Shared superintendent between Posen and Rogers City is back on the table
Recent developments have put members of the Rogers City Area Schools Board of Education in a position to reconsider a shared superintendent with the Posen Consolidated Schools. While not unanimous, the Rogers City School board members followed the recommendation of interim superintendent Paul Mancine in June to discontinue the exploration of a possible joint superintendent with their neighbors 15 miles away. Mancine said the June 27 recommendation was based on factors at the time, but the circumstances have changed considerably since then. ?Timing is everything,? he said.
Since late June, Posen superintendent Dennis Stratton has resigned to take a similar position in Mesick. It also appears as if Mancine is a step closer to having business manager Don Schaedig in charge of the district purse strings beyond his retirement date in October. One of the key issues in exploring the shared superintendent position concept is the restructuring of the central office in Rogers City. Last month the board indicated that they would like Don to remain as business manager, and in the last few weeks, Schaedig expressed an interest in remaining on a reduced and flexible schedule. That would include the shedding of other supervisory duties.
?DON IS HIGHLY respected and he does a great job for this district, and it is important that I somehow find where that fits,? said Mancine. ?When I first came in the door, in the first month, I was under the assumption Don was going to be leaving. The big problem I have is replacing all the jobs he does. He is supervisor of everything, plus business manager.? The restructuring would mean increased responsibilities for lead support people and appropriate pay. Having an experienced business manager, the probability of sharing a superintendent being successful increases on the Rogers City side, Mancine said.
The other component was the resignation of Stratton. ?He?s a good guy, he got a job in a bigger district, and he?s a good man,? said Mancine. ?My concern was the business aspect.? With both Posen and Rogers City looking for superintendents, there is an opportunity for district officials to work together and hand pick their own choice, board members agreed. Rogers City and Posen could be the first districts to approach the shared concept from ?ground zero? where both districts are seeking a mutual person rather than an existing person being shared, Mancine told the board. At Monday?s school board meeting, it was made known that Posen school officials are still interested in a shared superintendent position.
?I WANT THE public to understand that the board has not been wishy-washy,? said Mancine, following the meeting in his office. ?There have been some assumptions made from various parties that their minds were mind up and then changed. ?I don?t want the public to think the board is not confident or wishy-washy, they are not. They have been really struggling with this.? Mancine said the message was clear: ?Go full board and seek this. Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.?
Board member Scott McLennan believes the time is right. ?We should jump in with Posen. They are our neighbors and friends. The time now is right,? he said during the meeting. A board member who said he was never in favor of the idea, Allan Smolinski, now believes there is an opportunity to sav
SMOLINSKI ALSO said he ?didn?t think Mr. Stratton was the man for the job.? Armand Loiselle expressed his concern about public perception, in that the board has changed its position on the shared superintendent concept, but remains supportive of the idea. ?I was never against it,? said Loiselle. The newest board member, Lee Gapczynski, said resources should be pooled together in the search for a shared superintendent, or the districts could find themselves competing for the same superintendent candidates.
Any search for a shared superintendent would involve the Michigan Association of School Boards and possibly Alpena Community College to facilitate public forums.