Summer reshuffling continues in RC with the recall of three teachers from layoff status
The second resignation of a Rogers City Area Schools teacher with more than 26 years of service in four weeks has made it possible for members of the board of education to recall three teachers laid off earlier this year, add an additional section to a growing kindergarten class, and increase class offerings in the secondary school. The board approved a motion to recall teachers Sherry L. Bisson, Mary E. Benner, and Ariane M. Romel to fulltime teaching assignments for the 2006-07 school with a unanimous vote. That preceded a motion to accept the resignation of teacher Dennis S. Lyk ?with sincere appreciation and gratitude for his 35 years of service to Rogers City Area Schools.?
Betty Lamp submitted her retirement letter prior to last month?s school board meeting. With principal Deb Jones in China last month, there was not enough time to make any recommendations to the school board. Lyk taught business/typing/computer classes. He also handled a physical education class during the last school year. The board wished Lyk ?an enjoyable and productive retirement.? Since the end of the school year, the board has received four retirement letters from veteran teachers.
MEMBERS OF the planning and finance committee met Monday afternoon, prior to the regular school board meeting, to discuss the reshuffling of staff and a proposal for technology upgrades. Superintendent Paul Mancine called the new master schedule ?version 11.? ?This scenario will increase the teaching staff by one to 38 teachers,? said Mancine. ?However, it will provide for an additional section of kindergarten and provide more class offerings and greater flexibility at the high school level without increasing the overall staffing costs.? He said the worst-case scenario would be a financial wash, but the most likely situation will be a savings of about $23,000 or more. ?Part of my concern had been the numbers in the kindergarten,? said Mancine.
The plan had been to split 50 kindergarteners into two classes of 25, but consistent research indicates class size makes a significant difference, especially for students in grades K to 2nd, the superintendent said. ?Behind the scenes we have been watching those kindergarten numbers and pondering that problem,? said Mancine. Changes to the master schedule also make it possible to add another class of calculus and sections of various other classes. ?It does not answer all of our problems,? said Mancine. ?We will still have larger class sizes, and we are still tied somewhat, but it is better than the initial scheduling plan.?
ROMEL WILL be teaching elementary music and Title One. By taking over elementary music, it allows Diane Smuda to take the third kindergarten job. The other two kindergarten teachers will be Barb Ellenberger and Paula Streich. Bisson will be teaching economics, seventh grade math, and business. With the return of Benner as a high school special education teacher, Cindy Waibel will teach elementary technology and eighth grade English. The planning and finance committee also reviewed the computer replacement plan forwarded by technology coordinator Mike Rivenburgh and Jones. The committee concurred with their recommendation and approved a five-year computer lab replacement plan which was forwarded to the school board. The boar
Rivenburgh told the board the computers in the library are eight years old and were being avoided by some teachers because they were taking away time needed for working on school projects. Jones also said there has not been enough computers for some classes with 30 to 32 students. Rivenburgh was in the process of purchasing the computers Tuesday. Each computer will have a gigabyte of memory that will allow students to access additional programs, including information through Internet streaming.