Fort Scott school board begins process of hiring new superintendent

Thursday, March 1, 2012

By Angelique McNaughton

Less than a month after Superintendent Rick Werling announced his retirement from the district, USD 234 school board members met Wednesday with Doug Moeckel of the Kansas Association of School Boards to discuss the process for hiring a new school chief.

Moeckel is the associate executive director of leadership for KASB, which will be leading the search.

“We’re here to serve you,” Moeckel said at the special meeting.

During the almost two-hour gathering, Moeckel outlined what duties both KASB and board members will be responsible for throughout the seven-week process.

KASB will assemble a screening team to sort through the applications and conduct background and reference checks.

“We interview them, but we don’t,” Moeckel said. “You (the board) does the actual interview.”

In considering candidates for the position, both board members and KASB said they would like to involve the community in the search process.

At the meeting last night, board members decided who they would like to invite to participate in focus groups to discuss characteristics they see as important for a superintendent to possess.

Those groups included: teachers, students, parents, business leaders and community officials.

Moeckel will return on March 15 to listen to those groups individually during the day and then report his findings that night during a special board meeting.

The timeline for the search is as follows:

*April 2: The position of superintendent will close and no more applications will be accepted.

* April 4: KASB’s screening team will report to the board, notifying them of at least three, possibly four, suitable candidates for the position.

* The week of April 9: Board members will interview each candidate

* April 18: A special meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., of which the majority will be spent in executive session, for board members to make their final decision.

Collectively, board members said they would like to find and hire a new superintendent as soon as possible to include him or her in the hiring process for the other three administrator positions that are open.

The school board will meet for its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on March 5 at which the intramural sports committee will be making recommendations regarding middle school athletics.

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Board members mull hiring options for coming school year

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

By Angelique McNaughton

Multiple open teacher and administrative positions in the district prompted a recent special

meeting of the USD 234 school board.

Board members discussed policy and procedures for hiring administrators and teachers for the coming school year following resignation and retirement announcements from several teachers and four administrators, including Superintendent Rick Werling.

Trustees said their primary concern in considering hiring options was the monetary aspect of the process because of the already strained budget.

“We’re just trying to be fiscally responsible in terms of filling positions,” school board President Janet Braun said.

Ultimately, board members approved the administrators’ recommendation for filling all vacant positions in the three schools and hiring a new at-risk/Title I teacher at Eugene Ware Elementary School.

In deciding to hire and fill positions, board member Justin Meeks said it all came down to the fact that “we can’t get rid of any teachers or programs.”

He was referring to the elimination of some high school programs in 2010.

“We made the right decision (on Friday). It’s definitely what the administrators want us to do and it’s the right thing,” Meeks said. “We need the teachers that we have because we have cut back so much in the last three years. It would have been detrimental if we hadn’t filled the staff and we don’t want to make classrooms sizes any bigger.”

With the district facing diminishing state funds the past three years, board members were pleased that the options approved will result in no extra cost to USD 234.

The state funds salaries for at-risk/Title I teachers; it does not come out of the general fund.

“Whatever we’re doing,” board member Belynda Davenport said, “it’s not costing a dime.”

In considering hiring options and remaining “fiscally responsible,” board members also took into account the three-year freeze on teacher salaries.

Members even considered eliminating a position or two in the district to possibly open up more options for movement within the USD 234 salary schedule. However, it was decided that any money saved from that would not have been enough for salary increases.

“We’re trying to make it work with what we have,” Braun said. “Because of funding, we have tried to do what we can for the teachers we have.”

To help offset the lack of salary increases, teachers have seen a 4.41 percent increase in benefits throughout the last four years. Negotiating teams representing USD 234 teachers and the district will be presenting their salary concerns to the board sometime in the spring or early summer.

Tonight and on March 15, two more special meetings of the school board will be held to discuss the hiring process for Werling, who announced his resignation at the Feb. 13 board meeting.

