by giving them that responsibility, choosing to listen or ignore a missionary/military recruiter would be a cinch comparatively. As long as "No" means enough to walk away, I don't see it as a problem.

In fact, I'd prefer it on campus where it can be in a more controlled atmosphere by school staff instead of maybe near kids favorite hang-outs off campus. For military, I'd prefer that to be a junior or senior class assembly toward the beginning of the school year. One assembly for all branches to talk to the older kids making up their minds about after high school. If a college recruiter can come on campus, military is a viable alternative. Fair is fair.

Next post for everything else.

June 18, 2007 at 11:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

kielbasa (Matthew Stoddard) says...

Gwen- so now we get to the heart of the matter: your opinions have nothing to do with the whole email controversy, it seems. It has to do with whatever personal agenda you have concerning a lawsuit you are bringing against the school district. You are using this, after a short break, to help maintain people sympathetic to your cause in fighting "the common enemy," for whatever wrong tossed your way from the Board. Interesting to know. Wonder how many others are pushing their personal agendas on both sides?

For your numerics:

1- See above.

2- See above, and nice way to "anonymously" help your case in the media, where no facts from either side are currently presented, let alone the nature of the lawsuit.

3- Just because I don't have kids doesn't mean I don't understand. So far, it comes from you as an adult being afraid; not a child telling me that they are afraid. I've covered what I think of that before, so I won't bother again. Plus, without kids, pertaining to the matter at hand, I like to think I'm looking at this in a more objective way.

4- No, but you've used minutely harsh lingo in some of your more heated posts. You start by calling me clueless, but I seem to have a better clue than you think. It's an allusion to some of D's less harsh sounding posts. That's an arrow pointing toward possibly a more harsh side that could be hidden on your part. Could you be another Dr. D in the making? That goes back to the being anonymous part, which D didn't help himself by using school computers. Idiotic? Yep. So what if there's "Pat Gleason" on the other side of your issue looking into what you say on this site and digs further to where the common folk can't normally see...like school computers or something equivalent?

5- There's your answer to your question: money in Steamboat. Yes, our staffs will tend to make more than those in Denver or Colo. Spgs., no doubt at all. So do our McDonald's clerks. That's because it's more expensive all the way around to live here compared to larger cities or non-resort towns. For what it takes to live here, school staff still makes a pittance, comparatively.

Ultimately, this was about MacHale leaving due to not getting his contract renewed in a timely fashion. The way I understand that, going also to your first post in this thread talking about the "good ole boy network" of leadership, is that MacHale's contract was bogged down due to it being a year to year contract, all because the "old board" was scared of another Dr. D by giving multi-year contracts. The two tie together. Correct me if I'm wrong.

June 18, 2007 at 12:10 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

stillinsteamboat (anonymous) says...

Gwen, I do have children in the district. I wish I had stood my ground with Donna and my childs principal. I understand how frustrating it is to deal with her. Never a straight answer, not always given the truth.

June 20, 2007 at 7:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )