Posen School Board to hire interim superintendent

The quest for a shared superintendent with Rogers City Area Schools continues as the Posen Consolidated Schools Board of Education gave the green light Monday to go forward with obtaining the services of a professional search team. The shared superintendent committee also will contact the attorney, David Olmstead, to begin working out the contractual arrangements between the two districts. Posen board president Kenneth Wozniak said that the timesharing formula works out to a 60/40 split in favor of Rogers City based on the number of students in each school system. Wozniak noted that the actual ratio numbers included fractions that would make scheduling time for the new superintendent difficult so both parties settled on a schedule that would have the superin

tendent in Rogers City three days and in Posen two days. Interim superintendent Mike Murch added that cost and time of the search team could be held down by doing a lot of the paperwork and other details prior to the visit of the search team. The plan is to have the search and selection activities complete with the shared superintendent in place by July 1, 2006. ?We have the benefit of previous experience in this process so we know what to expect from the candidates and what we will ask. Also, there were a number of comments from audience members during the last two town hall meetings that we need to add to the material,? Murch said.

THE TWO organizations with previous experience in this process are the Michigan Association of School Boards and the Michigan Leadership Institute. Both are non-profit, public interest groups. The interim superintendent position in Posen also needs to be filled by the end of December, when Murch leaves. The board received three resumes from Graydon Blank of Gaylord, John Palmer of Cheboygan, and George Goodchild of West Branch. The first interviews are scheduled for December 1 with a plan to have a recommendation for the board?s next meeting December 19. ?From what I can see in these resumes, you have three good candidates to cover the interim position from January 1 to June 30,? Murch said. The sharing of resources between the two schools has already begun with the plan to share the services of the technology support consultant. In other business, the board approved two motions concerning the procurement of a new bus for the district. The board agreed to purchase the bus from Zaremba Equipment of Gaylord for $59,819. The bus is an International-Amtran vehicle with a 466 cubic inch diesel engine from International, model CE and an Allison transmission.

THE BOARD also approved the ?lease-purchase? financing plan for acquiring the bus from Citizen?s Bank in Alpena. The duration of the loan will be five years; however, the first payment is not due until the end of the first year with each annual payment following. The rate of interest on the loan will be 4.375 percent. The newest unit in the current fleet of buses is eight years old and the administration was concerned about the reliability of older buses on long haul distances between sporting events. It is expected that some of the older buses will be slated for replacement in the future. The board approved a transfer of $10,000 into the food service fund from the budgeted amount in the general fund to cover current expenses. The cost of staff for a dwindling student population requires subsidies to the lunch program. The only other alternative, according to Murch, would be to contract with a private company. He also pointed out that privatization would mean losing some long-time staff.

The school administrator, Cliff Kelly, named the new boys varsity basketball coach, Steven Hentkowski. Amanda Polaski will be the new JV Girls Volleyball coach. The board also accepted the resignation of Rick Demars as the eighth grade basketball coach. Wayne Karsten, a staff member at the elementary school, will replace him. Karsten has previous experience assistant coaching. Kelly noted that the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) reported to the school that there were no complaints from anyone regarding poor sportsmanship in the previ

ous year. A former student now living in Cocoa Beach, FL toured the school recently and was plainly impressed with the new facilities that had been added since his days there. Patrick J. Gearardo promptly sat down and made out a check for $400 to the athletic boosters committee. Murch presented the Audit Report from Hill, Schroderus and Company of Petoskey, noting that the $218,484 included an insurance settlement of $74,749, which is earmarked for repairs related to the hailstorm last summer. The $143,735 left in the fund represents only seven percent of equity, which is at the lower limit recommended by the MASB.

An energy management company, Magnon Energy Group, has offered to prepare an unsolicited proposal on methods to reduce the school?s energy bill. The target is to achieve a 10 percent or more reduction in energy costs. The school presently spends around $35,000 on natural gas. The Posen Elementary Annual Christmas Program will be on Wednesday, December 14, beginning at 6:30 p.m.