Administrator resigns from RC Schools
The position of maintenance/transportation supervisor had been on the ?cut list? in the Rogers City Area Schools the last couple of years and was likely be eliminated in June. The man fulfilling the duties of the position could see the writing on the wall and has been looking for another job. Bill Stypick, whose last day as a district administrator will be April 2, has been hired to work for the Crawford-Oscoda-Otsego-Roscommon Intermediate School District in Grayling, but told The Advance the last four weeks has not been easy for him or his family.
Stypick was hired last Wednesday as the COOR-ISD special education transportation director and maintenance. He submitted his resignation to officials in Rogers City late last week, and it was accepted by the board of education Monday during a special meeting.
SUPERINTENDENT ED SCHULTZ said he routinely sends employees who leave the district a letter, but for Stypick, he was to include ?some clarifications.? ?Bill?s letter indicated that, the reason he is resigning was because of a ?decision? made by the board,? said Schultz. Board member Jo Bush Glenn questioned the wording in the letter and said no decision had been made by the full board. A recommendation from Schultz, business manager Don Schaedig and the planning and finance committee to eliminate the position was expected in June. ?That won?t be done until the budget meeting on June 14, when that position will be eliminated due to the fact that there is no money for that line item,? said Schultz.
STYPICK HAS been upset with the way the situation has been handled. ?I?ve been spending a month pulling my hair out trying to find a new job,? Stypick said Tuesday, the day after the resignation was accepted. ?I bought a home in the community (and) I have a newborn son, and they are playing these silly games with me. Frankly, I think it?s very unprofessional.? ?My letter back to him,? Schultz said, ?will explain that the administration, along with the planning and finance committee, avoided eliminating his position for two years, but we?re at the point, with the funding where it is, and it doesn?t look to be any better next year, we have to recommend to the full board…that the funding for his position be eliminated for the 2004-05 school year.? Stypick didn?t appreciate not being consulted about the recommendations
MONDAY?S SPECIAL meeting was scheduled to accept the resignation and to dismiss to closed session so board members could familiarize themselves with their new chief negotiator George Johnson, who has been an attorney for the district for 10 years. Johnson also was getting acquainted with the different personalities on the board and reviewing the negotiations material, Schultz said. With a new negotiator, Schultz added, the board is in a time of transition.
?The board is going to have to decide if they want to go down the same path or if they want to modify it in some way,? said Schultz. ?I think the board is off to a new and fresh start.?