Jack Stanley, principal at Iola Middle School, and two Iola High School English instructors resigned Monday night. Board members then rehired Stanley, effective Aug. 1.
Stanley took advantage of Kansas law that permits school personnel to retire to make themselves eligible for Kansas Public Employees Retirement benefits and then return to work. His retirement is effective May 31.
The two teachers were Diane Gowdy and Mary Ann Dvorachek. They retired through a buyout program board members established earlier this year. Each teacher will receive a $25,000 payment, which would pay health insurance premiums for five years.
In other personnel actions, board members did not renew the contract of Billie Jo Collins, an IMS paraprofessional and spirit squad sponsor, and made official the termination of four non-tenured teachers notified of contract nonrenewals after the board’s May 3 meeting. All at the high school. They are Mike Delange, social studies, Deedre Frazier and Michael Shuman, English, and Steve Taylor, physical education.
Contracts of three tenured teachers, Laura Schinstock, high school business, Scot Yarnell, high school math, and Bruce Jacobs, middle school tech lab instructor, also were not renewed May 3. Their release will become official after board members meet in a special session Thursday evening. The three have until then to file a protest.
Three teachers were hired. Katie Ellis will teach in an elementary school; Bill Peeper will teach high school social studies and coach basketball, a position Taylor held; Regina Heier will teach high school English.
Board members accepted the retirements of five cooks, Marlene Walburn, Elaine Caldwell, Judy Helman, Helen Rogers and Lillian Orzechowski. Also, Shelley Culbertson, a cook, and Andi DePriest, a paraprofessional, resigned.
The summer school staff was filled with the hiring of Travis Hermstein, Virginia Crane, Sandra Scoggin, Deena Powelson, Jody Grover, Regina Young, Susan Walters, Ona Chapman and Brenda Leonard.
DR. CRAIG Neuenswander, superintendent of schools, told board members the district was awarded a $200,000 grant from the Kansas Department of Education to help with the district’s instructional improvement program, an outgrowth of it being put on improvement for not meeting a provision of Adequate Yearly Progress last school year.
The failing was having a graduation rate of 55 percent for students in special education programs. The standard then was 75 percent.
The money will be used for curriculum and staff development, including a trainer who will participate with the faculty. A small portion of the money also will be used for software to analyze and store student assessment data.
Prior to the board’s business meeting, 35 fifth graders from Jefferson and Lincoln elementary schools were recognized for receiving Presidential Education Awards. The recognition program began in 1983 under President Ronald Reagan. In addition to framed certificates, each student will receive a copy of a letter of commendation from President Barack Obama.
Larry Hart, Lincoln principal, noted the recognition was in two levels, gold and silver. The gold went to students who had cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher. All of the awards indicated high academic achievement by the recipients and students were recommended for recognition by their teachers, he said.
Great Southern Bank will continue being the district’s funds repository. Its bid at .3 percent minimum interest on idle funds was the best of three. The district currently receives 2.65 percent, a floor that TeamBank and Great Southern, its successor, had honored through this year, even though the treasury rate had fallen to .15 percent this month. Board members said they would review banking services in a year.
They also voted to abate property taxes through Iola’s Neighborhood Revitalization Program for a home at 216 S. Colborn. Application for the tax break was not filed on time by Homes for Iola, Inc., a nonprofit that built the house, which led to participating taxing units being asked to approve its inclusion. No property tax to benefit the district will be assessed against the $100,000 house for five years, and taxes then will be phased in at 20 percent a year over the next five.
