At its May 18 meeting, the Newton Community School District board heard and saw a presentation from its superintendent, Bob Callaghan, who is charged with assigning personnel for upcoming school years. Callaghan presented a detailed personnel report that spells out where many teachers, specialists and administrators are headed in 2015-16.
Callaghan said the “reductions,” which including eliminating one principal position, and the nine involuntary transfers on next year’s assignment list, are meant to keep the district’s general fund from going into the red, based on the state legislature’s 1.25 percent proposed increase in supplemental aid.
Should Iowa districts receive less than a 1.25 percent increase in state aid, Callaghan said, the district would have to re-examine its staffing and look for even newer ways to cut its payroll.
Here are some of next year’s changes in NCSD faculty staffing, in no particular order:
Tom Bartello, who was school administration manager at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, will become the principal there. Lisa Sharp will leave her Thomas Jefferson principal position, accepting a re-assignment as principal at Berg Middle School.
Middle School Principal Scott Bauer resigned to take a job outside the district. Aurora Heights Elementary School Principal Carol Farver is retiring; Jim Gilbert will add the Aurora Heights principal’s duties to his existing title of Director of K-8 Services for the district.
Allison Morgan will remain at Thomas Jefferson, but will go from teaching first grade to teaching third grade. Several special education staffing changes are set to happen. Jenny Verwers is going from a special education position to a regular fourth-grade teaching position at Woodrow Wilson Elementary; Chris Mullins is moving from Thomas Jefferson to Woodrow Wilson and Regina Hill moves from Berg Elementary to Thomas Jefferson.
Both transitional kindergarten teaching positions are gone; the Department of Education is no longer counting those students as part of certified enrollment. Sarah Curry has resigned from the Newton High School science teaching staff; the district has not made a decision about filling the department’s vacancy.
One school nurse position will be eliminated. Stephanie Clute has resigned to take a job away from public education; Clarissa Bloom will move from Thomas Jefferson to take over for Clute as the Newton High School nurse.
Kara Avis has accepted a reassignment from Berg Elementary kindergarten to the preschool program at Emerson Hough, though this change is listed on the “involuntary transfer” list as well. There are a total of six positions on the May 18 report that show these type of involuntary changes. Six positions are listed on the recent district personnel report as “on hold.”
These include the SAM vacancy created by Bartello’s promotion to principal; one Thomas Jefferson first-grade teaching position, the high school science position, a sixth-grade teaching slot and Berg Middle School special education and math positions. There are three NCSD classified positions that won’t be filled.
Chris Dunsbergen, an Aurora Heights administrative assistant, is resigning; Ken Owens’ head custodian job at Emerson Hough is being eliminated, and the transportation department will lose one position. Larry Wylie, a custodian, will move from NHS to Emerson Hough.
Melinda Worthington will continue as the central office secretary during the summer months, but will head to Aurora Heights during the months of the school year. Tara Allen will go from the para-professional staff at NHS to being a “health para” at Thomas Jefferson.
Steve Weeks will move from middle-school cross country coach to coaching the Newton High School teams, with Bartello, the new Thomas Jefferson principal, resigning from the cross country staff.
At the May 18 meeting, Callaghan outlined the categories of funding available for salaries.
“Our financial position has been supplemented, since 2009, with a large amount of federal funding,” Callaghan said. “No one can foretell the future, but we were supposed to receive a funding stream, and we still do not have one for the fiscal year that begins July 1, so we are preparing for zero state aid beyond what we received last year, per the state law.”
Callaghan said he hopes to fill the high school science position, which could have an impact on how many advance-placement science classes can be offered at Newton High.
“Mr. (NHS Principal Bill) Peters and I have had multiple conversations about AP classes,” Callaghan told the board. “We want to offer what we said we’ll offer. Do I think we can find funding to that? Yes. But I don’t know, right now, exactly how we can fund that until we amend our budget.”
Contact Jason W. Brooks at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or jbrooks@newtondailynews.com