Doug Moeckel, associate executive director of leadership for the Kansas Association of School Boards, will introduce focus groups and ultimately assist the panel in searching for a new superintendent.

Also on Friday, members approved the resignation of both Jodi Taylor, a high school cook, and Gabrielle Studer, a high school English teacher, and a retirement request from Sally Cullor, a middle school reading teacher.

As of Tuesday afternoon, all open positions in the district had been posted on the district’s website with corresponding application and contact information.

FSCC board approves tuition and fee increases

Students attending Fort Scott Community College in the fall might notice an increase in their cost of attendance from last year.

The FSCC Board of Trustees approved a 6 percent increase in the tuition and fees at their monthly meeting on Monday night.

“I hate to see the increase borne by students,” FSCC President Clayton Tatro said. “But know we are still a major value for the community and students.”

The increase includes a $3 tuition hike and a $2 increase in fees per credit hour. Additionally, most programs will also see a fee increase, including the trucking program and fuel charge fee which have remained constant since 2006.

And while some fees will increase, others will be eliminated or reallocated.

Previously, FSCC charged a $40 graduation fee at the time of commencement. Now that fee will be funded by adding 25 cents per credit to the general fees, so students will essentially pay the graduation fee throughout their time in school.

“I hope it will encourage more people to walk because they don’t have to pay an outright fee,” Tatro said.

FSCC tuition and fee increases have remained constant at about 5 or 6 percent for the past 10 years, board members said.

Board member Mark McCoy, who joined the board this past summer, said he had heard years ago that FSCC was No. 2 or 3 in terms of being least expensive.

“(As a) businessman, I know you can’t survive like that,” McCoy said. “It’s about quality education.”

With the increases, FSCC will remain around the middle of the pack in cost compared to other community colleges and universities, board members said.

“I think we tend to be on the low end when it comes to making those types of adjustments,” board member Robert Nelson said. “The whole idea for us is to try and make your education process as affordable as you can. Nobody likes tuition increases; I don’t either, but we have to do what we have to do for the college.”

The necessary increase, Nelson said, made more sense and makes the processes easier for staff and students.

A board member since 1999, Nelson has witnessed his share of tuition and fee increases. While he hopes they won’t rise again, based on experience, he knows they probably will.

“We hope it doesn’t,” Nelson said. “But we have to do what we can to keep the college going.”

Kansas City firm begins process of demolishing tower

Demolition of the exterior part of the AT&T tower began Monday morning around 9 a.m. with local preacher Scott Moore offering a blessing of the site at Judson Street, between Wall and First.

Brett Kisner, field supervisor operator with DECO Demolition and Excavation in Kansas City, said it’s his company’s policy to begin each project with a prayer and a blessing of the site.

DECO Demolition and Excavation positioned equipment around the site on Monday, even offering Moore one last view from the top before concrete saw-cutting started.

Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene Pastor Scott Moore, right, is about to take a ride up level with the top of the AT&T tower to see what it's like. Moore offered a blessing before the project began Monday. He is also a former firefighter. (Angelique McNaughton/Tribune)

Kisner said they joked about sending Moore up in the morning, but Moore, a former firefighter, now Fort Scott Church of the Nazarene pastor, said he was excited and returned in the afternoon for the opportunity.

“I never thought I would be able to do anything like that,” Moore said. “Gives you good respect for the work those guys do.”

The company officially started the removal process last week with interior work on the 114-foot structure.

The 23-year-old edifice recently began to show signs of deterioration, Terry Diebolt of AT&T Kansas said, prompting its removal.

“Because of its age, the concrete surface has seen a little bit of flaking,” Deibolt said. “So we felt we needed to remove the tower to not have any concerns.”

Deibolt, the director of external affairs, said the microwave tower did provide digital service to the area well into the 90s.

He said the tower stayed in place to serve as a back-up to the fiber optic system that replaced it, but it has not been used since then. It will take about three weeks for DECO to bring the tower down. Judson Street, between Wall and First, was closed Monday afternoon and will remain so daily between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. as the project goes on.