Mass retirements eliminate need for layoffs and cuts

by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor

It was a budget devoid of cuts, but not without many losses. Members of the Rogers City Area Schools board of education approved a 2010-11 budget with $4,814,945 anticipated expenditures and $4,564,250 in revenue. The $250,695 deficit, absorbed by the fund equity, would have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for the retirement of 10 employees. The final fund equity for the 2009-10 school year will be 10.64 percent, which is below board policy of 15 percent, but it is expected to go back up to 15.7 percent once all the retirements are taken into account.

?To say this is unprecedented, I don’t know how else to say it,” said superintendent Jamie Huber. ?We went through this with the four previous retirements. To think we would be looking at this many on top of that.? Huber said attrition has helped save the board from looking at cuts to art and/or band. The only cut will be to a bus run.

THERE WERE 10 letters of retirement as a result of the state’s retirement incentive, and include: Peg Gordon, middle school/high school teacher, 22 years; Joyce Kuznicki, elementary teacher, 15 years; Brenda Lamp, elementary teacher, 23 years; Susan Mertz, elementary teacher, 35 years; Dennis Spens, transportation supervisor, 33 years; Keith Vogelheim, bus driver, 10 years; Linda Haselhuhn, aide, 25 years; Karen Robin, high school secretary, 30 years; Kathleen Viegelahn, business coordinator, 35 years; Sarah Brege, administrative assistance, 35 years (years of service included years taught outside of the district).

?I often live by the statement that everyone can be replaced, including me, but that doesn?t mean these peoples’ shoes can be filled. “Know you are going to be missed,” added Huber. “We?ll be putting together something special, because this is pretty unprecedented. That will be coming up in July.” Last month, the board accepted the resignations of Paula Pietsch, Vicki Bruder, Barb Ellenberger and Mary Bruning. Marx said the departing employees are part of the ?heart and soul? of the district. The next step will be the posting of the vacant positions and the hiring of new employees before school starts again. Only five of the eight teachers will be replaced, because of lower student numbers, said Huber.

THE PLANNING and finance committee has established a timeline with postings to run for two weeks through June 29 at 2 p.m. The five teaching positions include a kindergarten, first-grade, second-grade and fifth-grade teaching positions. The other teacher will be hired to work in the middle school and teach science, health and mathematics. Interviews will be scheduled for the week of July 12. Huber said it is vital ?to get the right people here. So, we want to make sure we do this right and take a lot of time and review the applicants. We already have resumes coming in, and we anticipate quite a stack.?

The subsequent hiring of support staff positions will follow, with ample time for training. Viegelahn, who has been handling financial aspects of the district, will be work until the end of the year. Additionally, Spens has indicated a willingness to come back and work as a bus mechanic. IN OTHER business: – Ted Urban Jr., president/coach of Rogers City Bears football, spoke during the public comment period about his concerns regarding the loss of a blocking sled. He said the equipment was given to the youth football program in 2005; however, Urban believes former business manager Don Schaedig sold it for scrap metal which insulted him. Urban is looking for the $4,000 to $5,000 piece of equi

pment replaced and/or an apology from Schaedig, who has continued to work for the district in a limited role since he retired.

?He (Schaedig) said we haven’t used that thing in eight years, I only brought it up there five years ago, and we use it every year,? Urban continued. Mike Myers of the Presque Isle Soccer Association thanked the board for the use of the field this past spring, but had a similar concern. Myers wondered if his organization needed to make other arrangements for the storage of his organization’s equipment, so the aluminum from the goals is not perceived as scrap metal.

“We typically put them against the same fence that the sled was up against,” said Myers. He was told to get in contact with Huber. – The board approved the District Improvement Plan, as well as the fundraising requests of football coach Mike Kosiara for a Bowl-A-Thon and cross country coach Rob Kortman to solicit sponsors for Nautical Run T-shirts.