June 7, 2012
06/08/12 During their regular meeting on June 5, the Plymouth School Board approved the length of contracts for administrators. Negotiations on the details of the contracts cannot be entered into until August 1, 2012.
Superintendent Daniel Tyree will have a four- year contract. He is currently finishing the first year of the three-year contract; however, the new contract will take the place of the current contract timeline.
Five administrators were given three- year contracts including: James Condon (principal, Plymouth High School), Jeni Hirschy (assistant principal, Riverside Intermediate), Kenneth Olson (currently assistant principal, PHS), Michael Dunn (principal, Menominee Elementary), and Carrie McGuire (principal, Webster Elementary). Olson has been named the Director of the School of Inquiry at PHS that will open for the first time in the fall of this year.
Two-year contracts were approved for the following: Dan Funston (former principal of Lincoln Junior High), Angie Mills (principal of Jefferson Elementary), Andrew Hartley (former assistant principal of PHS), Reid Gault (former assistant principal at LJH), Kyle Coffman (former English teacher at PHS), Michele Riise (former principal at Washington Elementary) and Craig Hopple. Hartley had been named incoming principal for the 2012-2013 school year at the Discovery Academy (Washington Elementary) and Funston is advancing to the position of assistant superintendent. Hopple is transferring from the Culver Community Schools to assume the duties of assistant principal at LJH. Riise will be moving into a newly created position as director of Quality Programs for the entire corporation.
In other matters, the nurses at each of the school buildings will now be employees of Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center. Assistant Superintendent Rodger Smith said the duties of each nurse will remain the same, but the supervision will change to SJRMC. Smith explained that the former head nurse for the corporation resigned earlier this year to assume another position. He said they when they were not able to fill that position, they began seeking other ways to obtain supervision for what he termed increasing and complicated requirements. He indicated that SJRMC now provides a similar service for the Penn and Mishawaka School systems.
According to Smith the cost of nurses for the corporation in the previous year was $327,000. He said that figure would drop to $315,000 per year, including $15,000 for administrative services.
Although the pay rate for the nurses will either remain the same or, in some cases, be slightly higher, the number of hours per day will change. The elementary schools will have a nurse for 6.5 hours each day, intermediate and junior high schools will have coverage for 7.5 hours per day, and the high school will have a nurse for 8 hours per day. He indicated that there will be additional coverage of up to six hours a day for a health aide. The contracts for nurses will decrease from 195 days per year to 185 days. One of the current nurses employed by the corporation will be named coordinator for all of the schools. Smith said the number of hours assigned for nurses/aides is dependant upon enrollment of approximately 400 in each elementary, 600 at the lower secondary level, and 1, 200 at the high school level.
The contract with SJRMC is for one year with provisions for renewal.
Carol Anders Correspondent